Danilo Petrucci has spoken for the first time as a factory BMW rider, reflecting on the test he was able to complete at Jerez last November.
The progression from 2025 in 2026 made official the transition to factory BMW rider for Petrucci, and for his teammate Miguel Oliveira whose transition to WorldSBK from MotoGP, he expects, will take patience.
For Petrucci himself, the adaptation to BMW is less severe than that Oliveira will experience this year, since he already has three seasons of World Superbike experience, meaning on production bikes and Pirelli tyres. Only the motorcycle and team have changed for Petrucci in 2026 but that is still a substantial change, one he began understanding in November.
“It was, let’s say, really important to test the bike in November so we had a little bit of kilometres before January and the start of the new season,” said Petrucci, speaking to WorldSBK.com.
“It has been good to share some feedback with the crew, share some information, and – let’s say – discover the bike, trying to understand which are the positive [points] and where I can be faster. It has been for sure a really positive test.”
The Italian fought for third place in the riders’ standings for the majority of 2025, when he rode for the Barni Ducati team, but lost out in the final part of the season when he was forced to miss Estoril and Jerez through a hand fracture picked up while training in the gym.
For 2026, Petrucci says he would simply like to improve over last year, although he doesn’t put numbers on his expectations.
“I always said during my career, when [I was asked] ‘What are your expectations,’ I always answered: ‘I want to improve my performance’,” he said.
“Last year, in 2025, I was fighting for third in the championship until I got injured before Estoril.
“I was third in the championship but I lost it, so maybe the target for next year is to be on the podium at the end of the season. It would be really great. I didn’t happen last year, in 2025; I want to make it true in 2026.”
Petrucci’s first season as a factory BMW rider will get underway on 20–22 February at Phillip Island. Preseason testing will start later this month on 21–22 January at Jerez.
