WorldSBK's Spinelli Subs For an Injured Petrucci At Assen Track

Petrux continues to give us updates on his recovery.

By: Enrico Punsalang

Apr 23, 2024 at 8:07am ET

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Italian motorcycle racer Danilo Petrucci had a very strong start in the 2024 round of the WorldSBK currently sitting in ninth place overall. But in case you missed it, Petrux had a pretty gnarly accident while training on his motocross bike. He says that his accident was one of the scariest falls of his life.

Petrux explained that he lost control of his bike leading up to a jump, causing it to accelerate and jump much higher and further than expected. Upon landing, he was met with some pretty severe consequences.

He ended up breaking a few teeth, as well as his jaw in two places. He also fractured his clavicle and shoulder, and received a bunch of cuts and bruises in other places—definitely not a good time.

On his official Instagram account, Petrux has been giving his fans and followers updates about his condition. When he was at the hospital, he even had to go as far as to eat out of a syringe due to the injuries to his teeth and jaw. However, good news is that he’s out of the hospital and up and about on two feet. So it certainly looks like he’s in for a speedy recovery. Should all things go according to plan, Petrux hopes to be back on the saddle for the Emilia Romagna round scheduled for June 14 to 16, 2024.

In the meantime, fellow Italian racer known for his exploits in the MotoE electric racing series, Nicholas Spinelli, took Petrucci’s place in the WSBK grid during the Dutch round held over the weekend.

Nicholas Spinelli took Petrux's place in the WSBK Dutch round.

With 20 races under his belt, Spinelli has had seven top 10 finishes and one podium. Furthermore, Spinelli is well acquainted with the Barni Spark Racing team, having won the CIV championship with them in 2022. Despite not having Superbike-level experience, the Italian put on a respectable performance, finishing Race 2 in 16th place. But even more surprisingly, he managed to win the red-flagged Race 1 outright after being the only rider in the field to choose an intermediate tire compound.

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Toprak Razgatlioglu aboard his BMW M 1000 RR took the win in Race 2, followed by top contender Alvaro Bautista of Ducati just 0.6 seconds behind. Australian racer Remy Gardner took third place for Yamaha.

The next WSBK round is scheduled for June 14 to 16, 2024, at Imola, and Petrucci hopes to be well enough to race by then. Motorcycle racers are among the most resilient athletes out there, so we’re wishing Petrux a smooth and speedy recovery.