Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) showed impressive speed and consistency on Day 1 of the Acerbis Czech Round as the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship headed east from Italy. A mixed-conditions Free Practice 1 limited running for the entire field at the Autodrom Most but Free Practice 2 was completely dry, with Petrucci taking full advantage to claim third place in the standings and finished as the lead Ducati rider.
The #9 complete only five laps in a rain-affected FP1 session which started wet but dried out towards the end of the 45-minute session. Petrucci was 20th in the morning session with a best time of 1’49.656s – it was 16 seconds down on Scott Redding’s (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) best time, with Petrucci’s fastest lap set around 13 minutes into the session. He last returned to his box after 17 minutes, with the Italian not leaving the pits after this moment.
However, in FP2, the two-time MotoGP™ winner was one of the busiest riders as he set 19 laps across three stints. His speed gradually increased with every run. His first stint was a five-lap run – not including our or in laps – with his times in the 1’34s bracket before improving into the 1’33s (his last time in this run was a 1’40.308s). The second was shorter but, again, Petrucci was finding pace with every lap that passed as he went from a 1’34.250s on the opening lap to a 1’33.336s on his last flying lap.
However, the third stint is where Petrucci’s pace and consistency was really on display. He completed six flying laps in this period with five of them in the 1’32s bracket. The slowest representative time was a 1’32.971s – again, the first lap of the run – before he improved to a 1’32.498s and then found more time with a 1’32.471s. Despite the times slowing for the final two representative laps – a 1’32.747s and 1’32.778s – the rookie was able to display incredible consistency in the sole dry session on Friday.
Discussing his Friday, the one-time WorldSBK podium finisher said: “It was a bit of a worry this morning because I had no chance to ride, and the conditions were really tricky. It was raining and then not. In the afternoon, the conditions were quite good. Even if it’s my first day with a Superbike here, and we don’t have any data from last year, I just did a track day here. It’s really different! I need to get used to this track because it’s quite flowing. There’s no rest. I enjoyed today. I always had a good feeling when the asphalt is new. I’m not completely satisfied about the bike, but the lap time isn’t bad.”
He also responded to consistency and outlined his goals. The Ducati rider added: “It’s quite tough because the track is quite small and it’s physically demanding. In the end, I think I’m quite good with tyre management and I can be satisfied. I think I have more potential to explore in a single lap. The tyre allocation is quite different compared to other races. We still need some laps to understand them. I hope a front row is a realistic goal! I need to use all our experience, speed, and potential for that because it’s my weak point at the moment. Realistically, I think the first or second row can be a good target. Then, in the race, hopefully I can fight with the top guys.”
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Source: WorldSBK.com