Superbike, Petrucci doesn't fall for it: “Bautista plays hide and seek”

Petrucci doesn't believe Bautista's difficulties

The Superbike tests at Portimao in Portugal ended with the best time of Toprak Razgatlioglu, who beat Nicolò Bulega, who had been the fastest in Jerez and on the first day in the Algarve, by less than a tenth. According to the Turk, the BMW had the potential to even go below the 1'39” mark with a better set-up.

Danilo Petrucci he is not surprised by the speed of the 2021 world champion with Yamaha: “I expected Toprak to be fast straight away – he explained to the microphones of the official Superbike website – because thanks to the concessions he was able to travel a lot this winter and BMW is putting all its power into play to ensure that the investment in Razgatlioglu immediately bears fruit”. The Munich manufacturer, in fact, also deployed the test team on the track with the two drivers Sylvain Guintoli and Bradley Smith, two decidedly high-level 'handles' with great experience also at the test driver level.

According to Petrucci, Alvaro Bautista is not as much in crisis as the stopwatch might suggest: “I think Bautista is hiding, if you look carefully at the times he is working only and exclusively with a view to the race. In Australia he will still be the rider to beat”. The Terni native also had some kind words for Nicolò Bulega: “I didn't think it would go this fast right away. He had already lapped in Jerez and therefore his competitiveness could be expected, but he confirmed himself in Portimao and therefore his speed is true. I'm happy for him, he's had some difficult years in the past, but now he's showing everyone who the real Bulega is.”