The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship roars back into life for the iconic Pirelli Portuguese Round with an all-new evening schedule. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) had a very successful start to the weekend at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve, topping the timesheets in Free Practice 2. The Italian found a good feeling from the start of the day and admitted that he was “surprised” with how Friday went.

The #9 showed strong pace throughout the day, posting a 1’41.307 in Free Practice 1, finishing the session in fourth – 0.391s adrift from Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) at the top. However, as conditions improved in FP2, so would Petrucci’s lap time, with the Italian soon setting a magnificent 1’40.681 to finish the day P1 in the combined standings. However, it was tight at the top with a mere 0.023s separating Petrucci and Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) in second, with less than one second separating the top 18.

Discussing the Portimao circuit and a strong day, Petrucci said: “I am quite surprised because last year I struggled a bit on this track but in the end, it has always been a track that I like. Since this morning, I have felt quite good on the bike, I was able to push and find a good feeling. We did a few setup changes in the afternoon and we tried the new rear tyre. I felt immediately quite good and I used all the sections of this tyre, it is quite consistent and quite grippy so I like it. I have a good feeling and I didn’t expect to be first, especially because I used the same tyre all the session. I am surprised but at the same time happy and tired as my right arm is still recovering, but I am hoping this result gives me happiness and strength for tomorrow.”

Petrucci completed 17 laps in FP1 and 18 laps in FP2, with the Italian admitting to having made some setup changes for FP2. During the FP2 session, the #9 was consistently lapping within the high 1’40/low 1’41 bracket and is building to be a contender this weekend. However, for the Pirelli Portuguese Round, there is an all-new schedule with Free Practice 2 taking place at 18:00 Local Time (UTC +1) and with Petrucci admitting that this change could suit him.

Speaking about the brand new schedule, the #9 said: “Yeah, I would like to try this schedule for some other races especially because I hate the heat of the sun, I sweat so much and it has always been a problem for me in the hot races, especially because I really don’t like to wake up early in the morning so for me this schedule is perfect.”

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