Munich. A large global racing family is ready for the 2026 season: BMW Motorrad Motorsport enters the new year with a comprehensive programme, strong teams, and top riders. The factory teams are the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team in the FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) and the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team in the FIM Endurance World Championship (FIM EWC). In customer racing, numerous teams will again compete worldwide in various championships in 2026, including three BMW Motorrad Motorsport Official Teams: Orange Cat Racing from the USA, 8TEN Racing from the UK, and AutoRace Ube Racing from Japan.
Factory Racing: WorldSBK and FIM EWC.
After winning two world championship titles, BMW Motorrad Motorsport and the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team, led by Team Principal Shaun Muir, are opening a new chapter in 2026. Two experienced and successful riders form the new lineup. Danilo Petrucci (ITA), 35, has proved in recent years that he is among the top competitors in the WorldSBK paddock. As a rider for a private team, he has secured victories and podiums, holding third in the standings before missing races due to injury in the final stages. Petrucci will race the #9 BMW M 1000 RR. Miguel Oliveira (POR), 31, competed in MotoGP from 2019, achieving multiple Grand Prix wins and podiums. Oliveira will make his WorldSBK debut on the BMW M 1000 RR with bike number 88. The WorldSBK season begins on 21st/22nd February at Phillip Island (AUS).
In the FIM EWC, the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team, led by Team Manager Werner Daemen, came very close to the world championship last season. Less than 30 minutes separated the team from the title at the season finale, the Bol d’Or in France. A technical failure ultimately pushed them back to third place in the championship, earning them the title of “World Champions of Hearts.” The lineup of the #37 BMW M 1000 RR changes only in one spot for 2026: Michael van der Mark (NED) joins the team. He was a BMW Motorrad factory rider in WorldSBK from 2021 and now moves to the FIM EWC. Van der Mark already raced with the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team at Suzuka (JPN) in 2025. Also continuing are BMW veteran Markus Reiterberger (GER), part of the project since its 2019/20 debut, Steven Odendaal (RSA), and Hannes Soomer (EST) as the fourth rider. The riders’ programmes also include additional activities: Van der Mark is a test rider for the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Test Team, Reiterberger and Soomer will compete in the new EuroMoto (formerly IDM Superbike), and Odendaal will defend his title in the Spanish Superbike Championship.
Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) will also continue to compete on a BMW M 1000 RR in the FIM EWC; together with Soomer and Naomichi Uramoto (JPN) he forms a strong trio for the AutoRace Ube Racing Team. The FIM EWC season begins with the 24 Hours of Le Mans (FRA) on 18th/19th April.
Customer racing: Official Teams in focus markets.
BMW Motorrad Motorsport is also successful worldwide in customer racing. Numerous private teams have been winning races and championships around the globe for years. In focus markets, customer teams compete as BMW Motorrad Motorsport Official Teams, working closely with BMW Motorrad Motorsport in communication, marketing, and events.
Japan: AutoRace Ube Racing Team.In Japan, this is the AutoRace Ube Racing Team, which has already made a mark in the Japanese Superbike Championship and FIM EWC. The team’s regular rider is Naomichi Uramoto (JPN). For FIM EWC events in 2026, AutoRace Ube Racing will receive prominent reinforcement. Guintoli, Superbike and Endurance World Champion as well as BMW Motorrad factory rider in FIM EWC and the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Test Team, brings a wealth of skill and experience. Soomer also contributes his talent and experience on the #76 BMW M 1000 RR.
USA: Orange Cat Racing.In North America’s MotoAmerica, Orange Cat Racing won the Superstock title last season. Now, the US team, as BMW Motorrad Motorsport Official Team in the focus market USA, moves up to the MotoAmerica Superbike class. The team’s two BMW M 1000 RRs will be ridden by Jayson Uribe and Sean Dylan Kelly (both USA).
UK: 8TEN Racing.In international Road Racing, the 8TEN Racing Team from the UK focus market is the team to beat. The two riders are also the team owners and the top favorites at major events: Davey Todd and Peter Hickman (both GBR), both of whom have already achieved numerous victories, including at the Isle of Man TT and the Macau Grand Prix. As per last year, Todd and Hickman will compete not only in Road Racing but also in the British Superbike Championship (BSB).
Quotes.
