Special MotoGP 2012: Danilo Petrucci

Today we kick off our MotoGP 2012 specials, and we’re doing it with one of the rookies for the upcoming season: Danilo Petrucci. The Italian makes his debut in the World Motorcycle Championship and does so in style, in the premier class and with Ioda Racing.

Petrucci was the Superstock Italian National Champion in 2011, and also runner-up in the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup, so he has experience on European circuits. Now, though, he faces a great project, an adventure that excites him and that he is eager to begin, as he lands in the MotoGP World Championship to race alongside the fastest men on the grid, even though 2012 looks like a rather difficult year for his team and for him.

The #9 will be one of the CRT riders, so he will have to work hard to get his machine ready for the start of the season. How these bikes will perform in races is an unknown, but they are the big novelty, and above all the Ioda bike. For now, though, we don’t have many reference points, since they have only taken part in the pre-season test held a few days ago at the Jerez Circuit, where they recorded a lap time of 1:41.6 on the last day of testing, improving day by day.

What is clear is that they have a lot of homework ahead, but both the Italian and Team Ioda Racing are hands-on, working hard to build a good CRT and to launch this project in the best possible way in 2012, hoping to surprise everyone with their improvement at each race. It will be a long road of development and fine-tuning, but with plenty of enthusiasm and excitement from everyone involved.

Petrucci is surely living out a dream in 2012. Racing in MotoGP is not easy, and the Italian champion has achieved it: he reaches the elite, eager to learn at every new circuit, about his bike and about his rivals.

Good luck, #9.

Photo | MotoGP Official website