Danilo Petrucci will not be racing in the upcoming Assen WorldSBK round after suffering training injuries.
Barni Spark Racing’s Danilo Petrucci has been ruled out for the third round of the 2024 WorldSBK Championship after getting injured in an incident during motocross training in Italy.
The former MotoGP racer misjudged a jump during a motocross run breaking both his jaw and collarbone.
Petrucci who is in his second WorldSBK Championship season riding the Barni Spark Racing Ducati, remained conscious throughout the incident and was sent to Cingoli Hospital in his hometown in Italy for surgery.
“Yesterday during a motocross training at the Cingoli track, I lost control of the motorbike before a jump and therefore instead of braking the motorbike accelerated,” Petrucci said via an Instagram post.
“I jumped a lot and crashed to the ground. It was one of the scariest falls of my life. I broke some teeth, my jaw in two parts, my collarbone and my shoulder blade as well as various skin lacerations.
“Thank you for all the messages, I hope to smile again soon.”
Barni Spark Racing have now announced Petrucci will be replaced by Nicholas Spinelli on the Ducati Panigale V4 R for the upcoming Assen WorldSBK round.
Spinelli was previously racing in the World Supersport Championship and placed second at Phillip Island last year. He is currently racing in the MotoE World Championship this season, and recently won the season’s opening race in Portimao.
“I am so sorry for Danilo’s accident and I wish him a speedy recovery, but I am really happy with this call,” Spinelli said. “Racing with the guys of Superbike is a dream come true, I will try my best to do well and enjoy this experience.
“A big thank you to Marco Barnabo and the whole team who still believe in me after the season we had together.”
The timeframe for Petrucci’s recovery remains unknown. After initially undergoing surgery for his broken jaw, he underwent another surgery on April 15th to fix his broken collarbone.
In his Instagram post, Petrucci shared a picture of himself in the hospital bed in Torrette di Ancona, along with a list of his injuries, which included a fractured collarbone, a broken jaw, a broken shoulder, and a few broken teeth.
Petrucci currently sits sixth in the WorldSBK riders’ standings and his best result so far this season is third place which he secured in Race 2 at the Australian Round.
