Former MotoGP winner still looking for BMW WorldSBK “base”

BMW WorldSBK rider Danilo Petrucci says he is still looking for a base setup on his M1000 RR this year after two rounds of the 2026 season.

Petrucci is part of an all-new rider line-up at BMW for this year along with Miguel Oliveira, but while the Portuguese rider has been quick in his adaptation to the BMW World Superbike machine from MotoGP, Petrucci has had more trouble getting up to speed on the bike after spending his entire WorldSBK career so far on the Ducati Panigale V4 R.

Oliveira showed his potential on the bike at Portimao last weekend (27–29 March) by taking three podiums from three races, but Petrucci had more of a struggle. He got his best result in the last race of the weekend with seventh, but his best lap time was still 0.7 seconds slower than that of Oliveira, whose results, Petrucci insisted, did not mean any additional pressure on the Italian.

Petrucci, himself a former MotoGP winner and a three-time victor in World Superbike, said afterwards that he is still seeking a base setup on the M1000 RR, although he felt he had made progress through the weekend in Portugal.

“Slightly better than [Race 1 and the Superpole Race],” Danilo Petrucci said of Race 2.

“We are trying to find my base setup. Still we change the bike mostly every session because every time we discover some new things, but I still have to understand how to correctly use the bike. 

“Finally today, maybe we understood something more. I’ve been faster than [Race 1], so this is important; I reduced the gap from the leader.”

Ultimately, though, it was a weekend that fell below Petrucci’s expectations from a performance perspective.

“I was sincerely expecting a little bit more,” he said.

“Maybe not the podium but for sure being more close to the top-five could be a good rhythm. Today we could’ve been closer, but I want to have a little bit more. 

“I’m so happy to work in this team, they are putting in a lot of effort and this makes me proud. But at the moment I just can say thanks to them just with the words; I would like to say thanks to them with the results. 

“Every time I finish the race, I finish every race, I cannot wait to have another one. This is a good spirit. I can’t wait to go to Assen.”

The Dutch Round on 17–19 April saw Petrucci on the podium last year, beating Toprak Razgatlioglu to third in Race 1. Now on the BMW Razgatlioglu rode last year, Petrucci is hoping to repeat that result, although he appreciates the circuits that follow Assen in the 2026 World Superbike schedule are perhaps better suited to the M1000 RR’s characteristics.

“Last year [at Assen] I was on the podium, fighting with Toprak [Razgatlioglu],” he said.

“So, maybe this year we can replicate that result and it’s one of my favourite tracks so I really can’t wait to go there.”

Petrucci added: “At the moment Nicolo [Bulega] is riding really well. He’s really using all his potential, he’s in a perfect shape. 

“Then for sure in Assen he will be so good as last year, but from then on there is Most and Hungary and there we know that our bike is so good.”