"Maybe there are some Ducati's but in the end, you can never trust Toprak when he is around..."
Danilo Petrucci is entering his third year in the World Superbike paddock with the Barni Spark Racing Team.
Ahead of the opening round of the 2025 season at Phillip Island, Petrucci believes he can challenge for the podium. However, he also believes the entire top ten at the end of the Phillip Island Test could fight for the podium.
"It was good, it has been a really good test. Yesterday I found a good feeling with the bike, I am feeling positive for the weekend," Petrucci told WorldSBK.com.
"The battle is tight because there are seven or eight riders that can fight for the podium. I think [Nicolo] Bulega has got something more at that moment, but I reckon the top ten riders can all stand on the podium.
"So, it is still hard to decide but in the end, I am feeling good with the bike so I can push when I want, so this is a good feeling."
Last season five different Ducati riders featured on a World Superbike podium. It is likely that the Italian manufacturer will be a consistent podium contender but Petrucci has labelled the other manufacturers that he believes will be front runners.
"Maybe there are many Ducati's in front but there is still Toprak [Razgatlioglu] with BMW, [Andrea] Locatelli, and the two Bimota's can be really fast," Petrucci explained.
"Maybe there are some Ducati's but in the end, you can never trust Toprak when he is around."
Finally, Petrucci discussed his pre-season testing with his Ducati Panigale V4 R. Like the rest of the field the 34-year-old testing schedule was disrupted by poor weather conditions.
"I was quite scared because I raced the Dakar, and a few days after the Dakar I had to come to leave for the test. I was physically and mentally quite tired.
"So, in the end, I was not happy to not have ridden too much. But my feeling with the bike was good, we are more or less at the same level as last year.
"Last year we fought for the podium, I went on the podium in Race Two. So, more or less we are at the same level but I think there are many, many competitors but I am feeling good."
