SBK test, more rain: the BMW team leaves Portimao and heads to Valencia

Bad weather is ruining the 2026 Superbike pre-season: BMW has decided to leave Portimão.

A cursed January for the WorldSBK teams, heavily affected by rain during preparations for the new season. In Jerez, the first day on track was completely wet and the second offered only two to three hours of semi-dry asphalt. Those hoping to run in Portimão under better conditions were surely disappointed, given that there’s bad weather in Portugal and it’s also forecast for the two test days (January 28–29). Some have already decided to leave the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve: the ROKiT BMW Motorrad team.

The Anglo-German squad had scheduled its team launch for this evening in Portimão, but has canceled both the event and the test. Considering the forecast for the coming days, it was deemed pointless to remain in Portugal.

For riders like Danilo Petrucci and Miguel Oliveira, in their first year with the M 1000 RR, it’s important to put in as many laps as possible. They haven’t been lucky so far. Unlike MotoGP, Superbike doesn’t conduct winter testing in warm locations and accepts the risk of being affected by bad weather. Clearly, going outside Europe would entail higher costs, and not all teams could afford long trips.

It should be noted, however, that the ROKiT BMW Motorrad team has set off for Valencia to try to run at the Ricardo Tormo circuit. The weather forecast looks more encouraging than Portimão’s. We’ll see whether Petrucci and Oliveira will have the chance to rack up a good number of laps on their M 1000 RR machines.