The return of Petrucci

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Danilo Petrucci has had an eventful year and career that has been likened by the rider, to an Alfred Hitchcock script. With a humble debut in an Ioda Project CRT machine in 2012, Petrucci has steadily improved upon his performances and is now ranked among the elites. His journey has included several teams including Ioda, Pramac Ducati, Ducati and now, Suzuki, which captures the trajectory of his career as well.

In June 2021, he announced his transition to rally raids, which was kicked off by his participation in the Dakar. However, he has made a surprising journey back to the Thailand GP this weekend.

Petrucci’s journey has not been smooth. For his race with KTM at Dakar, he faced an ankle injury which shortened his training on his new bike to 6 days, from 3 weeks. This was followed by a Covid-19 diagnosis which almost prevented his participation. However, a last-minute negative PCR test allowed him to participate, only for him to face issues with his bike. Due to a misplaced phone, wallet, and passport, he had to rely on official assistance which caused him to suffer a time penalty, and subsequently he also crashed into a camel.

Despite these challenges, Petrucci emerged victorious in the race. However, his contract with KTM for the rest of 2022 fell through due to some miscommunication between the two, and this was when Ducati contacted Petrucci and offered him a chance to ride in the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship in USA.

Petrucci went on to win the runner-up position, and just before the final was contacted by Suzuki. Their 2020 world champion rider Joan Mir was unavailable for the San Marino GP due to an injured ankle, and Petrucci was asked if he could fill in. Since, then it has been a rollercoaster ride for the Italian, who is set to soon race in a Suzuki bike, which is considerably different to the V4 powered bikes he is used to.

His new bike will require readjustments to his style of driving. For now, he is hoping for some rain, which is expected to lend him an advantage as his weight has previously helped him generate better grip compared to other riders and win some crucial races.