Danilo Petrucci claimed a historic victory in Saturday’s first World Superbike race at Cremona, marking a significant milestone not only for the rider but also for the circuit’s debut in the championship.
Nicolò Bulega (Aruba.it Ducati) started from pole position and led the early laps, with Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven/Ducati) in second and Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team/Ducati) in third.
Iannone took the lead on lap three, but Petrucci quickly moved to second and overtook Iannone on lap five. From that point on, the former MotoGP rider held the lead, extending his advantage in the final laps.
Later on, Bulega regained second on lap nine after Iannone crashed, but couldn’t challenge Petrucci, who won by 2.225s. Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati) fought back to claim third, overtaking Iker Lecuona on the penultimate lap. Lecuona, from Team HRC, achieved his season’s best result in fourth, ahead of teammate Xavi Vierge.
With Toprak Razgatlioglu sidelined due to injury, Michael van der Mark was BMW’s top finisher in seventh.
Results:
Race 1 final results🏁@Petrux9 is your winner!#ItalianWorldSBK 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/zBbwC29sI5
— WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) September 21, 2024
