Danilo Petrucci suffered a spectacular accident while training in April and, about two months later, returned to action at the Misano round of the Superbike World Championship.
It was not an easy weekend for the Barni Spark Racing Team rider, who still felt some physical limitations. Nonetheless, he managed three top-ten finishes.
In the first race, he achieved ninth place, repeating the result in the Superpole race… before finishing sixth in the second main race. Quoted by the championship, Petrucci spoke about the second race at Misano:
– I tried to keep my pace and I understood how to brake and stop the bike straighter. After half the race, I was really tired and also with the legs. I thought someone would pass me, but I watched my pit board, and I was keeping the distance and also catching [Axel] Bassani. I didn’t know if I could finish the race because I started to lose the front. In the last five laps, I saw he was in trouble, so I switched my mind.
The Italian revealed how he felt at the end, with physical problems in his right arm: ‘I felt like a block of concrete over the bike! When I crossed the finish line, I felt like someone stabbed my right arm. There is nothing broken, there’s a big inflammation. I can’t believe it. I didn’t expect it’.