BMW embraces a new dawn for its 2026 WorldSBK Championship campaign, even if the target of a third consecutive riders’ title remains very much the same.
Runaway winners in 2024 and 2025 with superstar signing Toprak Razgatlioglu, the Turkish rider’s promotion to MotoGP therefore leaves the German marque with a substantial Toprak-sized hole to fill coming into this year.
WorldSBK won’t be BMW’s sole focus of attention in 2026, however, with the manufacturer bidding to extend its victory tally on the Isle of Man TT in the trusted hands of two seasoned TT race winners.
2026 WorldSBK Championship
Teams and Rider Line-Ups:
ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK – Danilo Petrucci, Miguel Oliveira
Possibly one of the most inspired signings in the history of motorcycle racing, Toprak Razgatlioglu’s tenure at BMW might have been a brief two years, but he spent them winning two dominant titles.
All good things must come to an end though, the Turkish rider’s move into MotoGP prompting BMW to clean house before the start of its title defence in 2026.
New faces on a BMW M 1000 RR they may be, but familiar favourites they are too with Danilo Petrucci getting his deserved big break after a series of giant-killing performances on the satellite Barni Ducati over the last three years.
Alongside him will be a WorldSBK rookie in Miguel Olveira, who becomes the latest high-profile MotoGP race-winning star to make the switch to the production racing series.
Time will tell to see if the Portuguese rider can wield the M 1000 RR as successfully as Toprak did, but looking at other MotoGP-turned-WorldSBK riders like Petrucci, Alvaro Bautista and Max Biaggi, the odds are stacked in his favour.
2026 British Superbike Championship
Teams and Rider Line-Ups:
8TEN Racing – Peter Hickman, Davey Todd
We’re still a few months away from the start of the 2026 British Superbike Championship, so expect to see a handful more BMW-shod entries swelling the ranks come April’s curtain raiser.
For now, just a single BMW-backed team has committed to 2026 with 8TEN Racing returning with an unchanged rider line-up of the ultra-experienced Peter Hickman and rising road racing superstar Davey Todd.
Both riders will split their focus between short circuits and the roads in 2026, but after a troubled 2025 BSB campaign – hampered by the late formation of the team – the outfit gets the benefit of more BMW factory backing to help drive it up the grid.
2026 Isle of Man TT & North West 200
While Hickman and Todd will be aiming particularly high to achieve BSB podiums in 2026, you’re more likely to see the pair topping the rostrum at assorted road races.
As ever, the annual visit to the Isle of Man TT is the highlight with both riders heading to the festival with something to prove.
For Hickman – still the lap record holder around the 37-mile Snaefell Mountain Course – it is to bounce back with interest after missing last year’s race week following injuries sustained in a high-speed crash.
Todd, on the other hand, returns to the TT bidding to prove his rise to prominence in the Superbike category isn’t a fluke.
The 30-year old at last delivered on the promise manty felt he possessed by winning both the 2025 Superbike and Senior TT races in what would become a breakthrough week for his burgeoning racing career.
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