Italian rider Danilo Petrucci has plenty of goals left to achieve in the U.S. and with MotoAmerica
People will claim others need to pursue their passions no matter the cost.
Danilo Petrucci took that saying literally.
In Petrucci’s case, the cost was not being paid to race motorcycles at the top level in the world.
It was 2014. Petrucci had little success in his first three years in MotoGP.
“I had a good feeling but when I was riding in MotoGP, I was fighting to not finish last and I was terrible at the beginning,” Petrucci said. “Day by day I tried and tried and at the end, we managed to survive.”
After his survival, Petrucci wanted to move up to a more competitive bike in MotoGP. He had discussions with long-time Pramac Racing boss Francesco Guidotti. Meanwhile, a fast young Frenchman named Johan Zarco caught Pramac’s eye.
With Pramac unsure about who to sign, Petrucci looked at other options in World Superbike and had a contract ready to go on a Friday when things suddenly changed for the best.
“I just had to sign the contract,” Petrucci said. “(World Superbike) gave me this on Friday and I had to get the contract back to them on Monday.
"But on that same night, Francesco Guidotti called me and said ‘we don’t have the budget for you but we want to go racing with you next year (but) we have no salary for you.' "
No salary. No problem for Petrucci as it was another step closer to realizing his lifelong dream.
“I decided in that weekend to go racing in MotoGP and it was the best thing I’ve ever done,” Petrucci said.
Born and raised in Terni, Italy, Petrucci had a love of bikes from an early age because of his father.
“My father was really passionate about motorbikes,” Petrucci said. “He owns both on-road and off-road bikes. He was working in MotoGP in 1991 when I was born. From that time, he used to work in MotoGP until 2016 as a truck driver. He was really passionate.”
It was because of Petrucci’s father that the young Italian was able to meet and be around another well-known Italian MotoGP rider: Loris Capirossi.
Petrucci thanks his father for his sponsors growing up as his father knew the business.
The Terni native won multiple Italian championships growing up, with the biggest win occurring in 2011 when he won the National Superstock Championship in his native country. He also earned a second-place finish in the Superstock 1000 Cup before his move upward to MotoGP.
The transition was not smooth.
“It was terrible,” Petrucci said. “I was a rookie. I was coming from World Superstock. We had been racing in the Superbike Championship. I just knew the superbike tracks. I’d never been in the MotoGP circuit. For me, 80% of the tracks were new."
Petrucci distinctly remembers being 40 kph (nearly 25 mph) slower than Dani Pedrosa in the speed traps at Qatar in his first race in MotoGP.
“The bike was produced by my team,” Petrucci said. “It was really like a production bike. It was a production engine with cast-on chassis.”
After changing to Pramac in 2015, Petrucci started to see results. The most notable result was in Silverstone in the United Kingdom, where Petrucci scored his first podium in the premier class with a second-place finish in the wet.
“In the morning, I was feeling really good,” Petrucci said. “That day was a day to remember because I was fighting for the first time with the big boys of the class with (Andrea) Dovizioso, (Dani) Pedrosa, (Jorge) Lorenzo and all the riders. I almost caught Valentino (Rossi) but the race finished.”
Petrucci’s wet weather excellence is something that has carried with him throughout his career.
“When I joined MotoGP it was the only moment I could stay in front,” Petrucci said. “In the beginning, I was riding a slow bike. It was easier to ride in the wet. I gained a lot of confidence and good feeling.
"My weight has always been a problem when the races are dry and hot. I use a lot of rear tire on the edge off the corner which was a problem. When it was wet, it was a positive for me.”
The confidence Petrucci gained from his Silverstone podium showed. He raced in the midfield throughout the few years at Pramac. He finished his last two seasons with Pramac eighth in the championship.
“It was great to race with Pramac and this allowed me to go into the factory team in 2019 and 2020,” Petrucci said.
In his first season with the factory Ducati team, Petrucci realized he had gone from the lowest level to the top, riding the fastest bike in the world.
Petrucci put it all together in 2019 when he achieved a momentous feat for an Italian rider. He won an Italian Grand Prix in Mugello on an Italian bike as an Italian rider on Italian Independence Day. It can’t get much better than that.
“I still don’t understand what I did,” Petrucci said. “I remember the highlights of the race. But once I crossed the finish line my life went through my eyes. On the podium, when I saw the thousands of people, it’s really difficult to describe the emotion.”
After 2019, Petrucci struggled with the 2020 Ducati bike. His weight caused him to use a lot of rear tire and he couldn’t brake like he wanted to. He finished 12th in the standings.
In 2021, Petrucci switched teams and moved to KTM. The lack of speed meant Danilo stopped having fun racing in MotoGP, prompting him to eventually move away from MotoGP.
