Superbike, BMW nightmare: Oliveira and Petrucci sink at Magny-Cours

A really bad weekend for the German brand: in France the M 1000 RR fell well short of expectations. After Donington, another drubbing.

No one expected to see a BMW fighting for the podium, but the results at Magny-Cours were truly embarrassing for the team that won the last two World Superbike titles. Toprak Razgatlioglu is no longer there, but Miguel Oliveira and Danilo Petrucci are no rookies, and it’s not normal to see them struggling so much on their M 1000 RRs.

Around mid-August the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK team went to Magny-Cours for two days of testing, so they should have been prepared to face this race weekend. In the past the French track has been fairly favorable to the German bike, so it’s surprising to witness such a beating. The last pre-break round at Donington Park went terribly already; it was hard to imagine another disaster at Magny-Cours. And yet… Not even an increase in fuel flow helped to provide any assistance.

14 riders reached the finish

18 riders reached the finish

15 riders reached the finish

BMW will certainly try to bounce back at the next round at the Cremona Circuit (September 25–27), but in the meantime preparations are also underway for a comeback in the 2027 Superbike World Championship. Next year there will be an evolved M 1000 RR, with a frame that should be similar to the “super-concession” one with which Toprak Razgatlioglu dominated the 2024 championship and which, after a rule change, could not be used in 2025.

It also remains to be seen what impact the new Brembo carboceramic brake discs and, above all, the new Michelin tires will have. BMW is investing in WorldSBK and intends to relaunch in 2027. Oliveira’s renewal has been confirmed, as has Petrucci’s departure, and now Brad Binder’s announcement is awaited to complete next year’s line-up. They still need to try to finish 2026 respectably, but 2027 should be the year when we see the German brand competitive again.