Superbike: BMW in free fall, Danilo Petrucci without direction

He skipped two rounds due to the serious injury at Most, a coccyx fracture, including Misano. Danilo Petrucci needs a strong result to turn his BMW adventure around, but it was a black Friday: seventeenth fastest, 1.3 seconds off the top, a crushing gap on this track.

The disaster is inexplicable for several reasons. To begin with, at Donington with Toprak Razgatliglu over two years he dominated, winning everything by wide margins. The Turk still holds the track records both in the race and on a flying lap. Moreover—and this may be even worse—Danilo also did testing in Great Britain two weeks ago, in ambient conditions very similar to those of the first practice day of the eighth WorldSBK round. But it was worse than riding at night.

Petrucci is still ahead of his teammate Miguel Oliveira, who sank to the bottom of the combined times (twentieth), but it’s a meager consolation. In his evening debrief, the 35-year-old from Terni wasn’t even able to pinpoint a specific cause. “My feeling is that there isn’t a particular area that urgently needs fixing; we’re a bit slow everywhere,” is the disheartened and disheartening assessment from the former MotoGP rider. “There isn’t one main weak point, and that’s worse than ever. The only positive is that Miguel and I more or less feel the same things. The team is working hard; we hope to straighten the weekend out.” BMW, which with Razgatlioglu had been chasing records with repeated wins, now looks at tenth place like it’s a mirage.

BMW did not exercise the renewal options expiring on June 30 for either Danilo Petrucci or Miguel Oliveira. With many top riders leaving MotoGP, it’s understandable that the Germans preferred to keep their hands free to assemble a 2027 lineup capable of erasing this dreadful season from every point of view. Danilo Petrucci’s best result is a sixth place, in the wet at the opening round in Phillip Island. The Portuguese rider, meanwhile, has taken three podiums (third) at Portimão, his home race. Oliveira’s confirmation cannot be ruled out; before the injury at Balaton Park, he was going reasonably well. Danilo Petrucci’s future, however, is much more uncertain, and as of today a renewal with BMW seems unlikely. The German giant is sounding out the top class market: at the top of the list is Manuel Gonzalez, who is desperately trying to secure a MotoGP seat. Also on the market are Brad Binder, Alex Rins, and Jack Miller.

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