Superbike: Petrucci returns to riding the BMW at Donington, Honda also testing

The rider from Terni is back on the M 1000 RR after his injury: Oliveira and the HRC riders were also in action. The next SBK round will be in England.

The first season with BMW is not going as Danilo Petrucci had dreamed. Besides having some trouble adapting to a bike quite different from the Ducati Panigale V4 R he had ridden in previous years, he was involved in a nasty crash in Race 1 at Most that prevented him from competing in all subsequent rounds. He hoped to return at Misano, as happened with Miguel Oliveira (injured in Hungary), but he still wasn’t fit enough to get back on the M 1000 RR. He did so this week at Donington Park Circuit, the venue of the next Superbike calendar event (July 10–12).

Petrucci and Oliveira had the chance to run a test on the British track, an opportunity to check their physical condition and prepare for round 8 of the 2026 WorldSBK season. Both also need to log miles on the M 1000 RR to understand it better, try to extract its potential, and provide useful feedback to the engineers.

Barring surprises, the rider from Terni will make his official race return at Donington Park, where in 2023 he claimed his first-ever Superbike podium: third place in Race 2 with the Barni team’s Ducati. He took another podium, again in third place, in Race 1 in 2025.

As for the Portuguese rider, his Misano comeback was positive: eighth in Race 1 and sixth in the Superpole Race. However, in Race 2 he retired early due to physical limitations stemming from the injury he sustained at the Balaton Park Circuit. He will certainly be much fitter for the England round on the July 10–12 weekend.

In addition to the ROKiT BMW Motorrad team, the Honda HRC team was also at Donington Park. Jake Dixon, who returned at Aragon after a long injury layoff and then was absent again at Misano, got back on the CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP. He completed a total of 70 laps, gathering useful information and evaluating various setup solutions ahead of the race weekend. For his teammate Somkiat Chantra, it was his debut on the British circuit: 130 laps, all on race tires.

Test rider Jonathan Rea also took part in the test. Now the six-time Superbike World Champion and Chantra are expected in Japan to take part in the Suzuka 8 Hours (July 5), a prestigious round of the Endurance World Championship. They will be part of the Honda HRC team alongside Takumi Takahashi.