Five-time MotoGP winner Miguel Oliveira will leave the paddock to join BMW in World Superbike from 2026. He replaces Turkish star Toprak Razgatlioglu, who will also leave his satellite Yamaha at Pramac after just one season... and without achieving the results expected to activate the second year of his contract. A situation that has raised concerns among his box-mate Jack Miller.
« It's sad to see Miguel go ", told Jack Miller. " He is a fantastic driver and he always has an exceptional level »
For Olive tree, it is an immediate rebound after the uncertainty: it joins Danilo Petrucci in BMW, forming a 100% ex-MotoGP duo in a brand that is gaining momentum in WSBK.
Jack Miller, himself seduced by Superbike, follows the transition of his former teammate closely. At the end of his contract with Yamaha end 2026, Miller is one of the natural candidates for a move to WSBK in 2027.
« I will be following his transition to World Superbike with a very close eye. It will be very interesting for him and for BMW. I can't wait to see the combination »
The sentence is not insignificant. Implicitly, it means: if it works for Miguel, why not me next?
Engaged by Yamaha in 2025 with an M1 in Pramac configuration, Miguel Oliveira did not reach the performance threshold necessary to validate the second year. The competition was tough, and during this time, the bubbling Toprak Razgatlioglu was proving to be ever more essential in WSBK, claiming and confirming his legitimacy to join the MotoGP.
Jack Miller, Miguel Oliveira, Chantra, Dixon… the great migration to the WSBK
Olive tree is not alone in leaving the MotoGP ship. Somkiat Chantra, LCR rider, is also expected in WSBK in the official team Honda, alongside the Moto2 winner Jake dixon.
MotoGP paddock side, Olive tree stays on the radar. Aprilia wants to integrate him as a test pilot… but BMW will first have to give the green light, which remains uncertain given the investment made in him to replace Toprak.
The 2026 season could well be the last in MotoGP for Jack Miller. With a MotoGP rider market fully open at the end of 2026 (almost all contracts expire), Miller keeps his options open.
And if the transplant Oliveira–BMW took? That would convince Miller to follow him. In the absence of a competitive handlebar in MotoGP, a factory bike in WSBK with Olive tree as scouts could be a more than attractive option.
The transition from Miguel Oliveira to Superbike is not a simple end-of-career transfer. It is a strong signal: the MotoGP–WSBK market is becoming more porous, more strategic. For Jack Miller, it is also a full-scale test before potentially taking the plunge.
