Miguel Oliveira guarantees BMW's 3rd place among Superbike builders

O portuguese Miguel Oliveira today secured BMW's third place at the World Superbike Builders World Championship, at the end of the final race of the season, on a journey marked by the farewell of the Italian Danilo Petrucci of the team.

The points won by Oliveira in the second race of Jerez de la Frontera allowed to secure that position, at the close of a time when the brand fell short of the goal of winning races.

“We left Jerez with a positive note, because today we tried something that was very positive for the second race”, said the Portuguese pilot, quoted by the Bavarian team.

Oliveira explained that the difficulties began in qualification, preventing him from achieving a more favorable position on the grid. On Saturday, he abandoned the first race due to a technical problem, before finishing the Sunday Superpole race on 11th.

“Not finishing yesterday was also frustrating. But today we have improved and I am satisfied with it,” he added.

Portuguese, which finished the debut season in the 11th place of the championship, with 142 points and four podiums, was enthusiastic about the beginning of the preparation for 2027.

“ I can’t wait to get back on the bike and start working with the team again for the next season,” he said.

Oliveira will continue in the official structure of BMW, having as new companion South African Brad Binder, who will replace Petrucci.

The Italian competed in Jerez the last races for the team, ending on 17th on Saturday, 19th in the Superpole race and 20th in the second main race.

On Saturday night, Petrucci was honored by the team and fans on the stage of the WorldSBK Paddock Show, at a farewell marked by emotion.

“ It was a dream to compete for the biggest builder in Europe. The result was not as good as we all expected, but they all did their best”, said the Italian.

Oliveira also thanked the teammate for his contribution, describing him as “a great colleague and a great person”.

BMW Motorrad Motorsport’s manager Sven Blusch considered that the season was an “emotional roller coaster”, with podiums, but also serious injuries by Oliveira and Petrucci, which conditioned the results.

“It’s a shame we didn’t have as much success together in Superbikes as we expected,” he acknowledged, praising the Italian’s commitment to the end.

In turn, technical director Christian Gonchor admitted that the team did not achieve the goal of winning races, although he argued that income was often higher than the results.

“In many races we were faster than in 2025,” he stressed, stressing that speed alone is not enough.