Reigning Superbike World Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu, BMW is currently experiencing a technical crisis it hadn't anticipated. The disappointing performances of Danilo Petrucci and Miguel Oliveira, particularly evident at Donington where both riders finished at the back of the field, prompted Shaun Muir to offer a remarkably frank assessment.
The boss of BMW Motorcycle Motorsport He's not looking for excuses: according to him, the German brand has strayed from the formula that made it strong. We haven't given our riders a bike capable of fighting Shaun Muir fully accepts the difficulties his team has faced.
« I am mostly disappointed for not having been able to provide Danilo and Miguel with a suitable motorcycle. We must analyze the situation and reactWe think we have identified the problem and now we need the solve. »
At Donington, BMW had hoped to finish between fourth and sixth place after encouraging tests a few weeks earlier. But once the weekend got underway, the M 1000RR proved unable to deliver on these promises.
The most troubling thing is that the absolute times continue to improve. Miguel Oliveira It's faster than in 2025 on several circuits, and qualifying performances are generally better than last year. Yet, the results are worse.
The reason is simple: all the competition has also reached a new level, so the progress made by BMW are no longer sufficient. Muir However, he refuses to dramatize the situation. What we have seen here does not reflect our true potential"According to him, the problem is more related to the way the motorcycle is used than to its intrinsic potential."
The lack of confidence among the drivers is BMW's main weakness.
German engineers have identified a particularly worrying area: the motorcycle's behavior under braking. When the rider doesn't feel completely confident entering corners, the rest of their riding is affected.
Muir perfectly summarizes this vicious circle: When we lack of confidenceWe brake earlier and lose speed. » In a category as competitive as WorldSBK, a few tenths lost in each heavy braking maneuver are enough to eliminate any chance of competing for the podium.
BMW He admits to having deliberately evolved his motorcycle in a new technical direction… before realizing that it had lost some of the qualities that made it strong. We moved away from that path because we were looking for something more »
The objective was clear: to transform a motorcycle capable of regularly reaching the podium into a machine capable of winning consistently. But this evolution did not go as planned. The conclusion is now undeniable. We need to start from scratch »
In other words, BMW plans to return to a philosophy closer to the one that had allowed Toprak Razgatlioglu et Michael van der Mark to build the foundations of the victorious project. BMW has already scheduled several days of testing at Magny-Cours et Estorilwhich should allow us to validate this new technical direction.
These tests will likely be the most important of the season for the German manufacturer. They will need to confirm that the diagnosis is correct before definitively committing to development in this direction.
Beyond the technical aspects, BMW must also manage a human element. Current performances naturally undermine the confidence of the pilots, particularly that of Miguel Oliveirawhose future is regularly the subject of speculation.
Shaun Muir nevertheless remains confident about GP One that holds the top spot. " We are still the reigning world champions and this package has already proven its potential"He also points out that the profiles of the two pilots are very different." Miguel Oliveira already knows the BMW and its operation, while Danilo Petrucci continues his adaptation to a machine very different from those he previously piloted.
Despite the criticism, Shaun Muir He refuses to draw definitive conclusions based solely on the Donington meeting. He points out that BMW is emerging from a difficult period, marked by several significant injuries, and emphasizes a revealing fact: BMW has won the last six races held at Donington »
For him, this demonstrates the potential of the M 1000 RR It didn't disappear overnight. The problem lies elsewhere: the German manufacturer wanted to take a further step in its development, but in doing so lost some of the qualities that made up its identity.
The priority is now clear: to regain this solid foundation before setting out to conquer the podiums again. More than a technical revolution, BMW seems to have understood that it first needed to rediscover the fundamentals that had made it the benchmark in WorldSBK.
