Danilo Petrucci looking for improvements at Estoril World Superbike

Danilo Petrucci ended both FP1 and FP2 at the Estoril World Superbike round second-fastest behind Toprak Razgatlioglu, but feels he needs to improve after the first day of track action in Portugal.

Petrucci explained that, despite being almost at the conclusion of his second season in WorldSBK and with the Barni team’s Ducati Panigale V4 R, he’s without much experience in wet conditions on the bike, which complicated Friday morning’s FP1 which was wet from start to finish.

“This morning the conditions were really tough because there was quite a bit of rain and cold temperatures,” Petrucci told WorldSBK.com.

“The feeling wasn't too bad for me and it’s just my second time riding this bike in the wet so we don’t have a perfect setup yet.

“We’re still developing to improve my feeling on the bike. In the end, it wasn’t bad, but not perfect either.”

Thinking about his rivals, Petrucci was clear about who the standout rider was at the end of Friday.

“I think that Toprak [Razgatlioglu]  is on another level right now but we want to improve and get closer,” he said.

Finally, having missed the podium in all three races in Aragon — which came after he secured his first three race wins in WorldSBK at the Italian Round a week before — Petrucci is aiming to get back on the podium this weekend in Estoril.

“Looking at the lap times today, I believe a top five is possible but I definitely want to get back on the podium after missing out in Aragon.”