Danilo Petrucci was left furious with Andrea Iannone for triggering a multi-rider crash at the start of Race 1 at Balaton Park’s first WorldSBK race.

Petrucci was one of the seven riders to go down, but had to start at the back on the race restart while suffering with pain in his shoulder.

Although the Italian delivered an impressive performance to finish fifth at the inaugural WorldSBK meeting at Balaton Park, he noted that Iker Lecuona and Remy Gardner sustained injuries in the crash. Iannone himself and Garrett Gerloff later withdrew after Saturday’s action.

Petrucci suggested that Iannone’s two long-lap penalty punishment wasn’t enough and stated that it was “unacceptable” that he was allowed to restart.

“In Turn 2, Iannone hit me in the middle,” he stated to GPOne.

“For me, it is unacceptable that they let him restart after he took out six, sending two to the hospital.

“I have some pain in my shoulder and I hope it will be resolved by tomorrow. It looks like he was playing a video game, but this is not a game.

“I’m really pissed off because I lost a lot of points, although my team did a great job to get me going again and they were amazing. I could have been on the podium, but that’s okay.”

The Barni Spark Racing rider stated that there was no communication between himself and Iannone after the accident.

“No, he better stay away from me! I don’t want to talk to him, also because I have nothing to say to him and I don’t even want his apology,” he declared.

“At the end of the day, we know him, since then he comes to reporters and says things like, ‘I closed the line.’

“The fact that they gave him a double long lap penalty says it all and I think there is nothing more to add. I still don’t understand a manoeuvre like that.”

Petrucci later finished tenth in the Superpole Race, before ending the weekend in fourth place to keep himself third in the championship.

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WorldSBK rookie Yari Montella has renewed with the Barni Spark Racing Team for the 2026 season.

Barni Spark Racing promoted the Italian to the WorldSBK paddock after finishing third in the 2024 World Supersport championship.

Montella has recorded seven top ten finishes riding the Panigale in the first half of the 2025 campaign, placing him 16th overall in the championship charts.

“I want to thank Barni for this opportunity,” Montella shared to WorldSBK on his 2026 renewal.

“It is the continuation of a project we both believe in, and I’m happy we are on the same wavelength.

“I also wanted to confirm my commitment to carry forward this path we started in 2023 in WorldSSP. The idea of doing another year together in WorldSBK is something we’ve all earned.

“This year, in races, we’ve shown we can be competitive. There’s still a lot of work to do, but knowing I have a team that supports me, pushes me and believes in me is fundamental.

“I’m really very happy. Now the goal is to finish this second half of the Championship in the best possible way.”

Barni Spark Racing team principal Marco Barnabo stated that it was important to keep two riders in WorldSBK as the squad will receive the all-new Panigale V4R for the 2026 season.

“We are happy to continue the project started with Yari three seasons ago,” he stated in Barni’s official press release.

“We have believed in him since 2023 in WorldSSP and today, in his first WorldSBK season, he is showing all his potential. The results speak for themselves.

“There is plenty of room for growth and continuity is the key to further progress. Our goal remains to eld two bikes in the WorldSBK.

“With the arrival of the new Ducati Panigale, everything will change. It’s a challenging task, but we’re already working on it.

“We strongly believe in this project, which requires a great deal of resources and energy.”

READ MORE – Sam Lowes extends deal with Marc VDS in WorldSBK through 2027 season

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Danilo Petrucci has revealed that a possible 2026 switch to the WorldSBK factory Ducati team isn’t at the forefront of his mind.

The Barni Spark Racing rider is the leading independent rider after the first four rounds of the 2025 WorldSBK championship.

In 2025, he secured two rostrum finishes and is the only satellite rider with over 100 points. With current factory riders Nicolo Bulega and Alvaro Bautista yet to sign a contract extension, Petrucci could be an ideal candidate to take one of the factory seats.

However, when speaking to the media including Motorsport Week at Cremona, Petrucci made it clear what his main focus was for the rest of the season.

“I really, really find myself really good in the team, not only with the crew,” Petrucci stated.

