Record-breaking Portimao for Miguel Oliveira, but BMW on notice: "Third place isn’t enough"

Oliveira was the standout star of the Superbike round in Portugal, where thanks to him there was a record crowd over the weekend: now the BMW rider wants to keep growing.

After a challenging debut at Phillip Island, Miguel Oliveira couldn’t wait to race at Portimão in front of his many fans. At the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve, he was also able to take advantage of two test days to make progress in adapting to the BMW M 1000 RR and the Pirelli tires. He arrived well-prepared for the second Superbike round of the calendar and of his career, achieving excellent results: fourth in Superpole, then three third-place finishes across the weekend’s three races. These are his first podiums in the category, and he showed that the German bike is competitive, even if there is still something missing compared to the Ducati Panigale V4 R.

The former MotoGP rider is fourth in the SBK world standings, with 56 points: -4 from Axel Bassani, -12 from Iker Lecuona, and 68 points behind leader Nicolò Bulega. The goal will certainly be to stay in the podium mix at the next round in Assen (April 17–29), where the riders will arrive without having tested beforehand, unlike what happened in the rounds in Australia and Portugal. It’s a big challenge, especially for those like the Portuguese rider who are in their rookie year in the production-derived championship.

Oliveira had extra motivation to race at Portimão, and he succeeded in giving the fans, himself, and the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK team a great weekend: "I knew it would be really difficult to fight with the guys at the front, but we managed to be consistent and we took three podiums, which are important to consolidate and reward the team’s hard work. I know it’s only the second round, but we don’t want to finish third. I feel there’s a lot of satisfaction in the team, but at the same time we want to achieve more. It’s not pressure, but we know where we want to get to. There are still many races to go, I can’t wait to learn and get the most out of the bike and myself."

The Portuguese rider handled the pressure well from Alex Lowes, who finished fourth three times in Portugal with the Bimota: "At a certain point, you have to ride as if there’s no one behind you. You check whether you’re gaining or losing to understand if you need to push more or less, but there came a moment when I forgot about him, I just tried to run my own race without making mistakes and by being consistent. It was enough to finish third."

Even though he has never raced there with the M 1000 RR, Oliveira is confident ahead of the round at the TT Circuit Assen, where he hopes to be on the podium again: "On paper, there’s nothing striking that would prevent us from being competitive. But let’s keep our feet on the ground, we know we have work to do and we’ll start on Friday to turn it into a positive weekend."

The fact that the Superbike World Championship arrived at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve with a rider like Oliveira on the grid suggested the possibility of seeing lots of fans in the stands. And that’s exactly what happened. According to figures released by the organizers, 82,132 fans went to Portimão to support the home favorite and enjoy the races. It’s a record; the previous one was 53,886 spectators in 2019. Meanwhile in 2025 there were 53,886 people in attendance. In 2026 there was a 53.8% increase compared to last season. It was the most attended WorldSBK event since Buriram 2015, when Thailand made its debut. Portimão 2026 is also the second highest-attended round in the DWO (Dorna WSBK Organization) era.

Oliveira is proud to have drawn even more people to the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve. The calendar also features another round in Portugal, at Estoril, scheduled for the weekend of October 9–11. Although doubts emerged about the event actually taking place due to some issues with the circuit’s facilities, for now everything is confirmed. Barring any surprises, Estoril will also attract a large crowd to watch Miguel and the other riders in action.