Which BMW will we see in 2026? Van der Mark reassures Petrucci and Oliveira

Razgatlioglu is moving to MotoGP, and there’s curiosity to see whether BMW will remain a winning force in Superbike without the Turkish phenomenon.

The last two years have been fantastic for BMW in the Superbike World Championship, where it had never won any title before the arrival of the hurricane Toprak Razgatlioglu. With him in the saddle, the M 1000 RR proved to be an incredibly successful bike and the German manufacturer clinched two riders’ titles. In 2026 the Turk will race in MotoGP, and there’s a big question mark over the brand’s future in SBK. Strong riders like Danilo Petrucci and Miguel Oliveira have been signed, but it’s hard to predict how competitive they will be.

Although he has not been retained on the WorldSBK team, Michael van der Mark will remain part of the BMW family as a member of the EWC squad and as a test rider. His experience will be a valuable asset to improve the M 1000 RR.

After the last SBK world championship ended, there was a test at Jerez and it was van der Mark who took to the track. Speaking to the media at EICMA in Milan, the Dutch rider commented on the test and what the 2026 BMW will be like: "I hope I did a good job for them. They need to get used to the bike," he told the official WorldSBK channels, "and build confidence. Considering their qualities, I don’t think they will need much time to become competitive, but the bike is definitely very different from what they’re used to. I tested some components and the 2026 bike is definitely easier to ride. The team’s goal was to make it easier to ride, because both are new, and I think many details are contributing to this progress."

BMW knows that Razgatlioglu is a unique rider and that it needs to do something different with the M 1000 RR to enable Petrucci and Oliveira to achieve important results. As van der Mark explained, the goal is to make the bike easier to ride, which is crucial: there’s only one Toprak.

Petrucci was also at EICMA and confirmed that his physical condition is improving after the very unfortunate injury suffered before the penultimate round of the 2025 Superbike season at Estoril. He confirmed that by late November (26–27), when he will have his first test with the BMW M 1000 RR, he should be in fairly good shape. There will be great curiosity to see him and Oliveira in action with the German bike.