BMW boss reveals Miguel Oliveira “surprise” at first WorldSBK test

Danilo Petrucci and Miguel Oliveira both had their respective first tastes of the BMW M1000 RR WorldSBK bike at this week’s Jerez test (26–27 November), and one thing in particular was noted as a surprise to the Portuguese rider.

Petrucci ended Wednesday around 0.4 seconds slower than Michael van der Mark, who has transitioned to being BMW’s World Superbike test rider after the end of the 2025 season and was third-fastest at the end of the first day. 

Oliveira was another 0.4 seconds slower than Petrucci, as he makes the transition not only from one bike to another, but from MotoGP to WorldSBK machinery and from Michelin to Pirelli tyres.

“It’s kind of where we thought he [Petrucci] would be,” said ROKiT BMW Motorrad Team Principal Shaun Muir, speaking to WorldSBK.com after the opening day in Jerez.

“Michael’s [van der Mark] got a separate test plan, he’s certainly not chasing lap times but he’s riding a lot freer and he knows the bike well – he’s got five years on it. 

“I think if you look at the lap times of Miguel [Oliveira] and Danilo [Petrucci] and use Michael as a benchmark I think it’s fantastic work. Danilo did a great job there, he just worked on bike balance, getting used to the heavy braking and the engine braking characteristics of the bike, and I think he’s done a great job. 

“Equally, Miguel, he has more changing parameters given he’s come off the Michelins onto the Pirelli tyres, that’s another big step, and that’s one thing that Danilo’s been used to in the past. 

“For both of them to be as close to Mickey – and I dare say that maybe a Q tyre went in the front two bikes [Locatelli and Gardner] so that gap is even closer, overall – we’re coming away really happy tonight. 

“We want to repeat what we’ve done today, tomorrow, and that will be a really solid start to our preseason testing.”

Muir added that Oliveira, in his switch of category, had been surprised by the speed of the M1000 RR, while he indicated that both riders were pleased with the bike’s electronics package, especially its engine brake characteristics.

“Miguel specifically was really shocked at the out-and-out speed of the Superbike compared to the MotoGP bike,” said Muir.

“I think it was a little bit of a shock to him and he certainly was smiling at that. 

“Obviously, the engine brake characteristics of our bike [is something that] we’ve worked on heavily in the last few years, which we know it’s been a strong part of our package. Again, that was quite surprising for Miguel, and Danilo was really happy that he could brake so aggressively – something he’s really looking forward to on the bike after seeing the performance of Michael and Toprak [Razgatlioglu] in the past.

“Both riders’ feedback is that it’s a lot smoother a package than they thought it would be; the electronics were a big surprise for them and they were really super-happy about that. 

“I think both of them have gone away with a lot of things in their head, a lot of things to sleep on, and a lot of things that they need to digest and process ready for another attack [on Thursday] . 

“Fundamentally, to come away with the similar amount of laps under the belt, and if we can go away now with that 150-plus laps for both riders, that’s a lot of data to start our January test programme with.”