Uncertainty for Danilo Petrucci after reported BMW WorldSBK decision
BMW has reportedly opted not to exercise its option to keep Danilo Petrucci for the 2027 WorldSBK season.
Danilo Petrucci’s WorldSBK future is seemingly uncertain amid reports that BMW has elected not to exercise its option to keep the Italian for 2027.
The reports come from Italian publication GPOne, which says BMW’s deadline to exercise the option in Petrucci’s contract to keep the Italian for next year was 30 June.
It is not a certainty that BMW’s choice not to take the option in Petrucci’s current contract, which expires at the end of 2026, will mean the Italian is heading for the exit door at the Munich manufacturer after only one WorldSBK season, as the two parties could still, theoretically, renegotiate new terms for 2027.
Petrucci’s first half of the season with BMW has been complicated, with results that did not match what he was able to achieve in the previous three seasons with Barni Ducati, and then major injuries sustained in Czechia that saw him miss the Aragon and Misano rounds.
On the other side of the BMW garage, the story has been relatively comparable, with Miguel Oliveira picking up injuries in Hungary that kept him out of the following two rounds before returning at Misano, although he was unable to finish Race 2.
Petrucci is expected to return at Donington, bringing BMW back to its complete full-time rider line-up at the next round, but Oliveira, too, is not certain to be at BMW next year.
As Petrucci, the Portuguese – who is contesting his first WorldSBK season at present – has a contract with BMW that expires at the end of this year.
According to GPOne, though, Oliveira has been trying to fashion a move to Ducati for 2027 since as early as round two at Portimao. The Italian manufacturer is expected to have an open seat in its factory team for next year thanks to the move of Nicolo Bulega to MotoGP – a move which is yet to be announced, but which is expected to soon become official.
Oliveira, then, could slot in alongside Iker Lecuona, whom GPOne reports is close to renewing with Ducati after stringing together 18 consecutive second-placed finishes.
Alex joined the Crash.net team in August of 2024 having covered consumer and racing motorcycle news at Visordown for two years.
