Miguel Oliveira confirms 2026 WorldSBK crew chief, first BMW test date

Ahead of his final MotoGP race as a full-time rider, Miguel Oliveira has confirmed who he will work with as his crew chief in his first WorldSBK season next year.

Oliveira’s move to World Superbike with BMW came after Toprak Razgatlioglu was announced as a Pramac Yamaha MotoGP rider for 2026. 

In the end, they effectively swapped rides, and Oliveira originally thought he was going to inherit Razgatlioglu’s whole crew at BMW.

But Razgatlioglu’s crew chief, Phil Marron, will move to KTM next year and is set to work with Brad Binder, leaving Oliveira’s crew chief spot open for next year. But ahead of his final MotoGP appearance, the Portuguese rider has been able to confirm who he will work with in 2026.

“My crew chief is currently Andrew Pitt,” Miguel Oliveira said on Thursday (13 November) at the Valencia MotoGP, after confirming that his first test on the M1000 RR will be on 26–27 November in Jerez.

Although he is yet to ride the M1000 RR, Oliveira was able to get a second-hand, reverse preview of one of the key changes he will experience from this year to next, that being the switch from Michelin to Pirelli tyres, thanks to Nicolo Bulega’s feedback last weekend on his MotoGP debut in Portimao.

Bulega crashed early on in the Sprint in Portugal, which he put down to braking as he would on his Ducati Panigale V4 R World Superbike with the Pirellis instead of the way he had been learning to brake with the Michelins.

“From what we heard from Pirellis, they are amazing tyres for the feedback, especially, and they give you a good confidence straight away from the garage,” Oliveira said.

“For me, hearing that riding the Michelin is quite different, I think it’s good training. 

“These tyres are one of the best, for sure, because otherwise we wouldn’t be able to do the lean angles that we do on these bikes. 

“And the bikes are quite different, also. So, to compare a tyre with a different bike, it’s also unfair. 

“So, let’s see, let’s see in one year’s time when the Pirellis come to MotoGP if it’s like that and if the different feeling and the struggle for braking continues in Superbike with the Michelins. 

“But I think it’s a different bike and an unfair comparison.”

Valencia “an extra” after “busy” Portimao send-off

While Portimao was Bulega’s first MotoGP race, it was the final home grand prix for Oliveira in his full-time MotoGP career.

The emotions that surrounded that weekend, which featured a grid ceremony centred around the 30-year-old, mean that the Valencia finale is “much more relaxed”.

“It feels like an extra,” Oliveira said of the Valencia race.

“It does feel much more relaxed and I’m happy to have this kind of goodbye, a little bit less emotional, for sure, after the last grand prix. 

“Just feel like more relaxed, ready to go, and ready to enjoy.”

He added: “Portimao was so much going on off-track. Okay, it was more of a busy weekend, but the emotional way that everything had, the people that came in saying hello and giving their strength, the people in the grandstand – it was just so emotional.

“It was a weekend where I got off riding but not at my fullest and here I feel like it’s completely different. It feels like a normal race.”