The day has finally come for Danilo Petrucci as he topped the tables in race 1 at Cremona today after a having previously been on the podium 10 times with the win being his 11th. Petrucci has had ups and downs with his Ducati V4R after making the transition form the American MotoAmerica Superbike Championship Series. However, 2024 seems to be the first year where he and the bike have found some positive chemistry. Petrucci as not available for comment after the race.
Ducati dominated the field on day one of racing with Nicolo Bulega and Alvaro Bautista rounding out the top 3 for an all Ducati podium. Most impressive was Bautista’s charge form P13 to P3. He said, “It was a difficult Saturday,” began Bautista. “When I pushed more, I felt I was missing some strength in my ribs. In the first few laps I felt pain so could not fight other riders and just tried to stay on bike. So I said after 5 or 6 laps if I still have this feeling I have to retire.
Lap after lap, I started to feel less pain and felt I could move better so could be more aggressive, improve my pace. I could start overtaking. I didn’t expect to finish on the podium, so am really happy. I didn’t even know if I could race this weekend, so to finish on the podium after starting at the back is a really nice feeling. Now I have to recover for tomorrow.”
Full Race 1 Results from Cremona