Ducati, Axel Bassani swagger on Danilo Petrucci

Superbike rider warns future brand mate Danilo Petrucci: “I have no reverential fears”

Motocorsa Ducati team rider Axel Bassani “welcomes” Danilo Petrucci in an interview with Corsedimoto. The Terni centaur, who will race in Superbike always in Ducati but with the Bardi team, will be in his first year in the series derivatives championship: “I want to stay ahead of Danilo Petrucci but as well as the others. I have no reverential fears towards him, I’ve never raced against him and I have the utmost respect but it’s not that because we have the same manager and we race with the same bike something changes.”

“My goal for next year is to win again among the Independents. I would like to stay in the top five, get on the podium a few more times and maybe try to win a race. There are at least 10 strong riders in the World Championship, and I want to try to beat them. So my goal is not to beat Petrucci but to be in the top three as often as possible.”

The balance of 2022: “It was a great season, the second in WSBK and with the Motocorsa team. In the beginning we made some small mistakes and threw away some points that we paid for in the end. Without some carelessness we could have been further ahead in the standings but the team was new compared to 2021 and that fits. We overachieved among the Independents, I was often in the top five, sometimes I fought with the top three and I am very happy.”