SBK 2026, BMW isn’t feeling sorry for itself: the challenge is to win without Toprak

Razgatlioglu’s departure is a massive blow, but BMW is looking ahead: with Petrucci and Oliveira, it aims to be a Superbike winner.

When Toprak Razgatlioglu signed with BMW, no one thought he would manage to win the SBK world title in his first year—and then even for two years in a row. It was reasonable to expect he would do better than all the other riders who had raced the M 1000 RR, because his level is superior, but he went beyond the rosiest expectations. An attempt was made to renew his contract with an even richer salary than before, but the Turkish rider wanted to move to MotoGP and achieved his goal, signing a two-year deal with Yamaha.

Replacing Razgatlioglu is incredibly difficult, but the Munich-based manufacturer has tried to assemble the best possible line-up to tackle the 2026 Superbike season. As a first move, it signed Danilo Petrucci, who, before the injury that forced him to miss the last two rounds of the championship, was close to taking third place overall with the Barni Spark Ducati. The second signing was Miguel Oliveira, coming off a few challenging years in MotoGP and determined to relaunch himself with this new project.

The value of riders like Petrucci and Oliveira is undeniable. The Italian has done very well since arriving in WorldSBK, improving year after year and earning the chance to ride for a factory team. The Portuguese rider has struggled in recent MotoGP seasons, but he has the talent to perform well in the production-derived world championship. Both will need to adapt well to the M 1000 RR, which they got to know for the first time in the Jerez test held toward the end of November.

If Razgatlioglu won two titles in a row, it means there’s significant potential to be extracted from the German bike. Michael van der Mark struggled to unlock it in 2025, a year in which the M 1000 RR could not use the controversial 2024 “super concession” frame, but the Dutch rider has remained in the BMW family as a test rider, and his work could be valuable for the newcomers.

The Bavarian motorcycle manufacturer has invested a lot of money in the Superbike project, and the success achieved in recent years has also helped reassure a Board of Management always ready to consider other options. Sven Blusch, director of BMW Motorrad Motorsport, spoke about it to Speedweek: “Now, not only does everyone at BMW Motorrad follow the Superbike World Championship, but the entire BMW Board of Management does as well. Knowing this fills us with pride. They watch the races and congratulate us. This is a good opportunity to talk about long-term plans. The most important thing is being able to give teams and riders security in their planning.”

Blusch is passionate about racing and ambitious; after winning, he wants to win again: “We can be truly proud of what we have achieved, and we are not at the end of the story yet. We started planning for the future right after the season ended. Winning the world championship is fantastic, but we did it, and now we have to focus on what we need to do to be successful again in 2026.”

Winning without Toprak will be a tough mission, but a package has been assembled with the potential to have an excellent championship and convince the BMW Board to invest in the Superbike project beyond 2026, the year the agreement with Dorna expires. It’s no coincidence that Petrucci and Oliveira have signed 1+1 contracts, awaiting clarity on whether the brand will be on the grid in 2027 as well.