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A title race has come alive, seven different winners in a season and a brand new venue which brought some of the most passionate fans of the season, the 2024 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship’s inaugural visit to Cremona will be remembered fondly. Everything was laid out for all to see in front of the international media, resulting in some rather speziato headlines and stories.

Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team): “My passion keeps me alive… great to see the stands full of people, everything was almost sold out”

An emotional Danilo Petrucci revealed all about his fight back from injury as well as his joy at seeing a sell-out Sunday crowd: “I was in the hospital with the face all smashed up, the collarbone and the shoulder blade all broken. The doctors said that ‘there were so many people in here that are ill and you crashed on a bike: why are you doing this? You risk your life and there are people fighting for their life’ and I replied “my passion is what keeps me alive. Maybe it will kill me but it is why I wake up everyday” and it is days like this that I forget all of the pain and all the suffering and sacrifice. It was great to see the stands full of people. I was looking for some tickets for my friends on Tuesday to come here this weekend but everything was almost sold out. It’s something that WorldSBK should have more races like this. I’d love to see this crowd more and especially, everyone was cheering for me and it was really nice. All these things don’t have a price; as I said, it’s something that has paid back all of the pain and sacrifice.”

Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati): “It’s not good to race without Toprak”

Having closed right in on the Championship lead, Nicolo Bulega firstly paid tribute to the absent Championship leader Toprak Razgatlioglu: “First of all, I want to say that I’m really sorry that Toprak isn’t here. I’m being serious; when a rider has a serious injury like he has, I’m sad for them. I know the situation because it happened to me in the past. It’s not good to race without Toprak. At the same time, we are rivals and I’m trying to recover a lot of points to get the Championship closer. I didn’t feel any pressure; I just knew I ahd to get the bike to the chequered flag because I don’t like the track a lot. I hope Aragon will be good; last year, I won both races from pole and with a track record in WorldSSP. It’s a track I like and I hope that this year is the same with the Superbike.”

Iker Lecuona (Team HRC): “I could say I’m the last one of the first group”

Three top six finishes for Iker Lecuona and knocking on the door of the podium, Honda’s fortunes have really turned around recently: “The top six we took across the weekend is not far from the first group but it’s fantastic to be there! I could say I’m the last one of the first group at times and it’s so nice. The bike has started to work well and I’ve realised the weak points for us when we’re in the first group with Iannone or Alex. We need to improve some points and I needed to force a lot in braking but we can do it. I can make a gap with the riders behind. We don’t turn naturally with the chassis; we need to turn in a different way which uses more tyre. On the drive area, we lose almost two tenths on the straight and I recover into the braking area. After 18 laps pushing like that, my arms said ‘man, stop!’ so I just finished the race. It’s a very weak point but we’re in the main group. We need to put the focus there.”

Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati): “The only place where I felt it was safe to pass Nicolo was at the end of the straight”

Alvaro Bautista made a crucial move in the context of the Championship with a pass on Bulega in the closing stages, reiterating the importance of doing it cleanly on his own teammate and as well for his own rib injury : “The only place where I felt it was safe to pass Nicolo was at the end of the straight but I was always behind him. On the lap I made the move, I knew I had to exit Turn 10 well to try and get a good place for braking. I managed to do it and at the same time, I kept him on the outside and that was it. I was happy because I was patient to make that move and I’m happy to get two podiums.”

Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW): “When we have a good setup and I feel confident, it’s easier to ride loose – a bit cowboy style.”

Riding loose but fast was the order of the day for Garrett Gerloff, with the American revelling in front of a passionate northern Italian crowd: “After moving up a row in the Superpole Race, it helped a little bit. Everyone’s going so fast in the early laps when they have grip so going forwards isn’t easy. Once everyone lost grip, I felt good and was able to start going forward and it was nice. If I have a good feeling and I can feel like I can predict the bike, then I can ride a bit looser and feel like I know what’s going to happen, which gives me a lot of confidence. The only thing that wasn’t good in the race was when I caught Alex, I lost the rear brake and that wasn’t helping me at all. I was pushing the front, I couldn’t slide the bike like I wanted to which is why I stalled a bit when I caught Alex. I think I could have passed him earlier and had a little bit of a gap. When we have a good setup and I feel confident, it’s easier to ride loose – a bit cowboy style. The atmosphere was unbelievable and it’s so nice to have all the fans here. The paddock was insane and it was so tricky to leave the truck and walk anywhere. I love this place; the track doesn’t have the most grip which makes the racing more technical and exciting but I do really like it there.”

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