Miguel Oliveira joins ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK with the BMW M 1000 RR

“Welcome to the family, Miguel,” was the line that made Miguel Oliveira’s move to the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK team official. The Portuguese rider will line up alongside Italy’s Danilo Petrucci - who also raced in MotoGP - and will bring the #88 with him to be fitted to his new BMW M 1000 RR.

Miguel Oliveira’s move from MotoGP to WorldSBK

After seven seasons in the MotoGP World Championship, Miguel Oliveira is now switching to the WorldSBK championship. In other words, he is leaving a series where the bikes are true prototypes - the Formula 1 of two wheels - for a championship built around production-based machinery. That means models that remain very close to what you can buy from a dealer.

BMW M 1000 RR: homologation road bike and race specification

Even so, the Portuguese rider’s new M 1000 RR is not “just” an S 1000 RR on steroids. This BMW is a homologation version whose road-going specification already delivers numbers that demand respect: 218 cv at 14 500 rpm, a 314 km/h top speed, and carbon-fibre wings capable of generating 30 kg of downforce.

As you would expect, in race trim - despite the restrictions imposed by the FIM on Superbikes - the figures are even more formidable than on the “road” version.

All-up weight drops to 168 kg and power rises to 240 cv (estimated). The biggest step change comes in the braking system and the aerodynamic work. In MotoGP, the prototypes run carbon-ceramic discs.

In practice, the gap to MotoGP race machinery is not light-years. It is measured in seconds per lap. Depending on the circuit, the difference can be under two seconds.

To make the comparison easier, we put together the following table:

A résumé built without dominant machinery

The rider from Almada leaves the MotoGP paddock, after seven years in the premier class, with an eye-catching record: two runner-up finishes (Moto3 and Moto2) and five MotoGP wins.

Those five victories carry particular weight: they never came aboard the prototypes of the leading teams. KTM Tech 3’s first-ever win was delivered by Miguel Oliveira, and the KTM factory team’s most recent victory was also taken by the Portuguese rider.

Maverick Viñales, Brad Binder, Enea Bastianini and Pedro Acosta are among the most highly rated names on the grid, and they still have not managed to better the results achieved by the Portuguese Falcon on the Austrian bike. It has been three seasons…

The jump from MotoGP to WorldSBK is more than a simple change of championship. It is a shift in philosophy: on one side are prototypes built solely for racing, on the other are road bikes adapted into competition machines. As for the Portuguese rider’s mindset, that will not change: win.