Three Wins For Versatile Petrucci
C
remona is a new venue for
WorldSBK, quite short and
full of tight corners, with almost
all turns arriving in frequent,
staccato fashion for the riders.
The musical theme is fitting
because Cremona was the
home and workplace of Antonio
Stradivari, the father of the violin.
A violin was played on the start
line before the first race began.
After a damp first day, Su
-
perpole qualifying began on
Saturday, September 21, without
championship leader Toprak
Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Mo
-
torrad WorldSBK Team) on the
grid. He is still recovering from
a pneumothorax issue following
his severe crash in France.
Without Razgatlioglu, Super-
pole was secured by his pri-
mary championship rival Nicolo
Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Duca-
ti), with Andrea Iannone (Team
GoEleven Ducati) and the un-
stoppable Danilo Petrucci (Barni
Spark Racing Ducati) in third. An
altercation on track with Remy
Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha),
including hand gestures, got Pe-
trucci demoted three grid spots.
Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing
Team) took the final starting
spot on the front row in race one
as a result.
The first race would not go
to full distance when there was
what was officially described
as a technical issue affecting
safety. It was later revealed as
an electrical power trip that went
off and prevented some impor
-
tant trackside communications
from taking place, if only tempo-
rarily.
The upshot was that the race
went only 16 laps before a red
flag was thrown—to everyone's
surprise. To the delight of the
partisan crowd in the many new
grandstands, an Italian rider
won it, but it was not Bulega.
His fading front tire and the
WIND
IN THE
P44
Danilo Petrucci
was unbeatable in
the Cremona round
of the WorldSBK
Championship.
PHOTOS: GOLD & GOOSE
