Danilo Petrucci (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) has raced his final laps in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship paddock at the Circuito de Jerez - Angel Nieto, Andalucia in the season’s final Pirelli Spanish Round. It’s an emotional goodbye for one of the paddock’s fan-favourite riders. The 35-year-old Italian hasn’t enjoyed the success he or his factory BMW squad hoped for in the first year of their collaboration, but with MotoGP rider Brad Binder on the way in 2027 and no rider lined up for the season to come, he said his goodbyes to the paddock on Sunday afternoon.

“THIS IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL FEELING. THIS WILL BE MY LAST WORLD SUPERBIKE RACE, BUT I’M SO HAPPY”

Round 12 was another uphill round for the #9, who, since suffering injuries at Most, including a broken tailbone has struggled to break back into the points. Despite the lack of positive results, as rain started to pour on track at the chequered flag, Petrucci was mobbed in pit lane by numbers rivalling 2026 World Champion Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati). Each sought out the Italian to wish one of the paddock's most well-liked faces the best for the next step of his career.

Tears flowed as the beloved Italian spoke about this season and his career in general. He said: “Unfortunately, when I’m really happy, I always cry, I’m crying a lot, so I’m really happy. It’s been an incredible journey for me. I was coming from nowhere. I’ve won every Championship I’ve competed in, this year has been really, really tough. I want to thank BMW because they helped me a lot. Unfortunately, the outcome hasn’t been good, but I found a really, really good group of people. I can only say thank you to WorldSBK. When I quite MotoGP, I went to MotoAmerica, and I wanted to try to win a World Championship, and BMW was my target. Unfortunately, I didn’t go as I wanted, but I gave it my all. This is the most beautiful feeling. This will be my last WorldSBK race, but I’m so happy. I rode in this paddock for the first time in 2007, 20 years ago, in Superstock 600. I’m really happy.”

“IT WAS A PERFECT STORM, WE HAD NO TESTING, AND WHEN WE WERE STARTING TO GET FASTER, I GOT INJURED AT THE WORST MOMENT OF THE SEASON”

Poor weather in offseason testing made Petrucci’s adaptation to the M1000RR an uphill battle, as, in his view, it is a very different beast to his previous Ducati Panigale V4R machine. Then, as he began to come into his own atop the bike, he suffered a crash at Most Race 1, leaving him with a broken tailbone. From there, he wasn’t able to get his pace back to his prior form, but was effusive with praise for the team and their handling of the situation

On this season, and looking forward, Petrucci was profound in his response. He said: “With BMW, it was a perfect storm; we had no testing, the bike is so different to what I was used to, and when we were starting to get faster, I got injured at the worst moment of the season. When you have a bad accident like that where you can’t feel your legs, you start to think that at 36 years old, it’s not worth it. From that moment on, in your brain, you start always thinking about your health, and BMW decided they wanted to move in another direction. Unfortunately, everything that could have gone wrong has gone wrong; but the team has been really nice to me. I don’t know how many hugs I’ve given out this weekend, everyone at BMW has given all we had. All I can say is thank you. From here, all I can say about my future is that I want to be happy, that’s my lifelong dream. It’s not easy, but I just want to enjoy what life gives me.”

“IF THERE WAS A RIDER LIKE ME WHEN I WAS A CHILD, I WOULD HAVE BEEN MY IDOL, IT’S INCREDIBLE TO BE ABLE TO SAY THAT"

From various manufacturers in MotoGP, to racing across the pond in MotoAmerica, to Racing off-road in the Dakar Rally, ‘Petrux’ has enjoyed success in every discipline on two wheels he’s competed in, a testament to his quality on a motorcycle as much as his quality as a person.

Looking back on his time not just in WorldSBK, but across his time competing in MotoGP, MotoAmerica, even the off-road Dakar Rally, Petrucci can be nothing but proud, he said: “I have many many beautiful memories in this paddock. My first podium, my hat trick at Cremona, being a factory rider. BMW is the biggest factory in Europe, I’ve ridden for Ducati, KTM, BMW- not bad for a guy from the countryside in Italy. I wanted to be a World Champion, that’s why I joined WorldSBK. I tried my best, and I can be happy with that; there is more in life. All I can say is thank you to everyone: WorldSBK, BMW, and everyone who helped me at home. My greatest victory is being able to tell this story; it’s something I find really fulfilling. It makes me really proud to have so many people say they will miss me; it took me like 15 minutes to cross the pit lane with the number of people who came up to me. I want to thank everyone; it’s been an incredible journey. I never would have expected this in my life. Winning in MotoGP, winning in Dakar, going back to on-road and continuing to win; if there was a rider like me when I was a child, I would be my idol. It’s an incredible feeling to be able to say that.”

Look back through Petrucci’s best moments in the paddock with the WorldSBK VideoPass!