BMW Motorrad Motorsport 2026: The large, strong family is ready!   – AutoMart Canada

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.”