Danilo Petrucci: BMW missing “another pair of riders” in WorldSBK

BMW WorldSBK rider Danilo Petrucci says the Bavarian brand is currently being held back by its lack of a satellite team.

Petrucci joined BMW from the Barni Ducati team for 2026, having been at the Italian satellite team since he moved to WorldSBK in 2023.

Ducati is the most popular bike on the WorldSBK grid with nine of the championship’s 22 full-time entries running the Panigale V4 R in 2026, and this has multiple benefits. 

Most obviously, Ducati is able to make money from its WorldSBK project by selling bikes to private teams, and the more you sell the more money you make, of course. 

Secondly, though, that extra presence on the grid means Ducati gathers more data per weekend, even per session, than any other manufacturer, and more data means more information directing a factory’s development path.

BMW is in the same position as Bimota and Honda this year in only having two bikes on the grid, although it is only Ducati and Yamaha that have more bikes than BMW. Kawasaki has only one, of course, since the Provec team transitioned to Bimota as part of the Akashi marque’s restructuring of its production racing programme.

It’s a position which Petrucci thinks puts it at a disadvantage to other brands, most obviously Ducati, although the Italian is feeling comfortable on the bike at the moment.

“We miss another pair of riders that can help the development of the bike, but at the moment I’m happy about the feeling of the bike,” Danilo Petrucci told WorldSBK.com after FP2 at the Czech Round.

“I’m enjoying the track, so I think it can be a good key point for the rest of the season.”

Petrucci ended Friday at Most sixth-fastest, and there were two BMWs in the top-10 thanks to 10th-placed Michael van der Mark.

“It was a good day,” Petrucci concluded.

“At the end, we worked quite well with the team, with the crew. 

“In FP1, the situation was quite difficult, especially in the braking area. We improved a bit also on the electronics side for the second session. 

“I tried also the development tyre from Pirelli, it’s good – not a big step, but more consistent regarding the pace and the tyre wear, so it can be an option for the race. 

“This track is a place that I really like and one to take out the [best] from the bike.”