Markus Reiterberger has reached his goal: a long journey with BMW crowned with a world championship title!

For Markus Reiterberger, winning the Endurance World Championship was more than just another major success. The Bavarian has spent a significant part of his career with BMW. At the Bol d’Or, he was finally able to celebrate the world championship title alongside Michael van der Mark and Steven Odendaal.

“Yes, we’ve finally done it,” were the first words from a visibly relieved Reiterberger. Memories of the dramatic 2025 season finale were still fresh in his mind during the final hours of the Bol d’Or. “Last year we had a bit of bad luck. That’s why I was a bit nervous during the final stint. But now we’ve finally done it.”

The German’s initial reaction was understandably emotional. “I’m so happy for my team-mates. They were incredibly strong, just like the whole team. I don’t even know how long I’ve been racing with BMW in this category now. I can hardly describe how we feel right now. I’m incredibly grateful to everyone. Now it’s time to celebrate!”

High praise for Werner Daemen and BMW

Michael van der Mark also highlighted the progress made by BMW and the team led by team principal Werner Daemen this season. “Werner, the team and BMW have really stepped it up again. They were already good, but this year they’ve taken it all to a whole new level,” explained the Dutchman.

Michael van der Mark auf der Werks-BMW

Foto: BMW

Topic of the week

Spanish Grand Prix at the new Madring: track – hit or miss?

The people of Madrid had set their sights high for their city’s first Formula 1 World Championship race since 1981. But have the high expectations for the new Madring mixed-circuit track really been met?

Mathias Brunner

Read More

Yet the season started anything but according to plan. “Le Mans was bad luck. After that, we won at Spa and were on the podium at Suzuka – that was something special,” van der Mark recalled. Ahead of the finale, however, the task for BMW was clear: only a near-perfect weekend would keep their title hopes alive.

That’s exactly what they achieved. “We had to win, take pole position and do everything we needed to do. And that’s exactly what we did,” said a delighted van der Mark. At the same time, he acknowledged that a bit of luck is also part and parcel of endurance racing: “Sometimes you need a bit of it. Fortunately, this year luck was on the side of BMW, Werner and the team.”

BMW in a league of its own at the Bol d’Or

Steven Odendaal also recalled last year’s bitter defeat. “We’ve been trying to win this championship for a very long time. After last year and the way we lost the title, the disappointment was huge,” explained the South African.

Die jahrzehntelange Dominanz der Japaner ist Geschichte

Foto: FIM EWC

The sense of satisfaction was all the greater twelve months later. “The fact that we won the title this year through our own efforts makes me incredibly happy. We have three strong riders, a fantastic team, and Werner and the lads at BMW have done an incredible job. The motorbike is truly brilliant.”

For Reiterberger, this brought things full circle at the Bol d’Or. After many years together, with successes and setbacks alongside BMW, he achieved one of the greatest goals of this long partnership by winning the Endurance World Championship. Ironically, just one year after the bitter finale of 2025, the Bavarian was able to celebrate as world champion this time round.