The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship arrives at MotorLand Aragon for Round 6 without two of the paddock’s stars as both of the BMW factory riders, Miguel Oliveira and Danio Petrucci, remain unfit for the first round in Spain in 2026. Replacing their permanent rider pair, former full-time rider Michael van der Mark returns to the paddock from his new role with the manufacturer in 2026 as a test rider and FIM Endurance World Championship rider, and he rides for Oliveira. After Petrucci’s unfortunate high-side crash at Most, he will be replaced by FIM Endurance World Championship and EuroMoto rider Hannes Soomer. The #9 continues to make good progress in his recovery, but his broken coccyx, among other injuries, has kept him unfit for competition.
CALLED UP: “I know it may be a challenging task, but I will work hard and give it my all”
Soomer, on the other hand, currently races as a part of the BMW Motorrad factory team in the EWC as well as competing on BMW machinery in the Superbike class of EuroMoto. He has already made his WorldSBK debut in the form of a 2023 three-round appearance atop Honda machinery, and six full seasons in WorldSSP from 2017 to 2022, earning a total of three podiums. Aragon, however, will be his first jaunt into the WorldSBK paddock in three seasons.
On the opportunity, Soomer said: “It is a somewhat unexpected return to WorldSBK for me, and I really wish it were under different circumstances. Therefore, first and foremost, I want to wish Miguel and Danilo all the best! Naturally, everyone knows each other within the BMW family, but during the Misano test, I already had the opportunity to get more familiar with the team and World Superbike. My priority at MotorLand Aragon is to put myself fully at the service of the team and BMW Motorrad Motorsport. I know it may be a challenging task, but I will work hard and give it my all.”
MOVING THE DEVELOPMENT FORWARD: “I settled back into it at Most. At MotorLand Aragon, I want to build on this”
Van der Mark is a veteran of the WorldSBK paddock, sixth all-time in WorldSBK race starts and the last rider to win a race for BMW other than the legendary Toprak Razgatlioglu. He partook last round at Most after Oliveira’s crash at Balaton Park, in which he scored points in two of the three races and missed the points in the Tissot Superpole Race by just one position.
On his return to the paddock he is so familiar with, van der Mark said: “Best wishes for a speedy recovery to Miguel and Danilo! As replacement riders, Hannes and I will do our best to support the team as much as possible. I settled back into everything quite quickly at Most. At MotorLand Aragon, I want to build on this and continue helping the team work on the BMW M 1000 RR so that everything is optimally prepared for the comebacks of Miguel and Danilo. Results are not the main focus, but of course, I still have the ambition to move further forward again and score as many points as possible for BMW.”
On the upcoming round at Aragon, and providing an update on his riders’ conditions, Head of BMW Motorrad Motorsport Sven Blusch said: “Of course, it is an extremely unfortunate situation for us that both regular riders of the team are sidelined through injury, At the same time, we are fortunate to be able to rely quickly and easily on strong replacement riders from within our BMW Motorrad factory rider family. Mickey already supported us very well at Most. On the other side of the garage, Hannes will now step in for Danilo. Hannes, who is also part of our endurance racing line-up, knows the BMW M 1000 RR extremely well. In addition, both riders completed the WorldSBK test at Misano for us last week. That means we are well prepared. However, the main focus right now is the recovery of Miguel and Danilo. We are in close contact with both riders. Miguel is making great progress, and his recovery process is developing exactly as expected. Danilo’s diagnosis is more recent, but he is also working intensively on his comeback. At this point, it is still unclear when we will see both riders back in action. There is no time pressure; the important thing is that nothing is rushed and that both riders are fully fit when they return to their BMW M 1000 RR machines.”
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