SBK, Danilo Petrucci penalized and angry: the BMW rider’s outburst at Assen

Superbike Race 1 to forget for Petrucci, penalized and then ending up in the gravel at Assen: he reached the finish line, upset about what happened.

Free practice and Superpole had been promising for Danilo Petrucci, who seemed to have top-5 potential at the TT Circuit. Starting from the fourth spot on the SBK grid, he was handed a double long lap penalty for a jump start. As he was about to serve the first penalty, he ran into the gravel and from there his Race 1, already compromised, was essentially over. He still chose to finish it instead of returning to the box, but did not get beyond eighteenth place. No points, just more experience with the BMW M 1000 RR and additional data gathered. A very bitter taste remains.

The rider from Terni is convinced he did not commit any infraction and after Superbike Race 1 he expressed his disappointment at receiving a sanction from the stewards: "In 20 years I have never made a false start - reports Speedweek - and I don’t think I did it this time either. I watched the video countless times, but I can’t see it. Protesting is useless, the race is over anyway. I think the decision is wrong, but these are the rules".

Petrucci also spoke about what happened when he tried to serve the first long lap penalty: "Since I had never made such a mistake before, I hadn’t practiced the long lap. I hit a big bump, the bike lifted, I went straight into the gravel and my race was basically over." He had not prepared for a possible sanction and was caught off guard.

The ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK rider salvages something from his performance in the first race at Assen, but the disappointment remains very big over the decision taken by the stewards: "The only positive thing is that I was the fastest when it started to rain. Today a top-five finish was possible. I am sad and disappointed, this is one of the bitterest days of my career".

There was a moment in Race 1 when it started to rain, the kind of situation that has often favored Petrucci over the course of his career. A top-5 finish was realistic and it didn’t happen, but today’s events should still motivate him ahead of the Superpole Race and Race 2. His negative mood is understandable, but he needs to react and try to bring his M 1000 RR as far forward as possible.

On his official Instagram profile he also reiterated his view ("I have never made a false start in over twenty years of racing and I don’t think I did it today either…") and he also posted the video of the start. He received several messages, including one from the Go Eleven team: "Welcome to the club of NON jump starts. See you on track tomorrow". With Andrea Iannone and also with Lorenzo Baldassarri (Race 2 in Australia) there have been some similar episodes for the team led by Denis Sacchetti.