Danilo Petrucci's WorldSBK career appears to be nearing its end, but the Italian could continue racing in a national championship.
Petrucci joined BMW for the 2026 WorldSBK season after three years at Barni Ducati, where he was a three-time winner at Cremona in 2024. However, his time with BMW has been challenging, scoring only a single top-six finish before a crash at Most sidelined him for multiple rounds over the summer. On his return at Donington, he managed just one point, and at Magny-Cours he failed to crack the top 10. In FP2 at Cremona, he ended almost two seconds off the pace of Iker Lecuona.
Despite the struggles, Petrucci's future is starting to take shape. BMW's factory WorldSBK team principal, Shaun Muir, has indicated that Petrucci could remain with BMW in 2027 but in a non-European national championship. "He'll be in a good position, Danilo – he's in a good area, his future is kind of decided, almost, now," Muir said during FP1 at Cremona.
"We've got some ideas, we want to keep him in the group. There may be an opportunity overseas in one of the national series," he added.
BMW has previously placed Markus Reiterberger in the Asia Road Racing Championship, where the German rider won the ASB1000 title in 2023 on an M1000 RR Superbike. Reiterberger went there after some difficult years with BMW in WorldSBK but also successful ones in Superstock and the German championship. Now, alongside Michael van der Mark and Steven Odendaal, he has become Endurance World Champion with BMW's factory EWC team, winning the Bol d'Or last weekend to take the title from YART Yamaha.
Moving Petrucci to a national championship outside Europe could be a strategic move for BMW. Petrucci, with his large fan base in Italy and extensive MotoGP experience, can still contribute valuable development and brand promotion in global markets. However, for Petrucci himself, this might not be the ending he hoped for after returning to WorldSBK with high ambitions.
With the season still ongoing, Petrucci will be fighting to turn his fortunes around and perhaps prove he deserves a WorldSBK seat. But the shadow of a move to another championship is growing. We'll have to wait and see if Petrucci follows in Reiterberger's footsteps and finds success in a national series, or if he stays and rises with BMW on the world stage.
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