Sven Blusch (Head of BMW Motorrad Motorsport): “After the two world championship titles in 2024 and 2025, our full focus is now on continuing this momentum. On the WorldSBK side, we are perfectly positioned. With Danilo Petrucci and Miguel Oliveira, we have brought on board two experienced top riders, whom we’ve already had the chance to get to know a little over the winter. We head to Australia with a very good feeling. Although we had a lot of rain during testing and would have liked a few more laps, we are already looking forward to Phillip Island. In the FIM EWC, after last year’s dramatic season finale, we are even more determined to win the title. With the addition of Michael van der Mark to the team, alongside Steven Odendaal and Markus Reiterberger on bike #37, we are very well positioned for the mission of winning the championship. Over the winter, we prepared intensively, both operationally and technically. In customer racing, our goal for 2026 is to further internationalise. Among the further BMW supported teams in the FIM EWC is also the AutoRace Ube Racing Team, our Official Team from Japan, which has very strong riders in Sylvain Guintoli, Hannes Soomer, and Naomichi Uramoto. With the Orange Cat Racing Team, we have a new Official Team for the USA, which will field two bikes in the MotoAmerica Superbike class, featuring two young, talented riders: Sean Dylan Kelly and Jayson Uribe. Here, our goal as BMW is to defend the title. In the BSB and Road Racing, our Official Team from the UK, 8TEN Racing with Peter Hickman and Davey Todd, will compete. This is also an incredibly strong rider combination. We hope for good results in the BSB and keep our fingers crossed for the Isle of Man TT and other road races, where the two are among the absolute favorites. Overall, it is important for us to strengthen international motorsport in customer racing. With this lineup, we are heading into the 2026 season highly motivated – it embodies our ambition, our drive, and our determination to go full throttle from the very first race.”
Christian Gonschor (Technical Director BMW Motorrad Motorsport): “2026 will be an exciting year of motorsport for BMW Motorrad Motorsport, with clear goals and focus. The mix of new riders and technicians, along with our already strong race teams, partners, and sponsors, makes us eager for more. Everyone is looking forward to the season opener in all relevant classes. The limited dry-weather testing opportunities for our Superbike World Championship team only fuel the ambition of the riders and the team even more. When time is limited, passion and self-confidence help. Danilo and Miguel feel the unwavering commitment of everyone in the team and inspire with their determination, great personalities, and incredible experience. Representing BMW Motorrad Motorsport on the podium regularly with both riders is the clear goal for 2026. Standing still is falling behind, so the wheel will keep turning in both the test team and our Munich headquarters. The riders can look forward to continuous development. In the Endurance World Championship, the benchmark is clear: to finally bring the 2025 world title, narrowly missed at the end, back to Munich. A bike further optimised for the championship and tyres, together with the strengthened rider lineup including Michael van der Mark, offers outstanding opportunities for successful 24-hour races and excellent results in the eight-hour races at Spa and Suzuka. The desire to make history as the first European manufacturer in the EWC 2026 is the ultimate motivation for everyone in the team. We’re ready to go.”
Uwe Geyer (Head of BMW Motorrad Motorsport Customer Racing): “In customer racing, we are well-positioned this year, both for the Superbike class and for the Superstock programme worldwide. We have successfully adopted developments from WorldSBK, such as a new swingarm and improvements in electronics. Our Superstock package is up-to-date and competitive. The first teams are already receiving their new motorcycles. In addition, we have introduced Official Teams with whom we maintain closer collaboration in order to further drive internationalisation. These include, for example, the BSB, Japan, and MotoAmerica. The number of our top teams, for example in France, Spain, and Germany in the EuroMoto, has remained the same. Therefore, my personal goal is to further increase the number of overall wins through cooperation with our partner teams. That is the target for this year.”
Shaun Muir (Team Principal ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team): “We are really looking forward to the 2026 season. We have a new set of goals, a new set of targets with our two new riders Danilo and Miguel. It’s really exciting to start the new chapter of the World Superbike programme with BMW Motorrad and our sponsors. I think the expectation is really high also, finishing as World Champions for the last two years, and we’re really determined to give the riders the best tools we possibly can to reach the podium as soon as possible. I think that when we get into Europe from round two, three onwards, we’ll really start to see the true potential of the rider/bike combinations so we’re looking forward to that. Most important is that we give Danilo and Miguel the full support and show how determined we are to continue the good work that we’ve done in the past. We believe that the BMW M 1000 RR is going to grow as a package in the coming months and the proof of that will be the performances that both the riders give us on track. So I’m looking forward to the season – we can take the fight to the competition.”
