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"What am I making? An omelette. Then I put the veggie burgers in the pan… I think I went wrong with the shopping!”. Danilo Petrucci is the same as usual, frank and ironic. He arrived in Phillip Island a few days ago (“I did the classic tour: beaches and kangaroos, all I need is pizza at Rosa’s place”) and is ready for a new chapter in his career and his life. After all, Petrux hasn't missed anything in recent years, between MotoGP, Dakar and MotoAmerica. SBK is the last testing ground for him.
Danilo, why did you choose it?
“I wanted to test myself again in a World Championship after I got fed up of being in MotoGP. I couldn't take it anymore because I worked harder than when I won, but I was 16th and it's not easy to digest. For that reason I chose to go to the Dakar, to do like elephants who go to die away from the herd".
Instead?
"Instead, it gave me back an incredible desire to race. Then in America I found a very special championship: nice but to understand, you have to get into their mentality. In the end I had two choices, either to continue in MotoAmerica or to race in SBK... as usual, I chose the most difficult one and where they pay me the least (laughs). I've never decided based on money, so I chose the most competitive championship with the most competitive bike."
So you will be in the spotlight…
“I don't expect anything at the moment, even if it's clear that I want to finish up front. My goal is to live this experience having fun, without expectations, as I did in the Dakar. If there's a shitty day, I'll accept it, something I've never been able to do in my career. Then I want to see if I can win, I'd like to be one of those riders who have succeeded in MotoGP and SBK".
What's it like at Phillip Island?
“It's beautiful, because I haven't been back since 2019. That year I was going quite fast, I started from the second row, but in the second corner I threw myself over Quartararo... I was sorry to end my Australian period like that (laughs). I'm very happy to be back, I have many friends and it's nice to see them again."
The tests will start tomorrow, are you ready?
“I've prepared everything, I've done the technical meetings, now I just have to lap. I need to gain experience with the Pirellis, try to understand them, because they still surprise me and I don't have the situation in hand. The level is high, many riders have not changed bikes and raced here in November, while my last race was with MotoGP in Thailand in October, so these will be adaptation tests for me. I don't expect anything from the race either, I'll have to be good at being patient if things don't go well".
Those people who don't know the regulations well might wonder why there's so much difference between the Ducati Panigale you rode in MotoAmerica and the SBK one.
“The bike has changed a bit, but mostly the tyres are totally different. The last time I used the Pirellis was in 2011, when I was a Ducati test rider: it's another world. They have great performance, they have a totally different construction from the Dunlops I used in America. The Pirelli gives you a lot of confidence, it's a tyre that moves a lot but lets you feel what's going on. Even the bike moves differently: the tyres are the only thing that touches the ground and they are a good filter for the rider's sensations. It’ll take time."
Did you think you needed less?
“After the first tests at Jerez I thought yes, I thought I could fight for the podium. In Portimao, on the other hand, it felt like I had never ridden before: I was constantly slow (laughs). It's not for everyone, whatever I tried I couldn't improve or get worse! This leaves you a little embarrassed, you would expect that trying something different would give you different feelings, not only positive, but nothing ever changed".
Did you understand why?
“Fortunately, Ducati loves me very much, there's a lot of attention towards me, and we analysed the data together. In their opinion there is not much to worry about, it is just a lack of confidence. In many sections of the track I was similar to Bautista, but in two or three corners I was half a second slower in each, an embarrassing difference. I'm the one who understands what I have to do, because the bike is there."
In those tests there was a lot of talk about Bautista's performance, when he lapped close to his MotoGP times. You who have a lot of experience with prototypes, how do you explain it?
“The SBKs are very fast bikes, they have a little less power but in many areas they are easier to ride. On a track with so many ups and downs like Portimao, where you have to control the stability of the bike, having more power is almost a problem. Then Alvaro is riding very well, he goes well with the very soft casing of the Pirelli. When there were harder constructions in MotoGP, riders like him and Pedrosa struggled, now things have changed there too. You could see that with Dani, in 2021 in Austria he was the fastest KTM rider. They are tyres that you have to understand and the same goes for the bikes”.
How do you find yourself from a personal point of view in the SBK paddock? As a rider you were born in the production-based series.
“I've seen a lot of people I knew when I had more black hair (laughs). Here you still see those small teams that are made of passion, I've seen people in the same teams where I remembered them and I respect them for their work. Not that there is no passion in MotoGP, but here the budgets are different".
