BMW faces a moment of truth at Portimao: Oliveira and Petrucci want to stop Bulega

Bulega dominated in Australia and is the big favorite in Portugal as well, though he expects a tougher fight there: the BMW riders hope to give him a hard time.

There was no contest at Phillip Island: Nicolò Bulega crushed all his rivals and completed a hat-trick of wins after also securing pole position. He laid down the law in the races; no one was truly able to threaten him, and there’s curiosity to see what will happen at Portimao, the venue for the second round of the 2026 Superbike World Championship.

In Australia, Bimota was the second-best manufacturer on the grid, and there are clearly expectations for Axel Bassani, second in the championship standings, and Alex Lowes. The KB998 Rimini looks like an improved bike compared to 2025, and it will be interesting to see its level this weekend at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve.

Phillip Island is one of the worst tracks on the calendar for the BMW M 1000 RR, but it should perform better at Portimao. Recent test days held right in the Algarve allowed Miguel Oliveira and Danilo Petrucci to get to know their new bike better and to prepare for an SBK round in which they aim to be protagonists. In Australia they scored 17 and 16 points respectively; in Portugal they hope to have the potential to fight for the podium.

Oliveira is Portuguese, and racing at Portimao is something special that inevitably gives him an extra boost: "After the first round and the test," he told the official WorldSBK website, "I feel more ready, more comfortable with the bike. Racing my home round motivates me to give the public and my team the best result possible. It would be really special to get on the podium or win. I think Nicolò will keep his form; if he stays in front it wouldn’t be a surprise, but we must be ready to challenge him."

The ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK rider hopes to capitalize on what he learned in testing to make further progress on the M 1000 RR and achieve good results: "It was really positive; we managed to continue the adaptation and prepare the setup a bit for the weekend. It looks like the weather will be good, better than what we had in the test, and that’s also positive to help us make some steps."

Like Oliveira, Petrucci also feels the need to deliver a stronger weekend than at Phillip Island. Racing for an official Superbike team was what he wanted to consistently fight for podiums and wins; he hopes that from Portimao his season—and BMW’s—can truly get underway.