Danilo Petrucci wrapped up the WorldSBK ‘Best Independent Rider’ title at Estoril thanks to two fifth-place finishes.
Petrucci’s rollercoaster of a 2024 season suggests the Italian never expected to be in this position after experiencing major injuries from a motocross accident earlier in the year.
His battles with injuries were life-threatening, with fractures to his right jaw and right collarbone, which led to him missing the Dutch round at Assen and needing multiple surgeries.
“I must say that the accident I had made me understand the value of life and what matters,” Petrucci told WorldSBK.com.
“From the accident I had during the training in April, from that moment on we had always good fights in the top five, and in August and September we were really good.
“Now I have no pressure, I still have a good fight with Alex Lowes for fourth place in the championship but for sure the weekend was something unexpected.”
The 33-year-old now holds a six-point advantage over Alex Lowes in their battle for fourth place in the championship. However, Petrucci admitted that being in this position and securing the Independent title had once seemed like a pipe dream.
“I’m really happy, exhausted,” Petrucci said. “Who would have predicted this many podiums and wins, fourth place in the championship, especially having missed one-and-a-half rounds?
“In fact, this has been our worst weekend, because I crashed yesterday, fifth this morning and this afternoon.
“We have faced a lot of difficulties with traction and so on, we are still to understand why, because in testing here it was a good test and we were quite confident.
“In the end we managed to enjoy and hope to have a good final round in Jerez.”
Danilo Petrucci makes WorldSBK history (again)
Earlier this season, Petrucci secured a hat trick of wins at his home race at the inaugural Cremona round.
His three wins that weekend meant he became only the fourth rider to win all three races on one weekend since the introduction of the three-race format.
The Italian rider joined Jonathan Rea, Alvaro Bautista, and Toprak Razgatlioglu but is the sole rider able to complete this feat with an independent racing team.
Petrucci’s success means he is the only rider to win races in MotoGP, WorldSBK, and MotoAmerica and has a stage win at the Dakar Rally to his name.
Barni Spark Racing and Petrucci’s affiliation continues into 2025, with both parties wanting to challenge the factory Ducati’s and BMW rider Toprak Razgatlioglu.
