Petrucci bids farewell to WorldSBK at Jerez as BMW takes third in the manufacturers' standings
Danilo Petrucci contested his final WorldSBK races for BMW at Jerez, where an emotional paddock farewell framed a difficult weekend that still ended with third place in the manufacturers' championship.
- 184
- 560 points
- 11th, 142 points
- 17th, 61 points
What Happened
BMW Motorrad Motorsport closed its 2026 FIM Superbike World Championship campaign at Jerez de la Frontera in Spain with a farewell for Danilo Petrucci, who contested his final WorldSBK races on the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team #9 BMW M 1000 RR. On Saturday evening the team and the fans gathered on the main stage of the WorldSBK Paddock Show to honour the Italian, known as "Petrux", with heartfelt words. On track the final weekend proved challenging: Miguel Oliveira retired from Saturday's opening race with a technical issue, finished eleventh in Sunday morning's Superpole Race and tenth in Sunday afternoon's second feature race, while Petrucci came home 17th, 19th and 20th.
The team and fans honour Danilo Petrucci on the main stage of the WorldSBK Paddock Show in an emotional farewell.
Miguel Oliveira retires with a technical issue; Petrucci finishes 17th, 31.457 seconds behind winner Nicolò Bulega.
Oliveira crosses the line eleventh, Petrucci nineteenth, over the 10-lap sprint.
Oliveira finishes tenth, 28.002 seconds down, and his points secure third place for BMW in the Manufacturers' World Championship; Petrucci finishes 20th.
- Race 1: DNF (technical issue) · Superpole Race: 11th · Race 2: 10th
- Race 1: 17th · Superpole Race: 19th · Race 2: 20th
- Oliveira 11th with 142 points · Petrucci 17th with 61 points
184points
Third place after 36 of 36 races, 560 points behind Ducati (744) and one point ahead of Yamaha (183).
“Our WorldSBK season comes to an end after an emotional rollercoaster. We look back on some fantastic podium finishes, but also on the serious injuries sustained by Miguel and Danilo, which had a massive impact on the course of the season. Our focus now shifts to next year, when we will race with Miguel and our new signing, Brad Binder. At the same time, we would like to thank Danilo. He is a true fighter who never gave up until the very end and always gave his full commitment. It is a shame that we were not as successful together in WorldSBK as we had hoped. But we are all racers and know that these things can happen. He will always remain part of our family – Grazie, Danilo!”
“I'm really, really happy. I just want to say thank you to BMW. For me, it's been a dream to race with the biggest factory in Europe. The outcome hasn't been as good as we all had hoped for, but everyone gave their best. I'm so proud of what we did. I just want to say thank you to everyone. I don't have many words, but I'm really, really happy.”
Technical Director Christian Gonschor described 2026 as a season of highs and lows, with podium finishes but also setbacks and races run at times without both injured factory riders. He said BMW did not reach its goal of winning races, yet its performance was often better than the results suggest and in many races the bike was faster than in 2025, which he said underlines the potential of the overall package. He added that speed alone is not enough and that the task is to translate performance into results, with a new bike and new regulations creating new opportunities in 2027. Oliveira said he leaves Jerez on a positive note after trying something that helped in race two, called not finishing on Saturday frustrating, and said he is excited to start winter testing and work with the crew again for next season.
Why this matters
The Jerez finale fixes BMW's 2026 world championship position: third among manufacturers, 560 points behind Ducati, with Miguel Oliveira eleventh and Petrucci seventeenth in the final riders' standings. It is also a turning point for the factory team, which will race next year with Oliveira and new signing Brad Binder after a season disrupted by injuries to both of its riders.
Terms in This Story
- WorldSBK
- The FIM Superbike World Championship, a series for production-derived superbike machines.
- Superpole
- The qualifying session that sets the starting grid for the weekend's races.
- Superpole Race
- A short 10-lap sprint race held on Sunday morning at WorldSBK events.
- Manufacturers' World Championship
- A separate standings table in which points scored by a manufacturer's riders are counted for the brand.
Summarised from the linked release; details can be imperfect — always verify against the original source.