Danilo Petrucci’s final race in the SBK World Championship: even the heavens wept

There are many riders who have won significantly more races than Danilo Petrucci. Yet no other rider has triumphed in the MotoGP and Superbike World Championships, MotoAmerica and the Superstock 1000 Cup – and also won a stage at the Dakar Rally!

Right up until the very end, Petrucci had hoped to remain in the Superbike World Championship. When it became clear last week that he would not be getting the seat with the Ducati privateer team Go Eleven, he began to come to terms with the fact that Jerez would be his final races at this level.

He joined the BMW works team – a side accustomed to success – as Toprak Razgatlioglu’s successor – and failed. Danilo dealt with his situation in such a self-reflective and honest manner as one finds among sportsmen only in those of strong character. He is never ashamed of his feelings, as we also saw during his farewell at Jerez, which provided some unforgettable, spine-tingling moments.

Petrucci: With BMW, everything that could go wrong did

“The end of my journey was incredible; I hadn’t expected it to be like that,” said Petrucci, trying to put into words the immense respect shown to him by the paddock. “As a child, I wanted to become world champion, but it’s not easy. In my best seasons in the MotoGP and Superbike World Championships, I wasn’t far off, but it wasn’t quite enough. I’m happy with what I’ve achieved. My thanks go to everyone at BMW and to the people who helped me. Unfortunately, we didn’t achieve much this year, but everyone gave their best. Everything that could have gone wrong this year did go wrong. It started with the rain-soaked winter tests. Then, just as I was finally getting faster, I got injured at Most and missed the most crucial part of the season in May and June – three races and two tests. I’m proud to have been a factory rider for Ducati, KTM and BMW – the three biggest European manufacturers. I come from Italy, from the countryside, and I’ve won in MotoGP and Superbikes; that’s a dream come true. Now I’m glad this journey is over; for me, this season was very tough.”

It’s hard to describe what it’s like when I wave and a packed grandstand goes wild.

Danilo Petrucci

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Danilo Petrucci on his most emotional moments

In 126 Superbike races, ‘Petrux’ made it onto the podium 20 times; his three victories at Barni Ducati’s home race in Cremona in 2024, when Toprak Razgatlioglu was absent through injury, remain unforgettable. But it’s not his hat-trick that he wants to highlight. “The most emotional moments were the last five laps on Sunday,” noted the 35-year-old. “It occurred to me then that there aren’t many people who get to ride the best motorbike BMW can produce. On my way back from the parc fermé to the pits – even the heavens were weeping. It took me 15 minutes to cover those few metres because people were hugging me and thanking me in front of every pit. My first podium finish at Donington Park and my first win at Cremona were also special. And the battles with the top riders. There were plenty of highlights. But my greatest victory wasn’t Mugello, Le Mans or Cremona – it was that I told a story. A singer can always produce music. But it’s something completely different when he sings in front of an audience and sees how he makes people happy. When you make people happy simply by letting them watch you do what you love most – that’s irreplaceable. It’s hard to describe what it’s like when I wave and a packed grandstand goes wild. You can’t buy that sort of thing – it’s made my dreams come true. I was able to stir people’s emotions; that was wonderful.”

Danilo concluded: “We were unlucky this year. That’s why I’m so sad, and I’m really sorry for BMW. Since early 2024, I’ve been fighting for a podium place in almost every race; even back then, I thought to myself that BMW could be my destination. In 2026, the time had finally come, but unfortunately things didn’t go as we’d imagined. Everyone at the team showed tremendous commitment; I can only say thank you – I’ll always be a fan of BMW. I’m so happy I’m in tears.”