Danilo Petrucci calls BMW WorldSBK season a “perfect storm”

Danilo Petrucci says his time with BMW in WorldSBK has been a “perfect storm”.

Petrucci joined BMW as a three-time WorldSBK race winner with Barni Ducati, and having come close to finishing third in the 2025 standings before injury forced him to miss the final two rounds of the season.

But with BMW he was never able to properly acclimatise to the bike, and after getting hurt in Most his form and confidence disappeared almost entirely.

But the problems started already preseason, Petrucci says, as a rained-out winter testing programme meant he was on the back foot even before the season began. By the time he was able to start feeling comfortable on the bike, the aforementioned Czechia crash happened, sending him back to square on mid-season.

“With BMW, it was a perfect storm,” said Danilo Petrucci, speaking to WorldSBK.com after Race 2 at Jerez.

“We had no testing, the bike is so different to what I was used to, and when we were starting to get faster, I got injured at the worst moment of the season. 

“When you have a bad accident like that where you can’t feel your legs, you start to think that at 36 years old, it’s not worth it. 

“From that moment on, in your brain, you start always thinking about your health, and BMW decided they wanted to move in another direction. 

“Unfortunately, everything that could have gone wrong has gone wrong, but the team has been really nice to me. 

“I don’t know how many hugs I’ve given out this weekend, everyone at BMW has given all we had. All I can say is thank you. 

“From here, all I can say about my future is that I want to be happy, that’s my lifelong dream. It’s not easy, but I just want to enjoy what life gives me.”