‘It has been a beautiful season’. This is how Danilo Petrucci begins our interview, analysing a year that was beautiful in some ways, but extremely difficult in others. The Cremona hat-trick, but also the bad injury in training and the difficult recovery. Last year he had to change his riding style, and work differently than he did in MotoAmerica, and if in 2023 he had three podiums, this year he has three wins and 10 podiums. 

Interviewing him is always a pleasure because with him you can talk about anything and address any subject. And that's what we did this time too. We tried to understand how he worked to become a top rider also in Superbike and the fact that his first podiums and first victories came on ‘old style’ circuits. Certainly not by chance, but because he is also an old style rider, and as he himself says, the last one to make it to the top without being a great natural talent, and not having started from the Rookies Cup, but from a one-make trophy with 120 riders, which required a budget of 5,000 euros. 

Reducing costs and performance, that's the key to bringing Superbike back to the top, because people don't care how much they ride, they want to see the spectacle. The derivative world championship must not look to MotoGP, but find its own dimension with less sophisticated and less expensive machinery, with which to race on those tracks where Superbike is loved. ‘Racing at Cremona in front of full grandstands was unforgettable. 
Danilo also told us about his opponents, Bulega who he did not expect to be so competitive, Iannone another great talent who has changed things at Ducati GP, and finally Toprak, a natural talent who reminds him of the Marquez of the Honda days. One of those riders who find solutions through their innate abilities. Petrucci also esteems Toprak as a person, because he has always remained humble and respectful of his religion. 

And the future? The dream for 2025 is to fight for the World Superbike title. ‘I would like to have a little more pressure.