“Pressure” of replacing Toprak Razgatlioglu “useful” for Danilo Petrucci in WorldSBK

Replacing the only rider that has taken a dry weather win with the factory BMW team since 2019 is something “useful” for Danilo Petrucci, the Italian rider thinks.

Petrucci was announced as a BMW rider in World Superbike from the 2026 season during the summer break; news that followed a few months on from the announcement of Toprak Razgatlioglu joining Yamaha for the 2026 MotoGP campaign.

With four rounds, and therefore 12 races, remaining in the 2025 WorldSBK season, 73-time race winner and current championship leader Toprak Razgatlioglu could end the year with more than 80 World Superbike wins and three titles in the premier production derivative series.

For Petrucci, a five-time winner at World Championship level across WorldSBK and MotoGP, the prospect of replacing Razgatlioglu is therefore pressure-inducing, but this isn’t necessarily something he regrets.

“I already feel the pressure, but it’s something that keeps me alive and especially keeps me the right tension to do that,” Danilo Petrucci told WorldSBK.com on Thursday ahead of the 2025 French Round when asked if he feels pressure to be replacing a rider like Razgatlioglu.

“When you want to stay in the top you need always to perform well, and the more pressure I have the more fast I am, even if for sure I don’t like this kind of feeling.

“It’s really useful when I jump on the bike so for me it’s a good thing to have pressure on my shoulders.”

Razgatlioglu is also supportive of BMW’s decision on Petrucci, the Turkish rider having spoken in favour of the Italian when the Bavarian brand asked his opinion on potential successors.

“We spoke sometimes with the [BMW] team about the technical side,” Petrucci said, “and looking at the bike and looking how Toprak [Razgatlioglu] is riding.

“They said they asked Toprak who is the rider, who maybe is free, and especially likes to brake hard and stop the bike so hard.

“He said that I was one of the possibilities.

“I want to say thanks for this and I want to say thanks to all the BMW technicians who helped me to decide.

“Let’s say it was a difficult choice but after these technical meetings I had a clear idea of my future and I decide to join this adventure.

“For me it’s a big pride, and especially to take Toprak’s seat is something really challenging.”

The move to BMW will be Petrucci’s first in WorldSBK, having joined Barni in 2023.

The Italian’s history with the satellite Ducati team extends further back than in Superbike, though, as it was with Barni that Petrucci contested the Superstock class before moving to MotoGP.

It’s a history that made the move to the factory BMW squad a difficult decision to make.

“I’m really happy, especially proud of this because next year is my fourth season in World Superbike and this was my target: to join a factory team,” Petrucci said.

“In one hand I’m really happy, in the other hand it was a difficult choice because leaving Barni Racing was tough because it’s been the team that launched me [to] MotoGP and then I’m still with them after my MotoGP career.

“So, it’s been tough, especially because we reached many positive things.”

Petrucci added that he is also focused on the remaining part of the 2025 season, in which he is currently third in the championship but with only 15 points in hand over Andrea Locatelli and with 16 points of advantage over Alvaro Bautista.

“Still, the [2025] championship is not over; I’m really happy about next year but I’m really focused on this year because we are fighting for third in the championship and, sincerely, I would like to finish in this place,” he said.

“So, a lot of things, I had a lot of training during this summer because [...] I want to finish this season in the best way possible.”