Petrucci misses out on top five treble after “breaking the gearbox sensor”

After two fifth place results in Race 1 and the Superpole Race, Petrucci had his eye on going one better in the final race of the weekend.

The quickest rider in the non-podium battling group, Petrucci was lining up a move on Andrea Locatelli for P4 before running into problems with his gearbox sensor.

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Petrucci’s form since Misano has been impressive, in fact, he’s been one the most consistent Independent rider along with Axel Bassani.

Discussing his weekend, Petrucci said: "It was good. On Saturday, we were able to score a top five. 

"In the Superpole Race, we got another top five, which was really good because the starting position is nice for Race 2. 

"I was able to pick up one place and I was fourth before the red flag. Unfortunately, I had a bad start, and I was P12 at the end of the first lap, but I was able to recover a lot of positions. 

"I was still P5 and fighting with Locatelli for P4 but on the penultimate lap, I broke the gearbox sensor, and my bike doesn’t change gears anymore. 

"It could’ve been another top five but, in the end, it was P7. It’s good but we wanted more. The pace was there to maybe fight for the podium or at least another top five."

While Petrucci has a very strong showing, Bassani endured one of his toughest rounds of the campaign.

A heavy crash in FP1 was then followed up by technical issues in FP2, leaving the Italian with limited track time.

However, Bassani bounced back on Sunday with a double top ten.

The Italian said: "It's fun when you start at the front of the group and stay there! When you start at the back, it's a lot more stressful. 

"At Aragon, I hope to start the weekend better. I destroyed my favourite bike; I had a shit weekend on Friday and Saturday but a good weekend on Sunday. I don't remember another weekend like this."