Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) did well to accomplish his three-podium goal he announced ahead of the Motul Czech Round at the Autodrom Most. ‘Petrux’s MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship season has been a strong one so far, while he didn’t have the same magical Acerbis Italian Round hat-trick seen in 2024, his podium consistency has propelled him up to third place in the Riders’ Championship after his Race 2 podium –his 18^th career WorldSBK podium and his 5^th of 2025.

“I saw he messed up in one of the corners and I thought, ‘Ok, come on Danilo, try!’ and I was able to overtake him.” – Petrucci on his Race 2 move on Sam Lowes to jump to P3

Petrucci’s Race 2 ended Most on a high note for the #9. After falling behind Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) from his P3 start position down into P4, ‘Petrux’ hung close behind him, remaining in striking distance despite the impressive pace by the sophomore British rider. Petrucci saw his moment on Lap 12 when Lowes ran wide, slipping past the Lincoln-born rider to claim a P3 which he sunk his teeth into and didn’t let go of for the rest of the race.

On his Race 2, Petrux said: “Today was harder, I understood this morning that Sam was really fast, he overtook me at the second corner, and we had a similar pace. I tried to stay in P3 but one lap he was faster, the next lap I was faster, so I thought, ok, maybe P4 isn’t too bad for the points because I saw Alvaro had crashed. Then, I saw he messed up in one of the corners and I thought, ‘Ok, come on Danilo, try!’ and I was able to overtake him. Congrats to him because he’s doing an incredible job, and congrats to Nicolo and Toprak because they are doing really an entirely different job compared to us.

“I hope at least one of the two goes to MotoGP™ that way I can place second one time!” laughed Petrucci, “Jokes aside, we are an independent team, and we are fighting with the top guys so I’m really happy.”

“The pace was better than Race 1 but we’re still missing something, especially on the corner exits”- Petrucci on what’s next on his team’s list to improve

Race 2’s result had big implications on the Riders’ Championship picture, after Alvaro Bautista's (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) crash with Jonathan Rea (Pata Maxus Yamaha) which resulted in Rea being applied a double Long Lap Penalty and resulted in Bautista careening into Xavi Vierge (Honda HRC), the race ended practically just as it began for the pair of Spanish riders. Between Bautista’s DNF and Petrucci’s P3, Petrucci jumped past the #19 in the Championship rankings for P3, now five points above Bautista however 75 points behind Razgatlioglu in P2.

On Bautista’s crash, his team’s Improvement with the bike and looking ahead to what’s next, Petrucci said: “I’m sorry for Alvaro with his crash, but we showed good pace all weekend and were always around the podium. Today we improved the bike a bit but not enough. The pace was better than yesterday but we’re still missing something, especially on the corner exits. It still doesn’t feel good yet, but I can’t complain, my crew and I are doing a good job, we just need to work on the details. Next is Misano, where we will have a softer tyre construction so we will need to understand how to work with them. Then the test, and after that at Misano, I want to be on the podium.”

Catch Petrucci at his  and his Ducati manufacturer’s home round at Misano June 13-15^th, catch all the action with the WorldSBK VideoPass! Now 30% off!