The BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team has won the 2026 FIM Endurance World Championship after a dominant victory in the season-closing Bol d’Or 24-hour race at Le Castellet. Michael van der Mark, Markus Reiterberger and Steven Odendaal took pole position and the win with the #37 BMW M 1000 RR, overturning a 19-point deficit to rivals YART. According to BMW, it is the first FIM EWC title won by a European manufacturer.

The #37 BMW M 1000 RR came into the final round of the FIM Endurance World Championship 19 points behind championship leaders YART Yamaha. Twenty-four hours later at Le Castellet, that gap had been turned into a four-point winning margin: 158 points to 154.

Michael van der Mark, Markus Reiterberger and Steven Odendaal needed the maximum available haul at the Bol d’Or, and they collected all of it. Van der Mark, a full-time member of the squad for the first time this season and a newcomer to the French circuit, was quickest in qualifying, and his combined lap time with Reiterberger secured pole position and five points. Leading at the eight-hour and 16-hour marks added ten more, with the race win worth a further 40.

A finish line the team missed a year ago

The result closes a chapter that opened at the same venue in 2025, when a technical failure less than half an hour from the flag cost the team a championship it looked certain to win. Reiterberger admitted the memory was still present during his final stint.

“Finally, we have done it. Last year we had a bit of bad luck, so I was a little nervous during the final stint, but in the end, it worked out,” said Reiterberger.

Fuel economy as a race strategy

BMW points to a combination of rider pace, clean pit work and the bike’s reliability as the basis for the result. The manufacturer also says the M 1000 RR consumed less fuel than its rivals over the distance, which allowed fewer pit stops and saved time across the 24 hours. Reiterberger brought the bike home first after what the team describes as a trouble-free run; Yoshimura SERT Motul finished a lap down in second, with YART two laps back in third.

The championship followed a familiar endurance pattern of setbacks and recovery. The team led the opening 24 Heures Motos at Le Mans into the early hours before problems dropped it back, then won the 8 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps and took third at the Suzuka 8 Hours — described by BMW as the first podium for a European manufacturer at the Japanese race.

What it means for BMW Motorrad

The endurance crown is the third world championship in three years for the M 1000 RR, following two WorldSBK titles. Markus Flasch, Head of BMW Motorrad, called it “another milestone for BMW Motorrad”, while Sven Blusch, Head of BMW Motorrad Motorsport, said the team believes it is “only at the beginning” in the discipline.

Team Manager Werner Daemen, whose Belgian operation has run the programme since BMW entered the series in 2019, framed the win as the end of a long build: “We didn’t just build the best motorcycle, we also built the best team.”

Facts: BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team, 2026 FIM EWC

  • Machine: BMW M 1000 RR, #37
  • Riders: Michael van der Mark (NED), Markus Reiterberger (GER), Steven Odendaal (RSA)
  • Final standings: 1st, BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team, 158 points
  • Runner-up: YART Yamaha Official EWC Team, 154 points
  • Bol d’Or qualifying (combined): 1:50.837, pole position
  • Bol d’Or race result: 1st, one lap ahead of Yoshimura SERT Motul
  • Season results: Le Mans (retired from the lead battle), Spa-Francorchamps (1st), Suzuka (3rd), Le Castellet (1st)

The 2026 FIM EWC season is now complete, with the Bol d’Or at Le Castellet the fourth and final round.

Source: www.press.bmwgroup.com