Superbike: In MotoAmerica, BMW is winning—Sean Dylan Kelly dreams of the title

Difficulties in the World Championship, but in MotoAmerica the M 1000 RR is chasing another title after the one won by Beaubier in 2025.

The signing of Toprak Razgatlioglu allowed BMW to claim the first two riders’ titles in its history in the Superbike World Championship, a double achieved through major investment and hard work. With the Turkish phenom’s move to MotoGP, the German manufacturer’s potential has been significantly reduced.

Miguel Oliveira and Danilo Petrucci have struggled to adapt to the M 1000 RR and have had to contend with both weather-ruined tests and injuries. Four podiums have come, all secured by the Portuguese rider, but a team that won the last two world crowns expected more. It must be said that Ducati has definitely raised the bar with the new Panigale V4 R, BMW is working to respond, and in 2027 it will bring an updated, more competitive bike to the track.

While it isn’t getting the results it hoped for in WorldSBK, in MotoAmerica it is once again fighting to clinch the Superbike class title. BMW already triumphed in 2025 with Cameron Beaubier, a legend of the category with six titles (five on the Yamaha R1), who brilliantly brought the title back to Germany long after the brand’s first and only one in 1976. Now BMW leads the standings thanks to Sean Dylan Kelly.

The 24-year-old American rider has 217 points, 24 more than Mathew Scholtz, who rides the Yamaha R1 for the Strack Racing team, and 32 more than JD Beach of the Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing team. Last weekend at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, the sixth round of the 2026 calendar took place: Kelly took victory in Race 1 and finished second in Race 2, where Scholtz beat him by just 177 thousandths.

The OrangeCat Racing rider is a familiar face in Grand Prix racing, having spent two seasons in Moto2 (2022 and 2023). He failed to make a mark there and in 2024 restarted in the MotoAmerica Superbike championship. After finishing fourth overall with the M 1000 RR of the TopPro Racing BMW team and fifth with the Suzuki GSX-R1000 of the Hammer M4 Ecstar team, Kelly in 2026 has the chance to be crowned champion in the category. He already won the Supersport title in 2021 aboard a Suzuki GSX-R600 with the M4 Ecstar team.

In 2026 he has taken 3 wins, 3 second places, and 4 third places in 12 races contested. It’s an excellent run, though there are still three rounds to go to reach the coveted goal. If things aren’t going great in the World Championship, BMW is hoping that at least in MotoAmerica a fine reward will come with Kelly’s final triumph.