Danilo Petrucci ruled out of crucial Estoril WorldSBK amid bronze medal battle

After FP1 at the Estoril WorldSBK, Danilo Petrucci has been declared unfit and ruled out of the weekend at the penultimate round of the season.

Petrucci took part in the opening practice session on Friday morning (10 October) knowing he would need to be reviewed after the session by the WorldSBK medical team in order to determine his ability to continue the weekend.

It has been confirmed after FP1 that Petrucci has been declared unfit for the Estoril weekend due to worsening symptoms in his injured hand, as confirmed by WorldSBK.

Petrucci will therefore not be able to take part in the remainder of the Estoril Round, including all three races.

The Italian suffered injuries to multiple bones in his hand when he hit his hand on a wall while training in the gym between the Aragon and Estoril rounds. The injuries include one fractured metacarpal.

Petrucci finished FP1 an encouraging ninth, given his injury. But his suspension from the weekend in Estoril comes with poor timing for the Barni Ducati rider who has been defending his third position in the World Superbike riders’ standings for several rounds.

Coming into the Estoril Round, Petrucci leads fourth-placed Andrea Locatelli by 30 points, while Alvaro Bautista is only one point further back in fifth.

Petrucci spoke on Thursday of how he can ill-afford to miss races in the context of this points battle, especially so close to the end of the season, but with the decision having been made for him on Friday the opportunity is now in the hands of Locatelli and Bautista to try to take advantage of the situation and close the gap to Petrucci, whose participation in Jerez next weekend suddenly becomes uncertain.