WorldSBK Race 1 at Assen was arguably most shocking race of the year in any discipline of motorcycle racing, as Nicholas Spinelli wo𒉰n 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 Dutch Ro꧒und had sustained serious injuries whi🃏le riding motocross to train.

Spinelli had gained some experience in the WorldSBK paddock in 2023 when he🍃 raced the Supersport Wor𒁏ld Championship, but prior to practice at Assen in April the Italian hadn’t ridden 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 himself to the front and then stay there until a red flag came out just as he was being caught b꧑y Toprak Razgatlioglu and Alvaro Bautista.

“The fact that we got this guy w🎃ho 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 incred﷽ible. It was💟 extraordinary because, honestly, we didn’t expect it at all. It was an indescribable emotion.

“I start❀ed laughing when I realised we had won the race — actually, to tell the truth, I started laughi💜ng on the first lap 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 it’s something that I’d love to wis🌳h for everyone who does my job.

“The sacrifices all managers make to race in this championship, both financially and i💞n t♛erms of commitment, are immense. Achieving such success makes all the hard work worthwhile.

Danilo Petrucci said🉐 that it was encouragement from him that stopped the Barni team from skipping Assen altogether.

“Barni was not really happy to race without me, and I said ‘N😼o, come on, try some young rider,’ and he [Marco Barnabo] had already in mind Nicholas [Spinelli].

“I’ve beeജn really happy for Barni, for Nicholas who is really a cl🌊ever guy and a good rider.

“I immediately sent a message to Marco and I said ‘Th♎is has been really our lucky week,’ 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 happenedꦏ.”