Danilo Petrucci a special guest at the Coppa Italia Velocità at Mugello

Danilo Petrucci on track with a BMW during Friday’s practice for the Coppa Italia Velocità at Mugello: his return to the Superbike World Championship is getting closer.

After having to skip the (highly anticipated) Misano round, Danilo Petrucci is eager to get back to the start of the Superbike World Championship. The ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team rider, after a lengthy break to recover from the coccyx fracture he suffered on May 16 in Race 1 at Most, is making the most of the time available to him ahead of his scheduled return on July 10–12 at Donington Park.

Having wrapped up a preliminary outing right on the up-and-downs of the Midlands together with teammate Miguel Oliveira, Danilo Petrucci didn’t sit on his hands, deciding to continue his personal work program at home. Surprisingly, today the rider from Terni exceptionally took part in the free practice sessions of the second round of the Coppa Italia Velocità at Mugello.

On this occasion Danilo Petrucci took to the track riding an M 1000 RR in Superstock configuration, closely supported by the Pistard Racing Team, BMW Motorrad Italia’s reference outfit for the Italian series. On the circuit of his first historic (of two) MotoGP victory with the factory Ducati team in 2019, “Petrux” logged as many laps as possible, setting a best time of 1'52"920. With one goal: on the one hand, to shake off a bit of rust; on the other, to assess his fitness.

Danilo Petrucci, in a debut season with BMW Motorrad that has so far offered few satisfactions, will look to show up in top form in a couple of weeks. The Munich marque has confirmed that the 2011 Italian Superstock 1000 Champion will officially make his racing return at Donington Park, where in 2023 he earned his first career podium in the Superbike World Championship, a result he repeated two years later under the Barni Racing banner.