Three years after becoming the first MotoGP rider to win a Dakar Rally stage, Danilo Petrucci is back at the race for 2025. This time, it will be on four wheels.

Petrucci will inhabit an IVECO PowerStar prepared by MM Technology and fielded by Moto2 outfit Italtrans Racing Team, sharing driving duties with Claudio Bellina. Marco Arnoletti will serve as navigator. When Bellina is the driver, Petrucci will slide over to the mechanic’s seat.

“The Dakar is a fascinating challenge and I am excited to experience it for the second time,” said Petrucci. “I will have a lot to learn and I will give my all to help achieve a good result.”

Shortly after ending his decade-long career in MotoGP, Petrucci made his Dakar debut in 2022 on a KTM 450 Rally. He won the fifth stage after Toby Price received a penalty; while circumstantial, it still made him the first rider from the highest level of motorcycle competition to claim a Dakar stage victory. He still finished a distant 90th overall after retiring earlier in the race with a mechanical issue.

After Dakar, he went on to finish runner-up in the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship with four wins for Ducati. His focus on superbikes, as well as the occasional one-off in MotoGP, prevented him from returning to Dakar in the years after.

He began competing in the Superbike World Championship in 2023. This past season saw him sweep the weekend at Cremona Circuit in his native Italy en route to a fifth in the standings.

Now, Petrucci will see if his successes can translate to racing a truck. Bellina finished a career-best seventh in the Truck class at this year’s Dakar, his tenth as a driver. Arnoletti has seven years of Dakar experience under his belt.

Italtrans Racing placed 11th in the 2024 Moto2 World Championship for teams. The team’s riders Diogo Moreira and Dennis Foggia were respectively 13th and 24th in the riders’ standings.

“After the emotions of 2024, we are preparing to experience those of 2025,” Bellina started. “Last year was a beautiful edition, because it was done with a different truck than in previous years. The Dakar is a tough challenge, it is not a walk in the park, but we had fun and at the same time we brought home a good result, almost reaching the top five.

“In the next edition, Marco Arnoletti will still be with me with his great expertise, and the new entry Danilo Petrucci, who with his experience as a driver will add value to our team. We will have our eyes focused and we will give our all to have fun and bring home a good result.”

Featured image credit: PSP