Werner Daemen (Team Manager BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team): “We expect that we go in the same way that we ended 2025 – except of course the last 25 minutes, because the rest of 2025 was really good. I think we have a very good bike and very strong riders with Markus, Steven, now Michael van der Mark and Hannes as fourth rider. I think we have one goal which is for going for the championship. At the moment, all suits well. We are well prepared from the technical side and testing starts from February on. I expect that we’re running in front and, okay, you need some luck. I also think when we have the luck on our side, we can go again for the world title. This year, we also do the EuroMoto, the new IDM class, where Markus and Hannes can prepare themselves for the World Championship. Steven Odendaal will do the ESBK on the stock BMW – so I think we will be very well prepared for the season.”
Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team): “I’m excited for sure. I don’t know really what to expect. I know it‘s going to be a difficult, competitive environment through the whole grid. So my goal is to be up to that challenge and be as ready as I can to fight for top positions and make my adaptation as fast as possible, especially to have fun and to make the team enjoy the races.”
Danilo Petrucci (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team): “I’m so happy and proud to join the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team. It’s the team that has won the last championships and I’m so proud to be part of it. I can’t wait to race with this bike. We did a few tests, and in rainy conditions the situation is really good. We need to spend some time more in the dry because we didn’t have so much time in such conditions yet. For sure there is a lot of expectation but mainly I want to enjoy. I don’t have any particular result in mind. I just want to be as fast as I can and improve the results of my previous season.”
Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team): “I am honestly looking forward to it. I had a nice experience with them last year at Suzuka and I really enjoyed working with Steven and Markus and we’re a nice team. It’s great to know the team already and I think it’s pretty clear that we have one goal and that’s to win the Endurance World Championship. They were so close last year but unfortunately it’s part of endurance racing. I’m looking forward to trying and helping them to get a world title. I will also be in the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Test Team. We’re doing a lot of testing work before getting the parts over to the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team and also to the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team. It’s a different kind of job, but also really enjoyable. Sometimes it’s a lot of work, and I am really enjoying it as well. It’s great to stay with the BMW Motorsport family and I might be busy during the year.”
Markus Reiterberger (BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team): “I’m really looking forward to the season with BMW and the familiar, well-known environment from the past years. Our goal is clear: we want to win the world championship. Last year we were very, very close. We were missing 25 minutes to the title. Unfortunately, we didn’t quite make it in the end, but that automatically makes it our task to go and get it now and I believe the chances are good. We’ve improved a little more in many areas. I think it’s realistic that we can achieve it, but we all have to give our best, work well and stay focused, and of course also have the necessary luck – or simply avoid bad luck. Because endurance racing is always a combination of everything. So the goals are clearly defined. In EuroMoto, we also want to bring the championship title back to BMW. I’ve already managed that four times, and I’m happy that I can go after it once again. Here, I first have to readjust a bit, because in recent years I’ve been active as a test rider at BMW mainly on the Superbike. I was familiar with the Stock bike in the past, and now I need to dial myself back in a little. However, we still have several tests coming up in preparation. The competition in EuroMoto is very strong, which makes me happy, because that’s exactly what German motorsport needs: strong riders, teams, and motorcycles. We’re well set up, and I’m hoping for a great season.”
Steven Odendaal (BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team): “I’m really excited for this 2026 season. I think from last year we can extract a lot of information about how to improve, not just on the bike but also myself personally. And I think that this year we can really bring it together for a strong and consistent performance to bring us the title at the end of the year. That’s the main objective and obviously also I would like to defend my Spanish Superbike title this year. I am looking forward to keeping my eye in with that and enjoying racing again.”
Tsune Igami (Team Manager AutoRace Ube Racing Team): “We are very happy to be the BMW Motorrad Motorsport Official Team in Japan. It is great that we are part of the BMW family, and we can’t wait to start the season.”
Sylvain Guintoli (AutoRace Ube Racing Team): “This is another super motivating challenge for me. Last year the performance from the AutoRace Ube team straight away with the BMW was incredible, not only in the All Japan Championship, where Naomichi managed to win two races, but also to be ultra-competitive in the Suzuka 8 Hours as well as at the Bol d’Or for their first 24 -hour race at very short notice. They did an amazing job last year, so for me to step in now feels like it makes a lot of sense and like extra motivation to try and bring some experience into the team, to try to make it sort of successful straight away and help with the adaptation. I’m mega excited.”
