The ex-MotoGP racer will ride a V4 R Panigale at the Portuguese track on February 8-9 alongside a number of WSBK regulars, including factory Ducati racers Alvaro Bautista and Michael Ruben Rinaldi and last year’s title protagonists Toprak Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) and Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki).
This is likely to be a prelude to a switch to MotoAmerica, where Petrucci would replace Loris Baz aboard the Warhorse HSBK Ducati.
Rumours have persisted of Petrucci reuniting with Ducati for a seat in a production-based championship since it became clear the Italian would not keep his place in MotoGP at Tech 3 KTM.
WSBK was initially thought to have been a logical destination, but Ducati’s three customer teams – Barni Racing (Luca Bernardi), Motocorsa Racing (Axel Bassani) and Team Go Eleven (Philipp Oettl) – all have their riders in place for 2022.
However, a vacancy opened up at the Ducati-supported HSBK team in the United States when Baz was offered the chance to return to WSBK full-time…
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