Danilo Petrucci has expressed that he’s “really disappointed” to end his tenure with Barni Spark Racing without achieving his main 2025 WorldSBK objective.
The Italian suffered a fracture to the fourth metacarpal in his right hand and was subsequently declared unfit for the final two rounds in Estoril and Jerez.
Despite undergoing successful surgery on Monday after Estoril, he will consequently miss out on securing third place in the WorldSBK championship.
Alvaro Bautista and Andrea Locatelli have since overtaken the Italian, but finishing fifth in the championship is confirmed.
This closes the three-year chapter he spent with the satellite Ducati team, during which he claimed three wins and 20 podiums.
“The injury was very bad because my regret about losing third place on the track remains,” he told GPOne.
“I gave everything and it wasn’t enough. It was a third place that meant so much to both me and the Barni team, and I’m really dissapointed.
“Also, because, as long as I was on the track, we were third in the championship, ahead of factory bikes.
“Although I’ve put a little bit of a stop to it, because on the one hand I have a clear conscience, knowing that I gave everything and did nothing wrong.
“On the other hand, however, it’s even more disheartening precisely because I will not finish third despite having given everything and not having done anything wrong.
“It’s been a great three years and I imagined how emotional it would be to say goodbye to my mechanics on the grid one last time, but it’s not going to happen. We’ll go to dinner.”
Danilo Petrucci’s injury means delayed BMW test
Petrucci’s injury means he will have to delay his first test with BMW until the November sessions at Jerez, instead of the end-of-season test held just two days after the finale.
The 34-year-old will ride the Bavarian machine for the first time alongside MotoGP rider Miguel Oliveira, as BMW unveils a brand-new lineup following the departures of Toprak Razgatlioglu and Michael van der Mark.
“I was supposed to have tested the bike on Tuesday, but instead I will test it on November 26 and 27,” he shared.
“Here with everyone else. [Miguel] Oliveira will also be present, so we will debut together.”
Petrucci believes Nicolo Bulega will enter 2026 as the reference rider, but he himself has added motivation to continue Toprak Razgatlioglu’s dominance from the previous two seasons.
“It’s clear that I don’t start as favourite, seeing the level of this year. [Nicolo] Bulega, without Toprak [Razgatlioglu], will be a step ahead of everyone else.
“But maybe who knows: maybe I will be comfortable on this new bike. Then, they will also have a new bike and there will also be Oliveira and Lecuona. It will be a very nice and balanced championship.
“Picking up the baton of a World Champion bike is an extra motivation for me as well, and a motivation that you don’t have by racing with a private team because inside you have the excuse of not having an official bike.”
READ MORE – Danilo Petrucci explains rationale behind BMW WorldSBK switch
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