Naomichi Uramoto (AutoRace Ube Racing Team): “I’m very excited to race the full season of FIM EWC with a great team and great teammates as a part of the big BMW family. I’m really motivated for the season.”
Hannes Soomer (AutoRace Ube Racing Team): “For me it’s the next step in my endurance career to be a full time rider. It’s the first time in my life on a superbike. Like the two guys next to me, I’m also really excited. I rode the bike and joined the team for one test last year before Suzuka. I felt good in the team and on the bike from the first day. I’m really excited to see what we can do. I think we have a really nice set of three riders, everybody is ready to work, everybody is fast and I’m looking forward to Le Mans.”
Jeff Connors (Team Principal Orange Cat Racing): “We’re expecting to, as long as we learn after every single event, get better after every single event, and by the end of the season, being able to compete for podiums. I think that’s possible with BMW’s support to accelerate our learning curve with the superbike. We’re new to this, we know that, and it’s going to take us some time to get up there and compete for wins, but really preparing ourselves for 2027.”
Sean Dylan Kelly (Orange Cat Racing): “First of all, I’m extremely excited to be back on the BMW. It’s a bike that I already won a race on, in the Moto America Superbike class, and that means it’s quite clear for me that the goal is to win. I’m a professional racer and I work very hard to achieve wins every weekend and I think the championship is the hunt for me. It’s also realistic that it’s a new team stepping up into Superbike, new people, new crew chief, a newer, more developed bike, so there’s a lot of things to learn but I think the package is there to be competitive and that’s all I’m focused on so I’m really excited to get started. I want to say thank you to the Orange Cat Racing team and also to BMW for making this happen.”
Jayson Uribe (Orange Cat Racing): “For me, this upcoming year on the BMW M 1000 RR is to win the championship. Whether that’s with myself or with Sean, our goal is to make sure that Orange Cat Racing and BMW come together with the win. I would like to continue to progress and learn as a rider. I think jumping on the superbike is a big step and I’m excited to continue to get better and better with every lap. I have big expectations. I want to win races, but I also want to make sure I provide the best results for the team. I understand that sometimes that means seeing the bigger picture, and that’s what we’re here to do.”
Darren Jones (Team Manager 8TEN Racing): “With the winter behind us and more support from BMW Motorrad Motorsport themselves I’m looking forward to the season. Especially after last year with everything being put together so late. It was always going to be a struggle and we were always on the back foot, but now I think with the support we’ve got and the sponsors that are helping us out even more than before, I’m pretty confident we can put on a good show for everyone.”
Davey Todd (8TEN Racing): “I’m really looking forward to 2026. It’s going to be another fun year with our 8TEN Racing team. We’ve been working on everything and had a little bit more time this year to prepare, which is what we’re doing right now. Spending some time preparing is exactly what we didn’t have at the beginning of 2025 and we still finished with some very good results at the end of the year. So we know we can come into 2026 and improve in all areas, particularly on circuits, particularly at BSB. We think we can make some steps there and then go into the roads, the North West, the TT, the Southern 100 for myself and the Macau Grand Prix. I’m really looking forward to all the road races as always. I want to win more races like we did last year. Becoming king of the roads again for the third time for me in 2025: I want to keep that going. Most importantly, taking TT wins, which I know for sure my teammate’s going to be amongst the toughest competition there. We’re really looking forward to it. Like we did at Macau last year, we’re hoping for a lot of one-twos this season.”
Peter Hickman (8TEN Racing): “We’re actually really looking forward to the 2026 season. Obviously last year was almost a rushed year for us one way or another and of course I had a big injury as well. So for 2026 we are much, much more prepared as a team. Both me and Davey as well have got much more of a handle on what‘s actually going on and the team’s working really, really well. We’re happy with the bikes, we’re happy with everything for the season. We have a full British Superbike season to look forward to, as well as the North West 200, the Isle of Man TT, and maybe even one or two other races as well. Obviously we did Macau in the last year where we finished one and two. Overall, last year was more of a building year, as it ended up having to be, and then this year we can really kind of hit the ground running, much, much more prepared and really looking forward to it.”