Danilo Petrucci achieved a podium finish in the opening round of the World Superbike Championship, finishing third in an exciting second race at Phillip Island. The Barni Spark Racing Team rider started from 15th – his position in the Superpole race – and fought until the end with Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven/Ducati) to secure the final result.
In an interview with the championship’s official website, Petrux revealed that he started the race with some apprehension after encountering difficulties in the Superpole race: ‘It was amazing to finish on the podium. It was a great race and great battle. In race 1, we were fighting for the podium, but we had a problem with the pit stop and I couldn’t fight with the top guys. On Sunday morning, I didn’t feel good with the bike and didn’t know why, so I was a little bit nervous in race 2. I was in the leading group before the red flag’.
Regarding the race restart after the red flag caused by Jonathan Rea’s (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) incident, Petrucci commented: ‘After the red flag, we were always there. I wanted to be the top independent. I tried to pass Iannone and then [Michael Ruben] Rinaldi, but in the last lap, Iannone came back at me. I said, «okay, I need to be at least top independent» and when I went to overtake him, I saw [Andrea] Locatelli crash; I hope he’s okay too. I said «come on Danilo, just half a lap». This is a good result’.