BMW is not exercising its options – what this means for Petrucci and Oliveira

When BMW signed contracts with Danilo Petrucci and Miguel Oliveira in autumn 2025, this could only be done for 2026, as the board had not yet given the go-ahead for participation in the World Superbike Championship beyond that point. In mid-May, the German manufacturer confirmed it would remain in the production-based championship; options for 2027 had been included in the agreements with the riders as a precautionary measure.

In such cases, exercising the option always means that the partnership continues under the previously agreed terms. If this does not happen – as is now the case with Petrucci and Oliveira – new negotiations must take place. This gives the riders and the manufacturer the opportunity to look elsewhere for new partners.

“We will be discussing further plans with the riders during the summer break and will first take a look at the Donington weekend,” BMW Motorsport Director Sven Blusch told SPEEDWEEK.com. “We’re not going to let it drive us mad and we’re giving everyone more time.”

It is understandable that BMW is reacting in this way. Oliveira suffered serious injuries in a crash through no fault of his own on 3 May in Hungary and made a very brave comeback in Misano in mid-June. Petrucci fractured his coccyx in mid-May at Brüx (Most) and made his comeback on 23 June during testing at Donington Park.

BMW officials will get a sense of where both riders stand in terms of fitness and performance at the next SBK event, taking place at Donington over the weekend of 10–12 July. After that, there’s a summer break until early September, during which the groundwork for 2027 will be laid.

The year has gone very differently for Oliveira and Petrucci so far: Whilst the Portuguese rider has already raced to third place on the podium four times and, before his injury break, emerged as the only serious challenger to the dominant Ducati duo of Nicolo Bulega and Iker Lecuona, Petrucci’s best performance so far has been a sixth-place finish in the second main race at the season opener in Australia.

You don’t need to be Nostradamus to predict that BMW will try to secure Oliveira’s services for the long term. And Petrucci must deliver a top performance in England to keep his chances of retaining his seat alive.

This is because BMW has several very attractive options on the rider market, and the list of riders looking for a ride is long. There is particular interest in Moto2 World Championship leader Manuel Gonzalez, should the 23-year-old Spaniard fail to secure a MotoGP seat. The same applies to Brad Binder, who can only remain in MotoGP if KTM decides to continue working with him and places the South African in Günther Steiner’s Tech3 team.