Estoril. The BMW M 1000 RR retrieves role in the World Championship, world Superbike championship. Miguel Oliveira starred in one of your weekends more competitive of the season in Estoril, where he got two rooms and places, and fell to a tenth of a second of the podium in front of thousands of fans Portuguese.

The eleventh round of the World Championship Superbike FIM 2026 left positive signals for BMW Motorrad Motorsport. At the Estoril Circuit, the BMW M 1000 RR again demonstrated its ability to compete near the top, with Miguel Oliveira took advantage of the momentum of running in front of your audience.

More than 36,000 fans accompanied a weekend marked by emotion, overtaking, and a battle for the podium and that was solved by just 0.1 seconds. Although the outcome did not result in a celebration on the podium, the performance of the Portuguese confirmed the progress of the team, ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK at the end of the championship.

Miguel Oliveira returned to BMW in the fight for the podium

From the first sessions, Oliveira showed a competitive pace on your BMW M 1000 RR number 88. On Friday, she finished fourth in the training and, during the classification Superpole of the sabbath, said to the fifth position of the output.

The first race confirmed the good feelings. Along the 21 laps, the Portuguese rider maintained a consistent pace that allowed him to cross the finish line in fourth place, less than two seconds of the third place.

However, the most exciting moment would arrive Sunday morning. During the Superpole Race, Oliveira starred in an output that placed in the top three, starting an intense battle to retain a place on the podium.

The dispute lasted until the last few meters. When you cross the finish line, just 0.1 seconds separated the third place, leaving him once again in fourth position and confirming that the BMW M 1000 RR had regained competitiveness against its main rivals.

A comeback that put to the test by the Portuguese pilot

The second race on Sunday presented a completely different scenario. After improving one position on the grid thanks to his performance in the Superpole Race, Oliveira faced the last competition of the weekend with a chance to repeat a remarkable result.

But in the second round, an out of court relegated to the twelfth position, forcing him to begin a comeback in a group where each advancement required precision and determination.

Far from giving up, the Portuguese regained positions during the following laps to finish eighth. Although the result was below their expectations, the performance allowed it to close its second best weekend of the season, only surpassed by Portimão, where he achieved three podiums.

Estoril pays tribute to Miguel Oliveira

The visit of the WorldSBK Portugal also had a special meaning outside of the track. Before the start of the powers, Oliveira received a recognition that will be linked permanently to the history of the Circuit of Estoril.

On Thursday, after meeting with his followers in Sintra, the pilot, led a caravan of more than 1,000 motorcycles heading to the circuit. There was held a ceremony in which the curve seven was officially christened as the Curve Miguel Oliveira.

The homage recognized the trajectory of the Portuguese pilot, and his bond with the fans, who accompanied him throughout the weekend. For Oliveira, compete at home thus acquired a special dimension, combining the pressure sports with the recognition of thousands of followers.

The technical evolution of the BMW M 1000 RR starts to give results

Beyond the end positions, Estoril represented an important test of the work developed by BMW Motorrad Motorsport during the last rounds of the championship.

Christian Gonschor, technical director of the division, stressed that the changes implemented since Magny-Cours, have contributed to improve the performance of the motorcycle, allowing Oliveira approaching back again to the times of the fastest drivers.

The evolution had already begun to manifest itself in Cremona, but it was in Estoril where the team was able to translate these advances to a direct fight for the first positions.

The confidence of the pilot has also played an important role. After the injury suffered in Hungary, Oliveira has worked to regain the competitive pace, and their recent actions show a progression favorable.

Sven Blusch, director of BMW Motorrad Motorsport, particularly valued the ability of the Portuguese, to compete for positions and perform overtaking, aspects that reinforce the expectations of the team of face to the last event of the calendar.

Danilo Petrucci facing a complicated weekend

While Oliveira was a competitive pace, his team-mate Danilo Petrucci had greater difficulties to obtain results with the BMW M 1000 RR number 9.

The Italian started from the fourteenth position in the three competitions of the weekend, but different drawbacks prevented him from advancing significantly.

Petrucci finished eighteenth in the first race and the sixteenth both in the Superpole Race as in the second competition on the Sunday.

The pilot acknowledged that some of the modifications tested did not provide the expected results. However, the team gathered information that could be useful to prepare for the last round of the season.

BMW holds the third place among the manufacturers

After eleventh date of the championship, BMW remains in the third position of the ranking of manufacturers with 178 points behind Ducati and Bimota.

In the drivers ' championship, Miguel Oliveira occupies the eleventh place with 136 points, while Danilo Petrucci is located in the seventeenth position with 61 units.

These results reflect the season challenging for the German brand, but also allow you to observe an evolution of competitive rounds recent, especially through the performance of Oliveira.

The capacity of the BMW M 1000 RR to stay near the podium positions in Estoril represents an important point of reference to evaluate the technical breakthroughs.

Jerez, the last challenge of BMW WorldSBK 2026

The World Championship Superbike 2026 will come to its conclusion from 16 to 18 October in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, the stage of the twelfth and final round of the season.

BMW Motorrad Motorsport will face this quote with the aim of building on the progress shown in Portugal and transform the competitiveness of the BMW M 1000 RR in results even more solid.

For Miguel Oliveira, Estoril let a combination of satisfaction, and missed opportunities. The two rooms are places confirmed their ability to compete for the podium, while the comeback of the Sunday showed his determination even when the circumstances are more complicated.

The season is nearing its end, and BMW has one last chance to prove how far the development of your superbike. After staying at a tenth of the podium in Portugal, Jerez will be the stage where the team will look to convert that closeness in a result that will end the year with force.

Source: BMW Group