Danilo Petrucci doubles BMW’s Hungary WorldSBK injury woe

Danilo Petrucci will not take part in Race 2 at the Hungarian WorldSBK after being declared unfit after the Superpole Race.

Petrucci was declared unfit with a left hip contusion after the Superpole Race. It follows on from his wrist contusion on Friday, from which he was declared fit.

The Italian rider was 11th in Race 1 on Saturday and down in 16th in the Superpole Race.

The Balaton weekend is one in which Petrucci was hoping to enjoy strong results having been in the top-six in both long races last year. He, as well as BMW team-mate Miguel Oliveira, had also noted before the weekend the performance of the BMW M1000 RR at Balaton in 2025 when Toprak Razgatlioglu won all three races.

The Superpole Race on Sunday morning was red flagged on lap one when Oliveira crashed with Andrea Locatelli.

Locatelli was given a double long lap penalty for the incident which left Oliveira unfit to compete in Race 2. The Portuguese was taken to hospital after the incident for further checks after being diagnosed with concussion and a left shoulder injury at the circuit medical centre.

Petrucci was much further back than Oliveira and Locatelli as the pack entered turn five on the opening lap of the Superpole Race, but it’s not clear from the TV images whether he was caught up in the aftermath of the crash as most of the 22-rider pack tried to avoid the bikes of Locatelli and Oliveira which lay, along with their pilots, in the middle of the track.

With Oliveira in hospital and Petrucci unfit, BMW will have no riders on the grid for World Superbike Race 2 this afternoon. It means the factory team will lose ground to Barni Ducati and the factory Bimota team in the battle for second and third in the teams’ standings, and BMW will miss out on points compared to Bimota in the fight for second in the manufacturers’ championship.