The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship’s trip to the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours was one to forget for Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and teammate Danilo Petrucci, who both struggled all weekend in the first round after the summer break. Both riders tied for a high of P12 across the Acerbis French Round after hoping that the trip to France would prove a welcome return to form, but for better results, they will have to hope for more in Round 10 at Cremona.
SUPERPOLE SESSION STRUGGLES
Saturday morning’s Tissot Superpole session was perhaps where the pair suffered the most, with Petrucci leading the pair from P18 while Oliveira finished second to last in P19. Oliveira was unfortunate to see the yellow flag late in the session, as he clocked a 1’35.629s time that would have put him in P15; however, Tommy Bridewell's (Superbikes Advocates) crash cancelled the times set that lap. Fortunately for them however, before the crash Bridewell incurred a Back of the grid Penalty for infringing on Yellow Flag procedures. That afternoon, neither rider could make much progress up the grid, as while Oliveira crashed out on Turn 8 of Lap 5 from last place, ‘Petrux’ weathered the storm, managing to ride in P14 before the red flag stoppage. After the stoppage, went on to finish in P13 after Alvaro Bautista's (Barni Spark Racing Team) Lap 3 crash after the restart
SILVER LININGS ON SUNDAY
In the Tissot Superpole Race, both riders upped their game: the #88 was up to P15 over the first two laps, fell to P16 on Lap 3, then worked his way forward to a P12 finish. Petrucci didn’t ascend quite as far, but improved to a P16 finish. Race 2 saw the #9 enjoy more success, taking a position over Lap 1, before benefitting from Andrea Locatelli’s (Pata Maxus Yamaha) Lap 2, Turn 17 crash to take P16, He entered the points-scoring positions after a Lap 7 overtake on Stefano Manzi (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team), and finished in P14 after Sam Lowes' (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) and Alex Lowes' (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) crashes. It was a quieter final race of the round for the #88, moving up in positions as other riders crashed out, but riding at the back of the pack until the Alex Lowes' crash and a Lap 15 move past Somkiat Chantra (Honda HRC) bumped him up to P14. He would end up with a P15 result however, as he incurred a Course Cutting Penalty at Turn 6 before the Bridewell’s red-flag inducing crash.
“OVER THE COURSE OF A WEEKEND, IT’S GETTING HARDER AND HARDER TO FIND THE PERFORMANCE”
Oliveira has been BMW’s lead rider for most of the 2026 season after a shining home round in which he took a trio of podium finishes. He returned to the podium at Balaton Park, but after suffering a shoulder injury and a concussion in the Superpole Race, he hasn’t yet recovered to full fitness, or riding at the level he is capable of. He continues to improve his fitness with each lap back on the bike, and he hopes for steps to be made in the final three rounds of 2026
On his weekend, Oliveira said on Sunday: “We have a narrow window to work in. It’s difficult to have the same bike behaviour the whole time. It’s kind of the character of the bike. It’s getting to a point where over the course of a weekend, it’s getting harder and harder to find the performance, even from what we have as positives from the bike. We’re working; there’s no way to go about this subject apart from continuing to push. We have many directions, many ideas; we’ll keep working in the background.”
“I DON’T LIKE TO RACE LIKE THIS, IT’S EMBARRASSING FOR ME AND FOR THE TEAM”
Like Oliveira and others, Petrucci was hampered before the season even began by heavily abridged preseason testing, with rain following riders consistently and limiting dry track time to get to know his new bike. On top of that, Petrucci has also been hampered by injury, since which he has not yet returned to the top ten in a race. He hopes to close out his time in the WorldSBK paddock strong over these final three rounds, as he announced he and the team will be parting ways mutually and he isn’t looking for a ride in WorldSBK in 2027.
Speaking on his sensations with the bike and addressing his 2027 future, Petrucci said on Saturday: “The fact is, I’m not blaming anyone, but I am simply not able to get the maximum out of this bike. I’m really sad; the team is trying to help, but it feels like, with both riders, we’ve lost the way. Miguel and I are saying the same thing all the time. I take responsibility for my results. The team and I have tried everything, and we have decided to stop. I don’t like to race like this, it’s embarrassing for me and for the team. The bike has a small window, and if you operate outside the window, it’s hard to be fast. I’m almost 36; I’ve never pushed so hard at home and on track and receiving nothing but pain and bad results.”
Can BMW climb their way back to better results over the final three rounds? Find out next round at Cremona starting Friday, September 25th with the WorldSBK VideoPass! Now 70% off!