BMW WorldSBK boss praises “impressive” Miguel Oliveira

Miguel Oliveira’s impact has already been felt at BMW, the Portuguese rider impressing with his progress during his first two days aboard the WorldSBK-spec M1000 RR.

Oliveira finished the two-day Jerez test eighth-fastest and around one second slower than Alex Lowes, who topped the times on the second day.

But the Portuguese rider did not go for a qualifying tyre on the second day, working only with race tyres as he adapted himself to the BMW, to Pirelli tyres, and to production derivative racing in general after a career spent almost exclusively on prototype machinery.

Oliveira was a part of a three-rider effort for BMW in Jerez, alongside fellow new recruit Danilo Petrucci and racer-turned-test-rider Michael van der Mark. Together, they put together a strong opening test of the 2026 preseason for BMW.

“Fantastic two days,” said Chris Gonschor, BMW Motorrad Technical Director, speaking to WorldSBK.com.

“I think we managed to do nearly 400 laps [between] all three riders, so it means a lot of laps, a lot of trust, no crashes, so the riders adapted quickly to the bike. 

“Mickey [Michael van der Mark] could do some relevant testing and at the end of day two we are very pleased to see all riders in the 1:38s and looking very strong on race tyres and partly also on qualifying tyres, which it’s not a secret that a few in the paddock used today; it’s relevant because you also need the information about how the bike works on a qualifying tyre. 

“But I’m pleased to say that Miguel [Oliveira], for example, fully focused on race tyres. 

“So, his step from [Wednesday to Thursday] on race tyres was impressive and we are looking forward, with both riders, to go to Jerez again.”

Much of the work for Oliveira and Petrucci during the two days was about ergonomics and electronics. On the former point, Gonschor thinks Oliveira in particular found a good direction for himself on the second day of the test.

“We continued the work from [Wednesday to Thursday] to fine-tune the hydraulics setup and focused the rest of [Thursday] mainly on electronics, helping them [Oliveira and Petrucci] stop the bike on engine brake and also getting the perfect drive in terms of traction control.” Gonschor said, explaining the test plan BMW used on Thursday.

“Finally, also optimising the ergonomics; at the end, both are a little bit different in terms of size and weight, so we need to find a good compromise here on the spot. 

“On Miguel’s side we found a good solution to seat him more comfortably on the bike, and he was pleased and he enjoyed riding in the afternoon even more than yesterday and this morning. 

“So, I think after two days we nearly finished all of what we wanted to do on the list with the race riders, and on the test team we finished our run as scheduled.”

The test team, with van der Mark, was able to show promising performance, the Dutchman lapping 0.2 seconds faster at the test than he managed on qualifying tyres during the Spanish World Superbike round in October.

“Mickey definitely showed a very strong pace,” said Gonschor.

“He started the day on race tyres [and was] at the front of the time list – it was good to see. He’s a fantastic rider, we’re happy to have him in our test team. 

“He focused for sure on the 2026 bike; like last year we tried to improve the relevant areas which still will be, and will be for ever, the engine, aerodynamics, and the electronics.

“Therefore, he had a big list to work on, but he did it in a perfect, constant way, constant lap time, fast lap time, and an impressive lap on qualifying tyres – even faster than on his race weekend here. 

“So, he found some confidence and we’re happy to have him on-board.”