“Marco [Barnabo] is a really a good friend. It’s a guy who really spend all this life to arrive here, to win. We have been able to win together. We are doing a really big job.

“For sure, it will be a dream, like I did in MotoGP, to jump on a factory seat. But at the moment, since it’s not a priority, because I know that my bike is really good, but, yeah, it’s not me that I’m doing the rider market.”

Despite acknowledging that he previously was the best of the rest behind the leading trio of Toprak Razgatlioglu, Bulega, and Bautista, Petrucci remains focused on achieving the primary goal he set at the start of the season.

“But for sure, looking at last year, looking at this year, after the top three, it’s me, so we are there. 

“So yeah, would be a dream to jump on a factory sheet, but at the moment, I’m really focusing to make strong strong races and the score points because we are so close from the third in the championship.”

Danilo Petrucci priortises WorldSBK success over financial gain

The Terni-born rider admitted that he already has one of the best packages on the grid, but stated that achieving results on the racetrack matters more to him than earning the big bucks with a particular team.

“So I always chose to be on the fastest bike I can have. So, yeah, it’s not a matter of money,” he said.

“It’s a matter that I want when you are a child, you want to win the World Championship.

“If you want to become rich, you go to work to make some other things, but what I’m doing here is trying to be as fast as possible.

“So for sure I know that my bike is one of the best of the grid. So I can’t complain.”

READ MORE – Danilo Petrucci calls for change to the WorldSBK Superpole qualifying format

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Danilo Petrucci vocalised a potential change to the WorldSBK Superpole qualifying format after he was impeded by Andrea Locatelli in Cremona.

The Italian gave a rundown of events in the 15-minute session that resulted in him starting from 13th on the grid for Race 1.

The Barni Spark Racing rider didn’t blame his fellow countryman for ruining his lap, but rather criticised the format that limits riders to only a couple of hot laps in case of accidents on track.

“It’s a shame that we have at the end four laps in qualifying, because we have two laps with a tyre and other two laps with a tyre and mainly I did one lap, because of the yellow flag,” Petrucci stated after Race 2 to media, including Motorsport Week.

“Then I had this problem with Locatelli, but it was not even his fault, because they just removed the yellow flag when you go through.

“And I went by, I got no yellow flag, but he was in front and he got yellow flag. So it was not even his fault.

“But yeah, for sure, it was in the middle of the track, but I was pushing and at the end my lap time was wasted by a rule.”

Danilo Petrucci suggests using MotoGP’s qualifying format

Although he couldn’t provide a concrete alternative, Petrucci did suggest using MotoGP’s two-stage format to restrict riders on the track and make practice more meaningful.

The top ten riders from MotoGP from the second practice session qualify straight to the second phase, in addition to the top two from the first stage.

“We talk a lot on Friday yesterday and we decided to talk to change the format because it’s a matter of, you know, you waste all the weekend, the work of everyone for a mistake of someone else,” he said.

“I don’t know [about a new format], but for sure it’s a matter of meritocracy because at the end we do FP1, FP2, FP3, and it counts [for] nothing. Also for the [fans] people looking, I think follow the MotoGP format to split the riders.

“I mean, we want to talk to the Safety Commission about this rule, because, yeah, maybe for the show, it’s good, because maybe one rider starts back and start to recover, but for the people working, for the factory, for everyone, it’s not a good point. 

“I mean, if you are unlucky, you can’t start, so back in the grid for a mistake of another rider, because you crash. Why you have to start back because the rider in front of me has crashed, and they can do the lap?

“For a safety reason, for sure, the marshal are working on the bike, and it’s a disaster. If you crash the bike hits the marshall, but maybe with less rider on track, we have less opportunities to find someone crashing.

“But, yeah, I could start better, but for sure, I think even if I start in the second row in all the races, I haven’t the pace for stay on the podium.”

The post Danilo Petrucci calls for change to the WorldSBK Superpole qualifying format appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Danilo Petrucci has identified what he considers to be a “dream” finish in the 2025 WorldSBK championship.

The Italian rider returns to his home race in Cremona, where he claimed his maiden WorldSBK win and went on to become only the fourth rider in history to complete a weekend treble.

