Barni: “New evolution” Panigale for Danilo Petrucci at Magny-Cours

Danilo Petrucci begins his final four rounds as a Barni Ducati rider this weekend, as the 2025 WorldSBK season restarts from its summer break at Magny-Cours in France.

Since the Hungarian round, Petrucci has been confirmed as joining the factory BMW squad for 2026, with double champion Alvaro Bautista arriving to take his place alongside Yari Montella.

Petrucci, a Barni rider since his 2023 WorldSBK debut, currently holds a career best third in the standings.

However, he is only 15 points clear of Yamaha’s Andrea Locatelli and is looking to end a five-race podium drought with a repeat of last year’s French rostrum treble.

“Magny-Cours is a track I really like. Last year we scored a great number of points, with three podiums that made us the fastest riders of the weekend,” Petrucci said.

“I know it will be difficult to replicate that result, but my goal is to continue fighting for third place in the championship and try to earn as many points as possible.

“I trained hard over the summer, I'm happy to be back on the bike and hope to be able to finish on the podium as many times as possible.”

Petrucci, the leading independent rider, will also be testing a “new evolution” of the Panigale V4 this weekend.

“With Danilo, our goal remains the same as we set at the start of the season: to finish in the top three in the championship,” said team principal Marco Barnabo.

“We had planned two evolutions on the bike for the final races, and we'll take them to the track, following the established path.

“One of these will be tested at Magny-Cours. We're confident we can reach our goal, and everyone is determined to do so.”

Montella also has fond memories of Magny-Cours, where he was a race winner last year in WSS.

“It was time to get back on track after over a month's break. During this time, I was able to rest, resume training, and recharge after the first three quarters of the season,” said Montella, who took his best WorldSBK result of seventh last time out in Hungary,

“The goal for the final four rounds is to make another step forward and be more consistent. Magny-Cours is a track that gave us great memories last year. We're in a different situation now, but we'll give 110% to bring home the best.”

Barnabo added: “With Yari, however, we need to be more concrete. We're not lacking in speed, but we're still making too many mistakes. We need to translate the good work we're doing into results.”

Montella is currently just 17th in the WorldSBK standings.