A bright spot in the 2021 season for Petrucci was being able to be around Italian motorcycle legend Valentino Rossi in his last season.
Petrucci remembered all the battles for wins and for a few points during the end of both Italians’ time in MotoGP.
“I’m so lucky to have seen his career so up close,” Petrucci said of Rossi. “Valentino is something that happens once in a hundred years. He’s such an icon in sport in general.”
Petrucci trails one of his idols, Valentino Rossi, last year in the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. Photo: USA Today Sports / Jamie Harms
After MotoGP, Petrucci shifted his focus to another one of his goals: The Dakar Rally.
The endurance race through the desert is one of the most challenging races in the world, covering several thousand miles over two weeks.
Racers have to navigate themselves through the desert from stage to stage. Historically, it was held in Africa but has been moved around and has settled in Saudi Arabia recently.
Petrucci trained last October for the Dakar but suffered a broken leg while practicing and working out for the grueling event in the dunes of Dubai.
Petrucci suffered a broken leg while training for the Dakar Rally in Dubai, but he didn't let the injury stop him from at least trying to compete. Photo courtesy Danilo Petrucci's official Facebook page.
The broken leg didn’t stop him from trying to compete. What did stop him was COVID-19. He tested positive after doing a practice loop in the desert.
Unfortunately, Petrucci’s dream had turned into a nightmare. He felt like someone was trying to tell him not to race at this point.
After being cleared to continue, Petrucci’s bike broke while he was riding a stage. It was at this moment he realized all his belongings were gone. His passport, phone and some money were in the sand as a pocket in his jacket was left open.
Without a passport, Petrucci couldn’t go home. Because of this, he had to hang around.
“I had to try to enjoy the Dakar and see what’s going on,” Petrucci said. “In the end, that was the best decision I ever made because after a pair of days, I had scored a podium and then a stage victory. It was a moment I will never forget because I became the first rider to win a MotoGP race and a Dakar stage.”
Before his experience in Dakar was finished, Petrucci didn’t want the pressure and training for another MotoGP or World Superbike season.
While competing in the MotoGP race late last season at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, Petrucci was prodded by fellow Italian Eraldo Ferracci to start racing regularly in the U.S. Petrucci says Ferracci is an idol for anyone in Italy interested in bikes.
The push from Ferracci, along with some support from the Ducati factory, led Petrucci to start racing in MotoAmerica this season.
The new tracks with different tarmac and more bumps led to some struggles for Petrucci. But those struggles did not get in the way of his race-winning capabilities. Petrucci won the first three MotoAmerica races of this year and is currently second in the championship.
With these wins came some high praise from the Italian about a track in his new series. Petrucci says Road America in Central Wisconsin is the best track in America and loves the natural flow of the circuit.
What Petrucci hasn’t loved has caused some controversy in this MotoAmerica season.
Petrucci had a massive crash at Virginia International Raceway on May 22 on the final lap after trying to pass Mathew Scholtz for second place. This crash was at 280 kph (nearly 175 mph). Petrucci claims he wasn’t helped by anyone and had to start walking to the paddock, while experiencing a burning pain in his leg, before he was helped to the medical center.
“I don’t know why no one was coming to pick me up,” Petrucci said. “Then we had a lot of talks with the MotoAmerica organizers and unfortunately they did not put any marshals at that point because that was a strange point to crash. Anyway, fortunately, the injuries weren't that bad. It could have been worse, but I’ll survive.”
MotoAmerica came out with a statement after the race claiming its officials witnessed the crash and reacted immediately.
“I got angry about it because they didn’t see me crash and then on the statement they put out at the time I was laying down,” Petrucci said. “So what is the truth, did you see me or no?”
Petrucci has cooled off since the accident.
“I was so sad this happened to me,” Petrucci said. “But then we talked a lot with Wayne (MotoAmerica president Wayne Rainey) and ... all the MotoAmerica organizers. They listened a lot to me and they want to improve the championship. I’m here trying to help. I want to see more people joining the championship and watching the races because they are really good.”
Petrucci is still unsure about his future after this season. Rumors have been circulating for weeks that he might take a Ducati ride in World Superbike. However, Petrucci wants to focus on this season and then needs some rest.
Once his racing career is over in a few years, Petrucci -- who turns 32 in October -- doesn’t know exactly what he’ll do for a living, but he knows where he’d like to be: Terni, back in Italy.
“I’m a country boy so I’d like to stay in the middle of the country, work in the field,” Petrucci said. “I’m not the one who likes to be the center of attention.”
For now, Petrucci will have to continue to try and be at the center of the podium for a little while longer.