Superbike, Petrucci: "A bike we need to understand: score points at Phillip Island, then attack at Portimao"

Danilo Petrucci analyzes the Superbike tests at Phillip Island, covering positives, areas to work on, and on-track surprises.

Not yet competitive, but improving. That’s the assessment of Danilo Petrucci after two days of Superbike testing at Phillip Island, the prelude to the first race weekend of the 2026 season. 14th overall yesterday, today he finished the two sessions in 12th, +1.2 from leader Bulega, with plenty still to sort out in terms of feeling with the M 1000 RR. The Rokit BMW Motorrad WorldSBK rider is clearly treating the first race weekend as a “test”; from Portimão onward he’ll start aiming higher, especially since he’s well aware of the points to work on to take further steps forward.

“It’s nice to be back at Phillip Island, though this time with a very different bike from what I was used to,” said Danilo Petrucci, acknowledging the initial difficulties but also good progress. “I can say we’re not far from the top 5. I think we can aim for the top 10 in the race,” he added, noting that “I still don’t know the bike very well; I need some time, and given my build I need something different, maybe 1–2 more days to sort out the bike’s geometry.” As mentioned, “The first race will be a test. I’m not satisfied, we’re not even at half the potential yet, but that’s fine.”

“This bike is very stable, especially under braking, and the power delivery helps a lot,” he emphasized to worldsbk.com at the end of the day. “From the outside it seemed like the bike was screaming, like an F1!” he added with a laugh. “But once I got on it, I found it very smooth, gentle. It’s a bike built to brake hard, turn, and accelerate, but at PI you can’t exploit those characteristics too much. It’s going well—of course I want to see myself at the top, but we’ll get there.”

What does he need to improve? “At the moment I don’t feel the bike turning the way I want, especially in long corners,” he explained. “I still need to figure out the approach. We’re not aiming for the podium; our target is to score as many points as possible, then we’ll have Portimão, the test and the race, and from there we can start to be more competitive.”

Two days of Superbike testing on the Australian track with a single dominator. “Nicolò Bulega is playing a different game, but that’s no surprise,” said Petrucci, also recalling the Aruba Ducati rider’s 2025. Who did surprise him? “The Bimotas, both Axel Bassani and Alex Lowes. I followed them for a few laps and they’re really fast.” Not only that: “Baldassarri surprised me as well.” Finally, a comment for his former garage mate: “I’m happy for Montella too, who was already fast last year. I wish him only the best.”