WorldSBK Race 1 at Assen was arguably mos⭕t shocking race of the year in any discipline of motorcycle racing, as Nicholas Spinelli won on debut for the Barni Spark Ducati team.

Spinelli had been drafted in ꧋by Barni to replace Danilo Petrucci, who in the build up to the D൲utch Round had sustained serious injuries while riding motocross to train.

Spinelli had gained some experience in the WorldSBK paddock in 2023 when he raced the Supersport World Championship, but prior to practice at Assen in🐲 April the Italian hadn’t rid🥃den the Superbike-spec Panigale V4 R.

Nonetheless, he was able to take advantage of changeable conditions and a gamble to run intermediate tyres to get himselಌf to the front and then stay there until a red flag came out just as he was being caught by Toprak Razgatlioglu and Alvaro Bautista.

“The fact that we got this guy who had never been on this bike and win a race really seems more like a fairytale than a race,” Barni Ducati team owner Marco Barnabo 🔯told WorldSBK.com.

“It was incredible. It was extraordinary because, honestly, we didn’t expect🐽 it at all. It was an in💝describable emotion.

“I started laughing when I🐓 realised we had won the race — actually, to tell the truth, I started laughing on the first la🌠p when we pulled seven or eight seconds ahead of everyone and I didn’t stop laughing all day.

“It’s a dream we’ve been chasing since we started in the championship, and i🐲t’s𝄹 something that I’d love to wish for everyone who does my job.

“The sacrifices all managers make to race in this championship, both financially and in terms of commitment, are immense𝄹. Achieving such success ൩makes all the hard work worthwhile.

Danilo Petrucci said that it was en൲co🌜uragement from him that stopped the Barni team from skipping Assen altogether.

“Barni was not really happy to race without me, and I said ‘No, come on, try some young rider,’ and he [M𝄹arco Barnabo] had already in mind Nicholas [Spinelli].

“I’ve been rea💮lly happy for Barni, for Nicholas who is really a clever guy and a good rid𓂃er.

“I im⛄mediately sent a message to Marco and I said ‘This has been really our lucky w🦂eek,’ because I was escaping from death, and after 10 days he won the first race in a very particular way. I don’t believe in a lot of things, but something crazy happened.”