Danilo Petrucci: BMW “not satisfied” with 2026 WorldSBK results
Danilo Petrucci says both he and BMW are “not satisfied” with his first half of the 2026 WorldSBK season.
Both Danilo Petrucci and BMW are “not satisfied” with his performance and results in the first races of the 2026 WorldSBK season, the Italian says.
Petrucci had been in contention for third in the championship in 2025 at Barni Ducati, but the Italian has been in the top-six only once in 2026, that coming in the wet Race 2 at Phillip Island.
The tough start to the year was made tougher at round six when he crashed at Most in Race 1 and suffered injuries that kept him out of not only the remainder of the Czech WorldSBK but also the two rounds following that in Aragon and Emilia-Romagna.
“For sure I’m not satisfied about the beginning of the season and for sure also BMW is not satisfied about my results,” Danilo Petrucci said ahead of the UK WorldSBK, where he is set to return to racing this weekend (10–12 July).
“The only thing is that we really rode the bike a few [times] because we missed the test and then unfortunately I got injured when there was the most busy time of the calendar.
“So, at this moment I have nothing to lose. We are trying to make a turn this season, and let’s say I’m not happy about my results, but I know that this is not our full potential, it’s not the best we can have.
“I have to have more effort and try to be faster, that’s the point, but in general the bike is more or less the same; we have done some adjustments that I liked, so let’s see if we can improve our situation.”
Petrucci rode at a test at Donington a couple of weeks ago, after the Misano race, and now feels close to full fitness ahead of his competitive return this weekend.
“Almost at 100 per cent,”Petrucci said.
“For sure I have to wait to jump on the bike, but we have been here testing some days ago and the situation was quite good, I enjoyed.
“This is a really nice track. We were like six or seven riders all day, so it was the best day for me, I really enjoyed to stay on the bike, to ride the bike.
“I’m eager to jump on my bike again and maybe this time having done a test here we will start with a bit of advantage, at least at the beginning.
“I’m feeling confident, happy – happy to be here again.”
Petrucci added that he is not targeting results in his return weekend.
“I think we can be competitive enough, then let’s see,” he said.
“Sincerely, I don’t have any results in mind, I just want to enjoy and to keep the smile for all the weekend, to Sunday evening.”
Alex joined the Crash.net team in August of 2024 having covered consumer and racing motorcycle news at Visordown for two years.
