Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) and Andrea Iannone (Team Pata GoEleven) will once again go head-to-head in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, aiming to fight for race wins but also take the fight to the factory Ducatis of Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) and teammate Alvaro Bautista. That means they’ll be hoping to fight for Independent Riders’ honours – as the two lead riders in that fight last year – but also potentially be in the mix at the front for overall honours.

PETRUCCI’S 2024: a superhuman comeback, a legendary hat-trick

Petrucci claimed 10 rostrum finishes in 2024, his second season in WorldSBK, with the undoubted highlight his emotional hat-trick on home soil at Cremona. He became the first Independent rider to take a hat-trick and joined only Jonathan Rea (Pata Maxus Yamaha), Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) and Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) in winning three races in a weekend. However, it wasn’t all plain sailing. A life-threatening crash in training ahead of the Dutch Round left the #9 in hospital and needing surgery and, while Nicholas Spinelli gave the team something to smile about at Assen with a shock Race 1 win, all eyes were on Petrucci’s comeback at Misano. On home soil, ‘Petrux’ finished in an incredible sixth place in Race 2 to cap off what had been a heroic weekend. 2024 was remarkable for Petrucci in so many ways and he won the Independent Riders’ title for his efforts, something he’ll aim to defend in 2025.

LOOKING TO 2025: “It’s great to share the track with so many competitive riders!”

Previewing the 2025 season, Petrucci said at the recent Jerez test: “I think we have all the good things to have a great season. Fighting for the World Championship is a huge thing. In the end, we have a great team. Last season, we had a good season despite my injury. I was able to recover, to score a lot of points and fight for the top five in the Championship. Already, improving this result would be a good thing. Then, it’ll be as tough as always as there are more contenders and they’re faster. I hope to start well and to not have a big injury like last year! I think this could be the closest season ever. Last year, I don’t know how many riders stood on the podium. I think 10 or 12 riders can get on the podium this year so the difference between a good race and a bad race is just a matter of tenths. It’s great to share the track with so many competitive riders.”

A ROOKIE RACE WINNER: what will Iannone achieve in 2025?

Iannone entered WorldSBK last season after being away from competition for four years, but ‘The Maniac’ wasted no time in getting back up to speed. A podium in the first round in Australia was followed by another in Barcelona a few weeks later and, while his season was understandably marked with some inconsistency, he ended it with a win. A tyre management masterclass at MotorLand Aragon gave him his first, and only, win of the season while he had five rostrums in total. With a year of experience under his belt, the #29 will be aiming to take more wins in 2025 and close the gap to Petrucci in the fight for the Independent Riders’ titles.

PREVIEWING THE SEASON: “I will prefer ’25 than ’24 at the beginning because with experience, everything is much better”

Outlining how a year of experience will help in 2025, Iannone said at Jerez: “Last year, everything was a surprise. After a long time, I didn’t know what to expect during the season and the format in WorldSBK is completely different. I didn’t know about the bike, the tyres or the team. Now, the situation is clearer. I think it’s important that we focus, and we try to improve every day, step by step by being calm and without pressure. This is important. I think I will prefer ’25 than ’24 at the beginning because with experience, everything is much better. Last year, we did some things good but also some things less, for example at tracks I’d never ridden. Magny-Cours was the worst. In any case, we have one year of experience, and this is important. Everything is possible to be made better. It’s always difficult.”

THE INDEPENDENT RIDERS’ FIGHT: expect it to be closer than ever…

While the gap between Petrucci and Iannone in 2024 was 76 points with ‘Petrux’ coming out on top, they were often closely-matched on track as they battled for Top Independent Riders’ honours. Expect this theme to continue in 2025 too as the pair look to fight for more podiums and wins. But, of course, it could be an even more complicated battle this season with Scott Redding (MGM BONOVO Racing) back on a Ducati, Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) with more experience under his belt, Tito Rabat (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) and teammate Bahattin Sofuoglu lining up on Yamaha R1 machines, Tarran Mackenzie (PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda) entering his second year and two more rookies in Zaqhwan Zaidi (PETRONAS MIE Honda Racing Team) and Ryan Vickers (Motocorsa Racing) on the grid.

CAN IT GET ANY CLOSER? Discover who will come out on top in the Independent Riders’ battle using the WorldSBK VideoPass!