Miguel Oliveira brought the BMW M 1000 RR to within a tenth of a second of the podium at his home round at Estoril, finishing fourth in both the opening race and the Superpole Race. According to BMW, it was his second-best weekend in the FIM Superbike World Championship. Before the weekend began, Turn 7 at the Circuito Estoril was named after him. With one round left, the factory team heads to Jerez for the season finale.

Estoril hosted the 11th and penultimate round of the 2026 WorldSBK season. Riding the #88 BMW M 1000 RR at home, Portuguese rider Miguel Oliveira finished fourth in Saturday’s opening race and fourth again in Sunday’s Superpole Race. More than 36,000 spectators watched the weekend. BMW calls it Oliveira’s second-best race weekend in the series so far, behind Portimão, where he finished on the podium three times.

A corner named after the local rider

Oliveira comes from the area around Estoril, and the weekend began with a tribute on Thursday. After a fan event in nearby Sintra, he led a convoy of more than 1,000 motorcycles back to the circuit. At a ceremony there, Turn 7 was renamed the “Miguel Oliveira Corner”.

Close to the top three

Oliveira was fourth in Friday practice. In Saturday morning’s Superpole qualifying he set a 1:34.549 to take fifth on the grid, behind three Ducatis and Alex Lowes’s Bimota. He then finished fourth in the 21-lap Race 1, 11.444 seconds behind the winner, Nicolò Bulega.

The 10-lap Superpole Race on Sunday morning was his closest finish to the podium. A strong start put Oliveira in the top three, and he fought for the podium until the final corner. BMW says he missed third by just 0.1 seconds and finished fourth again. That result moved him up a place on the grid for Race 2.

Race 2 went less well. Oliveira ran wide on the second lap and fell to 12th. He passed several riders on the way back up and finished eighth.

His team-mate Danilo Petrucci started all three races from 14th on the #9 BMW M 1000 RR. He could not gain ground, finishing 18th in Race 1 and 16th in both Sunday races.

Aruba.it Racing – Ducati’s Nicolò Bulega won all three races, ahead of team-mate Iker Lecuona each time.

What the team said

Sven Blusch, Head of BMW Motorrad Motorsport, was positive about Oliveira’s progress:

“The weekend began with a special moment for Miguel and his family. The many fans and the tribute showed us what a special brand ambassador he is for us. In sporting terms, his progress is clearly positive, with two fourth-place finishes.”

Technical Director Christian Gonschor said the recent development work was paying off: “We were able to continue the turnaround that began in Cremona here at Estoril.” He added: “The technical changes introduced since Magny-Cours, combined with Miguel’s mental strength, delivered some great races.”

Oliveira was pleased with the weekend overall but still frustrated about missing the podium: “It hurts a little bit not to have finished on the podium in the Superpole Race, and race two, for sure, didn’t go our way. I’m a little bit angry about that, but we took some steps with the bike. Now I’m looking forward to Jerez.”

Petrucci was more downbeat. “Estoril has been quite tough. I didn’t expect to suffer so much in the races,” he said, adding: “I really want to finish the season in a strong way.”

The standings before the finale

After 33 of 36 races, Bulega leads the riders’ championship with 664 points, 146 ahead of Lecuona. Oliveira is 11th with 136 points and Petrucci 17th with 61. In the manufacturers’ classification, Ducati leads with 682 points. BMW is third with 178, just three points ahead of Yamaha on 175 and 116 points behind second-placed Bimota.

Facts: BMW at Estoril

  • Superpole: Oliveira 5th (1:34.549), Petrucci 14th (1:35.228)
  • Race 1 (21 laps): Oliveira 4th, Petrucci 18th
  • Superpole Race (10 laps): Oliveira 4th, Petrucci 16th
  • Race 2 (21 laps): Oliveira 8th, Petrucci 16th
  • Riders’ standings: Oliveira 11th (136 pts), Petrucci 17th (61 pts)
  • Manufacturers’ standings: BMW 3rd (178 pts)

The season finale takes place at Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, from 16 to 18 October.

Source: www.press.bmwgroup.com