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Miguel Oliveira will have a new home in 2026 after making the switch to the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship. The Portuguese rider will join the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team project alongside Danilo Petrucci, with the German manufacturer having an all-new line-up for next season. Speaking ahead of the Indonesian Grand Prix, Oliveira discussed his move for the first time as he readies for WorldSBK next year.

THE CHALLENGE HE FACES: “I have a lot to learn… I’ll take the challenge and see what we can do!”

It’ll be a steep learning curve for the five-time MotoGP race winner, with Oliveira having to adjust to a new bike, three races in a weekend, and new tyres when he jumps on the M1000RR machine. Oliveira spoke about the excitement he has for these new challenges and also how the deal with BMW came out, with the 30-year-old explaining why he opted to move to WorldSBK despite offers in MotoGP for a test rider role.

On his move to WorldSBK, Oliveira said: “I’m very excited. I have a lot to learn, going to a new format, new bike, new tyres… new everything! I’m quite excited for this next chapter in my career. It came about looking for a competitive place for next season. They have the best tools and are the best team I could find for myself to be able to fight for podiums and race wins. That’s the goal and that’s the mentality we have going into next year. I’m not underestimating, not even a little bit, anyone or the level of the Championship; it’s quite high. I’ve been following for many years and it’s a tough Championship. I’ll take the challenge to go there and see what we can do. I was offered MotoGP as a tester or WorldSBK as a rider. At my core, my ultimate goal was to continue to race because I’m hungry for good results and also fighting; using the bike to get podiums. That was the deciding factor for me to take the challenge.”

JUMPING ON THE M1000RR FOR THE FIRST TIME: “I’ll jump on a similar bike sooner rather than later!”

Of course, Oliveira’s first priority is to finish the 2025 MotoGP campaign on a high as he looks for strong results to end what’s been a tough, injury-hit campaign for the Almada-born rider. However, the attention will soon turn to when he can jump on the M1000RR for the first time, with Oliveira saying when asked if he knew when he would be on it: “No, not yet. I know I’ll miss the post-Jerez test because it’s in October. I’m still in service for Yamaha in MotoGP. I’ve already put in an order for a training bike; I’ll jump on a similar bike sooner rather than later!”

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