At Mandalika on Thursday, Miguel Oliveira made his first public appearance following the announcement that he will leave MotoGP after 2025 to join BMW in the World Superbike Championship starting in 2026. Facing the decision after losing his Pramac Yamaha seat to BMW’s current World Superbike champion, Toprak Razgatlioglu, Oliveira opted to continue his racing career in WorldSBK rather than becoming a full-time MotoGP test rider.
Choosing Competitive Racing Over Test Riding
After his Pramac Yamaha seat was taken by Toprak Razgatlioglu, Oliveira confronted a pivotal choice: move into a MotoGP factory test rider role or pursue active competition elsewhere. While rumors connected him to a MotoGP test role possibly with Aprilia, Oliveira chose to seek a fully competitive position to satisfy his continuing racing ambitions.
“I was also offered the opportunity to be a test rider, and the decisive factor for me was the desire to compete. That fire is still very much on, and the only way I could do it was in World Superbike,”
Oliveira said at Mandalika.
“So what I tried to do was to look for the best competitive tools to do it. Team and bike. And BMW felt like the right option for me.”
Despite shifting to WorldSBK, Oliveira emphasized that his move does not preclude a MotoGP comeback.
“I’m on a one-year contract with BMW, and I don’t say the ultimate goal is to come back. But for sure I leave the door open, because MotoGP has been my life for the past 15 years of my racing career,”
he explained.
He continued,
“So you don’t close the door and lock it completely. There is a door open for sure, and who knows what the future can hold for me if things go well in Superbike.
And also, ultimately, I think it can be my choice what to do. So we’ll see. I think World Superbike has also huge potential to grow as a series. So why not look for that at the moment and leave the door open in MotoGP.”
Why BMW Over Yamaha for World Superbike?
Oliveira revealed that he considered his options carefully and decided that BMW offered the strongest package in terms of bike and team for WorldSBK competition.
“I tried to look for the best team, best bike possible. And BMW was my choice,”
he said.
Although Yamaha made an offer and actively pursued him, Oliveira felt their bike did not have the performance potential he sought compared to BMW’s offering.
“Yamaha offered me, they tried to get me… I would say I couldn’t see the potential in the Yamaha that I saw in BMW, in terms of bike performance. And that was it.
And they know because I talked with them and I told them exactly the reasons why.”
Assessing BMW’s Competitiveness in WorldSBK
Oliveira acknowledged the difficulty in judging the BMW bike’s potential, noting the disparity between teammates within the BMW WorldSBK team. While reigning champion Toprak Razgatlioglu leads the current standings, Michael van der Mark sits in 13th place, leaving some uncertainty about consistency.
“I think that’s the biggest question mark, even for BMW. But it’s hard to assess from the outside because you see things on TV, but you don’t actually know how it feels on the bike, what the data looks like.”
“So it’s shooting a little bit in the dark. But it is a competitive bike because it’s winning races. So you cannot do that on a bike which is not competitive. So I guess that’s the reasoning I’m taking.”
Ending MotoGP Chapter and Looking Ahead to WorldSBK
Oliveira is now entering the final five rounds of his MotoGP career with Yamaha, aiming to improve on a personal best finish of ninth place. His teammate, Jack Miller, has been confirmed to continue with the satellite Yamaha team alongside Toprak Razgatlioglu in 2026.
As Oliveira transitions to BMW’s WorldSBK effort, his decision underscores his desire to remain a competitive rider while keeping the possibility of a MotoGP return intact. His move also reflects growing confidence in World Superbike as a platform with increasing potential for career longevity.
