By realizing the best warm up time and obtaining the victory in each of the two races, Danilo Petrucci did not miss his debut in the championship MotoAmerica Superbike, the first round of which took place in Austin alongside the MotoGP Grand Prix. However, we should not believe that the entire season will necessarily be of the same ilk…
Certainly, there is no doubt that the ex-MotoGP rider has left his mark, especially since his popularity has really exploded since his exploits at the Dakar: MotoGP, Dakar and now MotoAmerica… “more eclectic, you die” say his fans; And they are right.
The friendly Italian, still half convalescent, arrived in Texas in a semi-unknown land because on the one hand he knew neither his machine, nor the Dunlop tires which equip the entire field, nor the specificities of the American championship, such as work carried out in a tent and not in a box. On the other hand, he did not have the disadvantage of discovering the Circuit of the Americas, having ridden there numerous times in MotoGP.
This acclimatization therefore took place smoothly and the Ducati rider was able to make the most of it, only missing the Hat Trick (pole, lap record and victory) because of a fall in qualifying while he was going without doubt achieving pole…
However, everything will perhaps not always be so... let's say, clear, not to say easy, since certain American circuits in the championships are rather difficult to understand, and, above all, the boss of the category was almost absent this weekend. We are obviously talking about Jake Gagne, also with an atypical background.
At 28, the Californian has already moved to the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup (2009 and 2010) and the FIM CEV Moto2 championship before climbing the ranks of MotoAmerica to dominate the Superbike category by winning 17 of the 20 races in 2020, after having however competed in World Superbike with Ten Kate in 2018 and a few replacements in the Moto2 world championship.
However, the man saw his weekend ruined by mechanics, which forced him not to participate in qualification #2, nor to the first race ! As for the second, he had to do it with his less efficient reserve motorcycle.
We can therefore sincerely congratulate Danilo Petrucci for his sensational entry into the American championship, but also suppose that Jake Gagne is very very looking forward to being in Atlanta in two weeks…
Danilo Petrucci: « I definitely have to be happy about this weekend. I didn't know what my level would be. The only thing I knew was this track. Fortunately, our bike is really good at braking and top speed. I can use this speed in the corner. I have to brake hard and lift the bike on the straight. I have to thank my whole team because we had few opportunities to ride and gain experience. The bike is better now. It was really great to fight with Mat (Scholtz). As I told you yesterday, we're going to Atlanta, which is a whole new approach for me. »
Jake Gagne: « I take my hat off to the team. It wasn't an easy weekend for them. After the warm up, we did a few scouting laps. The bike was working well, but I knew the race would be difficult. I tried to do what I could to make it happen. I'm happy to be on the podium. It was just a tough weekend. It's good to have taken some points because these guys will work. The ball has to keep rolling. I took my pace and rode as best I could. I saw these guys coming and going. I said to myself, “Come on, let’s continue to bully them, let’s make it interesting.” During one lap I saw that Danilo (Petrucci) was starting to escape because he had the pace. Mat (Scholtz) was trying. Mat had some nice heat. It was good to start again this weekend. We just have to keep fighting. »