Petrucci is currently the lead independent rider in the series in fifth position, 26 points behind third-place rider Pata Maxus Yamaha rider Andrea Locatelli.

He admitted that this time last year, he had no goals in mind, but this year, he has big ambitions for where he would like to end the season.

“My 2025 season started well. We’re on a good path,” Petrucci stated to WorldSBK.

“Last year, was a crazy year with the accident and then I was able to improve. We didn’t have any expectations.

“This year, we want to stay in the top five. I have a dream to finish in the top three but it’s really difficult.

“I’d like to win some more races this year and become one of the best riders here in World Superbike.”

Danilo Petrucci: Competition standards in 2025 is ‘higher’ than in 2024

The Barni Spark Racing rider noted that the competition is significantly tougher this season compared to 2024.

The 34-year-old praised the rest of the field, stating that a dozen riders are in contention for a possible podium finish.

“The level of this year’s Championship is higher than last year,” Petrucci began.

“We have many more competitive bikes and competitive riders and there are, I think, 10 or 12 riders who can stand on the podium during the season.

“This is a good thing for the spectators because every race, you’ll never know who will be on the podium.

“For us, racing there, it’s not really nice sometimes! You sometimes find yourself P2, sometimes P8, sometimes P5, even when you feel that you’re fast.

“The other competitors are faster and faster. To watch, it’s nice, but when you’re in the fight and you always have some riders around you, it’s not easy.

“In the end, this is WorldSBK, it’s nice for the battles and stories.”

READ MORE – Jonathan Rea fit to race following Cremona WorldSBK FP1 check-up

The post Danilo Petrucci outlines 2025 WorldSBK championship ‘dream’ finish appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Barni Spark Racing rider Danilo Petrucci has set his sights on a podium finish at the upcoming Assen WorldSBK round, though he anticipates stiff competition.

The Italian rider returns to the Cathedral of Speed for the first time since his debut year in 2023, after missing the 2024 edition due to a life-threatening Motocross accident.

Petrucci’s 2025 campaign thus far has seen him accumulate consistent top-six finishes in Phillip Island and Portimao, including a podium appearance at the former.

His consistency places him third in the championship, behind Toprak Razgatlioglu and championship leader Nicolo Bulega.

Previewing the upcoming weekend to WorldSBK in Assen, Petrucci admitted: “I’m happy to be so in front in the standings, and yes I’d like to finish the championship in this place but it’ll be very tough.

“We are third in the championship with just one podium in the Superpole race. In Portimao, I lost at the end two podiums, one in Race 1 and one in the Superpole race.”

The Italian explained he feels comfortable aboard the Panigale V4 R, but he has yet to discover what Razgatlioglu and Bulega have found to give them their competitive edge over the field.

“It’s really difficult to be always so competitive. At the moment Toprak [Razgatlioglu] and Nicolo [Bulega] have got something more and are doing something more compared to the rest.

“But then the third position is always changing, it’s always a big fight between at least 5 or 6 riders.

“We have to simply look to improve our performance but it’s really difficult to improve the performance when you look into the details because it’s really difficult to understand the area where to improve.

“It’s difficult, we are so close but we want to be like the top two guys.”

Danilo Petrucci unsure of effect on fuel flow rule changes

It was announced earlier on Thursday that the fuel flow limits were adjusted for both BMW and Ducati ahead of the race weekend.

The Step 1 Fuel Flow reduction sees a decrease of 0.5kg/h, meaning Petrucci is amongst the current Ducati crop to be affected by this change.

“I don’t know [the effects] since this is the first step of this changing. Let’s see, for sure at the moment in the first two rounds BMW and the Ducati have the fastest bike,” Petrucci stated.

“I think this is a good point, we have to see because Superbike is really good, we have many different manufacturers that compete in the top five.

“I hope this rules doesn’t affect so much the classification, but yeah we’ll see. I feel good and I feel competitive, we hope to be fast and to have a fast bike during the weekend.”

READ MORE – Fuel flow limits adjusted for BMW and Ducati at Assen WorldSBK round

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