"Racing is my number one priority" – Miguel Oliveira opens door to WorldSBK switch in 2026
Could the 5-time MotoGP race winner, who will be replaced by Toprak Razgatlioglu in Pramac Yamaha next season, be heading in the opposite direction?
Three rounds still remain in the 2025 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, but several teams and riders are keeping one eye focused on 2026, most notably those whose future is yet to be confirmed. Thirteen riders have been confirmed for next year’s WorldSBK grid, with four factory seats still vacant, several candidates lined up across multiple championships, and a rumour mill in full swing.
One of the main names being linked in recent weeks to the WorldSBK paddock is current MotoGP rider Miguel Oliveira, whose place in the Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP Team will be taken by reigning WorldSBK Champion and current Championship leader Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) in 2026. With confirmation coming just last week that Jack Miller would be the rider entrusted with the second Pramac Yamaha YZR-M1, rumours over a potential change of paddocks for the Portuguese star have escalated in recent days.
Speaking to MotoGP.com ahead of the Red Bull Grand Prix of San Marino and the Rimini Riviera that is taking place this weekend at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli”, Oliveira confirmed that a switch to WorldSBK is an option for 2026: “Yeah, I’ve said it before”.
“We are looking into different options, not only one, which is good. We will try to make the best decision possible for my future. Hopefully in the upcoming weeks we can have a clear idea.”
Pressed on what those options and his preference would be for 2026: “I said it last weekend: racing is my number one priority and what I feel I’m most capable of at the moment, even though manufacturers might like me to test for them because I'm fast and I'm still in touch with MotoGP speed. At the same time, it’s also a very nice link to have with the MotoGP paddock, to stay in touch with the best, the fastest bikes in the world. It’s not an easy decision.”
Oliveira, who turned 30 in January, has been a permanent presence in MotoGP™ since 2011, when he made his debut as a 16-year-old in the final 125cc World Championship season. Since then, the Portuguese star has picked up 17 race wins in the Grand Prix paddock, with six in both Moto3 and Moto2 and a further five in MotoGP, the latest arriving at the 2022 Thailand Grand Prix. He is also a two-time World Championship runner-up, in Moto3 (2015) and Moto2 (2018).
The current Prima Pramac Yamaha rider currently sits 21st in the 2025 MotoGP standings, after missing several races early in the season due to a left shoulder injury sustained at the Argentinean GP. He most recently recorded his best result of the campaign with a 9th-place finish at the Catalan GP.
Could 2026 mark the arrival of a new star into the WorldSBK paddock? Keep up-to-date with all the news on WorldSBK.com, and tune into the final three rounds of the 2025 season with WorldSBK VideoPass – now only €9.99!
