Superbike, BMW Responds: The Next Moves to Counter Ducati’s Dominance

Negative Superbike weekend for the German brand in England, with heavily disappointing results for Oliveira and Petrucci: major decisions have already been made for the future.

Ducati dominated the SBK round at Donington Park, sweeping the podiums in all three races. Bimota was the second-best manufacturer, while BMW was the biggest disappointment of the weekend. Between Miguel Oliveira (9) and Danilo Petrucci (2), only 11 points were scored in total.

For Petrux it was a comeback, since he hadn’t raced after the big crash in Race 1 at Most. It’s normal he wasn’t at 100% physically. The Portuguese rider is more concerning, finishing outside the top 10 in both main races and last (behind his teammate) in the Superpole Race after also ending up in the gravel. In the past two editions of the Superbike round in England, the M 1000 RR had triumphed in all races with the phenomenal Toprak Razgatlioglu; no one expected the winning streak to continue, but Oliveira’s and Petrucci’s results were truly poor.

The negative results for the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK team are surprising also because the riders had carried out a test right at Donington Park Circuit in June. What was supposed to be an advantage didn’t materialize. Technical director Christian Gonschor weighed in on the matter: "The pre-race test turned out to be somewhat misleading, rather than helping us improve performance. In addition, there were other unfortunate circumstances, such as Miguel’s crash in qualifying. Finally, the reduction in permitted fuel flow compared to our Japanese rivals, following the 2025 world title win, is clearly having an impact. This made our race comebacks even more difficult, even though our race pace was actually encouraging: we were faster than last year. The results, however, speak for themselves. We will use the summer break to conduct intensive testing, so that we can provide our riders with a competitive bike at Magny-Cours as well."

Oliveira, Petrucci, and the team returned to Donington Park convinced they had a good base to exploit for the race weekend, but major limitations with the M 1000 RR emerged as early as free practice. Certainly, the bike’s potential is different from what was seen over the weekend; for some reason it wasn’t expressed, and now BMW intends to work hard to be competitive in the final four rounds of the 2026 Superbike calendar (Magny-Cours, Cremona, Estoril, Jerez). Testing will be very useful for gathering data and trying new developments.

While waiting to see whether there will be significant progress over the rest of the 2026 season, the Munich-based manufacturer has already made a very important decision for 2027: to introduce a new homologated model of the M 1000 RR. According to what was revealed by Speedweek, the radical change will be the frame.

As Superbike fans will remember, in 2024 BMW benefited from Super Concessions and introduced a new frame that made a big difference. Due to a rule change, it was not possible to use it in 2025, a year in which Razgatlioglu was nevertheless able to confirm himself as champion, while Michael van der Mark struggled a great deal.

The 2027 model will feature a third-generation M Motorsport frame, still made of welded die-cast aluminum sections, with refined flexibility. Proper frame flex improves corner-exit traction and is essential for sensing the tires’ grip limits. In addition, wall thickness has been reduced by around 30%, yielding a weight saving of 1.3 kg. In short, BMW is working to close the gap to Ducati, the queen of the 2026 WorldSBK.

Regarding the 2027 lineup, we have already reported that BMW did not exercise the options to extend the contracts of the current riders. This does not mean that two new riders will arrive. There is a real possibility that Oliveira will continue to ride the M 1000 RR. Even if he didn’t shine at Donington Park, he has still taken four podiums this season, which is no small feat. The injury at Balaton Park disrupted his adaptation and growth, but upon his return at Misano he performed well (eighth in Race 1, sixth in the Superpole Race) despite still being banged up. Giving the Portuguese rider continuity seems a wise choice.

According to what was revealed by Speedweek, there is even an advanced negotiation for a new three-year contract: signatures could come in the next few days. While Oliveira seems set to tie himself to BMW, Petrucci’s position is highly precarious and he could be replaced. Manu Gonzalez has already been in contact, and Brad Binder, Alex Rins, and Jack Miller would also not mind getting on an M 1000 RR in 2027: they have no MotoGP future left, except as testers.