Petrucci and Oliveira ready for the new challenge: BMW wants the third World Superbike title

No event in Portimão, but BMW is nonetheless presenting its teams for the Superbike and Endurance World Championships.

The ROKiT BMW Motorrad team had planned to hold its presentation this evening at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, where it was also supposed to carry out two days of testing together with the other SBK teams. Due to bad weather, it decided to leave Portimão and head to Valencia to try to get Danilo Petrucci and Miguel Oliveira on track there, as they need mileage on their M 1000 RR machines. Although the test in Portugal was canceled, the presentation was ultimately held anyway, albeit in a different form.

In addition to the team competing in the World Superbike Championship, the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team, competing in the FIM EWC, was also unveiled. The new feature of the 2026 lineup is Michael van der Mark, who will be both an SBK tester and an Endurance World Championship rider. Joining him are the confirmed Markus Reiterberger, Steven Odendaal (who will also race in the new EuroMoto, formerly IDM Superbike) and Hannes Soomer as the fourth rider (also competing in ESBK, the Spanish Superbike Championship).

There are customer teams that compete as official BMW Motorrad Motorsport teams, working closely with BMW Motorrad Motorsport in communications, marketing, and events. For example, AutoRace Ube Racing Team, which performed well in the Japanese Superbike Championship, will race in the FIM EWC. The team’s primary rider is Naomichi Uramoto, who will be joined by Sylvain Guintoli and Soomer.

In MotoAmerica, Orange Cat Racing won the Superstock title last season. Now, the U.S. team, as a BMW Motorrad Motorsport Official Team in its core U.S. market, moves up to the MotoAmerica Superbike class. The team’s two BMW M 1000 RR machines will be ridden by Jayson Uribe and Sean Dylan Kelly (both American).

On the roads, the reference structure is 8TEN Racing, from the UK market. The two riders are also the team owners and favorites at the major events: Davey Todd and Peter Hickman (both British) have already won numerous races, including the Isle of Man TT and the Macau Grand Prix. As last year, Todd and Hickman will compete both in road races and in the British Superbike Championship (BSB).

Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team): "I’m definitely excited. I really don’t know what to expect. I know it will be a tough and competitive environment. So my goal is to rise to the challenge and be as ready as possible to fight for the front positions and adapt as quickly as possible, especially to have fun and to make the team enjoy the races."

Danilo Petrucci (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team): “I am really happy and proud to join the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team. It’s the team that has won the last championships and I’m really proud to be part of it. I can’t wait to race with this bike. We’ve done some tests and in wet conditions the situation is really good. We need to spend more time in the dry because we haven’t had much time in those conditions yet. There are certainly high expectations, but above all I want to enjoy myself. I don’t have a particular result in mind. I just want to be as fast as possible and improve on my results from last season."

Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team): “I can’t wait to get started. I had a great experience with them last year at Suzuka and I really enjoyed working with Steven and Markus. We are a great team. It’s fantastic to already know the crew and I think it’s quite clear that we have one goal: to win the Endurance World Championship. Last year they came very close, but unfortunately that’s part of endurance racing. I’m looking forward to giving it a try and helping them win a world title. I will also be part of the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Test Team. We are doing a lot of testing before handing components over to the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team and also to the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team. It’s a different and very demanding job, but also very enjoyable.”