Danilo Petrucci’s new life has officially begun. After doing surprisingly well during the latest challenging edition of the Dakar, the Italian has decided to take on a new challenge, in the shape of Motoamerica. He also finds himself back in Ducati's orbit, riding for team Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC. A new life that officially began today at Portimão, with an initial test aboard the Ducati Panigale V4 in its Motoamerica configuration.

New experience, new tyres

A configuration that is not too different to that used by Alvaro Bautista and Michael Rinaldi in Superbike, expect for two particular aspects. The first relates to the gearbox, which must be the production version, while the second is the tyres. Bikes in the Motoamerica series use Dunlop tyres, very different to the Superbike Pirellis or MotoGP Michelins.

So there’s a lot for Petrucci to absorb and understand as quickly as possible if he wants to do well in a championship that has proved challenging for ‘new-entries’ in the past. In 2021, it was Loris Baz who tried his luck in the States, the Frenchman ultimately rounding out the season in fourth place with nine podiums but no outright wins.

Translated by Heather Watson

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