Miguel Oliveira: “Tough pill to swallow” at Cremona, Petrucci home farewell
Miguel Oliveira described Cremona as “a tough pill to swallow”, while Danilo Petrucci confirmed it was his “last” home WorldSBK race.
On a weekend when BMW officially lost its reigning champion title to Ducati, Miguel Oliveira took the German manufacturer to eighth in the Superpole race, but failed to finish either of the main races.
The Portuguese crashed from tenth midway through race one, then was frustratingly caught out early in race two, having stormed inside the top five on the opening lap.
“Cremona was a tough pill to swallow, especially race two,” Oliveira admitted. “We had a really good pace and track position to achieve an excellent result.
“Unfortunately, in Turn 10, I took a little more rear brake, the bike started to chatter, and I couldn’t stay on top of it.
“It’s frustrating, but I think we’re in a better position than we were after Magny-Cours, so that’s already good.
“It would have been nice to go to my home race with some momentum from a good result, but this won’t take away our determination to have a very good weekend for the Portuguese fans. I’m looking forward to it.”
"My last ones at home"
Team-mate Danilo Petrucci had the opposite experience, scoring in both main races (14th and 12th) but left with a ‘zero’ for eleventh place in the Superpole race.
The Italian later confirmed that they were his last races “at home”, ahead of a to-be-confirmed switch to an overseas national series for 2027.
“It was really nice to race in Italy again,” Petrucci said. “The weekend started with difficulties but we gave our maximum.
“In Sunday’s races, my last ones at home, I made quite a lot of overtakes.
“The race wasn’t the best, but I fought really, really hard. That’s what I enjoy.
“I want to thank everyone who came here to cheer for me, and all the BMW crew who are always pushing – they’re the best.
“I’d like to finish the season strong. I can’t wait to go to the next race; we’ve been testing at Estoril so let’s push there.”
Brad Binder will take Petrucci’s place alongside Oliveira for the 2027 season, when Michelin becomes WorldSBK’s exclusive tyre supplier.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
