Interview with Danilo Petrucci, a rider with long experience in motorcycling between MotoGP and Superbike, recovering from a terrible accident: “I opened my eyes and I was happy to still be alive”.
The great talent he has is often not recognised. Motorsport fans often see it only as what he worked hard for, nothing else. He is often labeled as the one who didn’t make it and instead, Danilo Petruccihe really did it. Petrux – as he is nicknamed – began his career in MotoGP in 2012, he was 21 years old and had very little experience behind him. He won two races, including an epic one at Mugello in 2019, then moved up to the MotoAmerica Championship, finishing second after an epic duel against Jake Gagne, a specialist in the category. He did the Dakar, returning to his origins as an off-roader, winning a stage, becoming the only rider to win a race in MotoGP and a stage in the Dakar. Today he is in his second season with the Barni Spark team in Superbike. A few weeks ago he was the victim of an accident with his motocross bike during a training session.
How are you?
I feel better. I’m back in the gym, I can do something. Of course, I still have to reset and straighten the jaw and then every day we work on the clavicle and scapula. I move it, but I can’t rotate it because it’s broken. I’d like to get back on the bike for the next tests. Maybe I’m too positive, but I want to get back quickly.
You have had many accidents, also given the longevity of your career. I had a bad one in the United States at the AMA Superbike, but this time on social media I saw you very tired, scared: was it the worst accident of your life?
Yes, in America it was very violent. I must have traveled twenty meters rolling on the asphalt and then another tens of meters of sliding. But there I didn’t even have time to think. I was inside a centrifuge. This time, however, I fell from above, like falling from the fourth floor. I don’t remember anything. I woke up with all the people around. Luckily the motorbike cushioned the blow and saved my legs. However, I had the clarity to be afraid. This time everything was still, not fast. I had time to understand that it was going badly. I was scared, also because I realized that I had done something wrong and I had to wait to land. When I opened my eyes I remember being immediately happy because I was alive and my legs worked. When certain things happen to you, you appreciate more the things you take for granted.
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Many wonder, why do pilots get hurt in training? Why do they even risk it at that moment? Dovizioso, Biaggi, Valentino, you and many others, why take risks in the off season or between one grand prix and another?
Once Stoner, we were at a test, told me that he had retired because he had liked riding a motorbike since he was a child and once I arrived in MotoGP, I realized that I was very little on the motorbike. A few weekends, tests during the year and that’s it. All the rest of the time he was without the bike. So a rider tries to ride a motorbike, whatever vehicle it is. I was born a cross rider and therefore it is normal that when I can I go on a motorbike to hold a handlebar in my hands and not lose familiarity, ability and reflexes. So it’s very useful, but like everything we do it has an element of risk.
Then, the fact of going fast even in cross-country encouraged you to improve further.
Of course, we are pilots. I acted like I was a world championship motocross rider. Then when I saw that I was lapping just a few seconds behind the best cross-country skiers in the world I got excited. And from there, you risk more and it can happen that you get hurt.
You started from cross country, you were in the Italian championship, why did you switch to track, to speed?
It was a dream or perhaps madness, but even though we were cross-country skiers, the charm of the track was present within me and my dad. When we decided to try I immediately went strong and innately. The Federation noticed me and in 2008 let me join the Italy team. I was all instinct and talent because I had never tried circuit bikes before. I learned directly in the championships. And at the age of 21 I landed in MotoGP. Everyone was there: Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo, Dani Pedrosa, Stoner and Dovizioso.
What was the hardest thing to learn from cross to speed?
Fold. In cross country you bend only in the ground channel. Racing motorbikes, on the other hand, are to be ridden with your shoulder on the ground. I have always been a great brakeman, also because I am big, massive, but taking corners has always been difficult.
Danilo Petrucci on the Superbike track.
What is your idea of the level of the Superbike World Championship?
As for the top riders like Jonathan Rea, Toprak Razgatlioglu and also Alvaro Bautista, they are riders who could qualitatively belong in MotoGP. Alvaro, as ever, comes from there and has won two world championships. They often underestimate themselves, but the talent is there. Then there are certainly phenomena in MotoGP. However, the motorbikes make the difference. In the prototype world championship it happens that there are ten riders in two tenths, in Superbike it doesn’t happen so often. However, it also depends on the circuits. The first race in Phillip Island saw seven different riders get on the podium in the three races. There is great competition.
Are we returning to a golden era of Superbikes? Also thanks to the many Italians who race in this category like you, Iannone, Locatelli, Bulega.
The Superbike is beautiful. Perhaps it is more for the enthusiasts and less for the Sunday fans, the general ones. It’s a less mainstream category and perhaps also the fact that we lack a bit of promotion. Dorna has done an incredible job in recent years, but we need to diversify. Also because the Superbike is second to none in terms of entertainment. Think of the thirty or so overtakings between Alvaro Bautista and Toprak Razgatlioglu in Jerez. Crazy. And then in Superbike you can experiment: racing at sunset, going to local circuits, not huge, more characteristic, closer to the people, within reach of an enthusiast.
The Barni Spark team wins its first Grand Prix in Assen with Spinelli and not with Petrucci. Did you gnaw?
No, no (laughs). I am very happy for the team, for Marco Barnabò – the owner of the team – and for Nicholas, the young driver who won. It felt like the plot of a movie. I almost killed myself, the team took a young man who had never ridden that bike to replace me in that race and he won the race. However, I don’t think I would have put the intermediates and therefore I wouldn’t have been able to win. What Nicholas did was something special and took a big weight off my shoulders, now the Barni Spark team has won their first Grand Prix.
Who was your idol as a child?
Loris Capirossi. My dad was Loris’s driver and I was a fan of him. Capirossi started racing for a team from Terni, the Pileri team. My dream was to become like Loris. I have always wanted to race in the world championship to be like him. Then, of course, there was Valentino. They are the two drivers I admired the most. One of the first photos I have – I was one year old – is with Loris, Gresini and Ueda, who are holding me in their arms.
Danilo Petrucci after his triumph at Mugello in 2019 in MotoGP.
We are in the days of Mugello, is that victory against Dovizioso and Marquez the highest point of your career?
After the finish line I no longer understood anything, I was invaded by a thousand people, emotions, looks. It was a beautiful, tough race, a great duel. Mugello is Mugello, but personally I think the high point was the victory at Le Mans. It was the year of Covid and so it was a beautiful moment for me and my family. After the victory I went home and celebrated with friends and family. I wanted that victory precisely to demonstrate that Mugello wasn’t just a one-day exploit, I enjoyed it as a victory.
Who is the first person you call after a victory or after an accident?
Mom. Always. But then also dad and my brother. They are the three people who have supported me since I was little and have made a lot of sacrifices to help me have this career. My dad took me to the races in the van and slept on the floor to let me rest and concentrate for the race the next day. These are things you don’t forget.
Does this still excites you?
Yes, certainly. Remembering this gives me so much strength because when you grow up and there are complicated or tiring moments, then I think of my dad who slept on the floor in the van or stayed all nights to take me to the circuits. I will always be grateful to them for what they did for me.
