Farewell after six years in the World Championship: German MGM team calls it a day

For some riders, the Superbike World Championship season finale in Jerez marked a farewell. Danilo Petrucci contested his final race, whilst Álvaro Bautista’s future remains uncertain. The demise of a German team received somewhat less attention: on the Monday following the finale, MGM Racing Performance confirmed its withdrawal from the championship.

“The rumours are true: after six years, we are bidding farewell to the Superbike World Championship! It has been a magnificent, overwhelming, interesting and intense chapter in MGM’s history. We are grateful to everyone who made this possible,” the team announced.

Michael Galinski is thus drawing a line under a project that he had continued with great personal commitment following the withdrawal of sponsor Jürgen Röder. The Bonovo-BMW team had become a Ducati team for 2025. Galinski and his team-mates managed to secure two further World Championship seasons. However, there will now be no continuation for 2027.

Into the World Championship with IDM champion Jonas Folger

The story behind the World Championship entry began in 2020 with Jonas Folger. The former MotoGP rider dominated the IDM Superbike class on the Yamaha R1 and made guest appearances in the World Championship with the team. With the support of Bonovo boss Jürgen Röder, the team made the step up to becoming a permanent World Championship entrant in 2021 – albeit with a switch from Yamaha to BMW.

Teamchef Michael Galinski (li.) 2020 mit Jonas Folger

Foto: Wiessmann

The first season proved difficult. Folger failed to find the confidence on the M1000RR that had previously characterised his riding on the Yamaha. Eighth place at the rain-soaked season opener in Aragon remained by far his best result. The hoped-for joint promotion did not materialise.

For 2022, the team reorganised with Eugene Laverty and Loris Baz, fielding two regular riders for the first time. The partnership with BMW was strengthened. Baz finished the season 12th in the World Championship, whilst Laverty came 16th. A year later, Garrett Gerloff took the Irishman’s place and made a strong first impression.

Loris Baz

Foto: Gold & Goose

At Magny-Cours in 2023, the American secured pole position. He also recorded several fourth-place finishes. Gerloff finished twelfth in the World Championship, whilst Baz was once again 16th. The team increasingly demonstrated that they could compete at the very front with the BMW and even put the works team under pressure.

Shock in the summer of 2024: Jürgen Röder pulled the plug

In 2024, Scott Redding and Gerloff formed the rider line-up. But even before the team celebrated its greatest sporting successes, its future was in doubt. Following the race weekend at Misano, Röder announced that he would be ending the team’s involvement at the end of the year. Galinski began searching for a solution to ensure the team’s survival.

Gerloff provided the sporting justification for this in the second half of the season: he finished on the podium at Magny-Cours and Aragon. After a difficult start, the German squad had developed into a team capable of competing for the top three places. Nevertheless, the funding arrangements had to be reorganised.

Switch to Ducati – unrest caused by Scott Redding

Galinski managed to save the project for 2025. The fresh start came with Ducati and Redding as the sole regular rider. In Australia, the new combination seemed to work straight away: three top-five finishes raised hopes of a successful season.

Teameigentümer Michael Galinski (li.) mit seinem Fahrer Scott Redding

Foto: Gold & Goose

However, the promising start could not be sustained. In the summer, Redding and MGM parted ways prematurely. From the race weekend at Balaton Park onwards, Tarran Mackenzie took over the Ducati.

A fresh start with Optical Express – a setback at Donington

The arrival of the Scot brought new prospects. For 2026, the team unveiled Optical Express as its main sponsor and fielded the new Panigale V4R. Mackenzie quickly proved he could be competitive on the bike: in Australia he finished fourth in the rain, and at Misano he secured another top-five finish.

Then came the decisive setback at the home race in Donington. Mackenzie was so seriously injured that he missed the rest of the season. Consequently, MGM lost the rider who had helped stabilise the project from a sporting perspective, at a crucial stage of all times.

Tarran Mackenzie

Foto: Gold & Goose

Galinski had already made it clear in an exclusive interview with SPEEDWEEK.com in Cremona just how closely the team’s future was linked to its funding. At the time, he put the chances of the team continuing at around 50 per cent. “Optical Express, our current main sponsor, comes from Tarran’s side. At the moment, I can’t really assess how things will pan out. Tarran’s father, Niall, is handling this matter. A season here costs 1.6 million,” Galinski explained at the time.

From a sporting perspective, too, he lacked the opportunity to build on the progress made with Mackenzie. “His development was really good. With him, we were able to hold our own in the 5th to 10th place range. At the moment, we’re not really able to show what we’re capable of. 15th-place finishes aren’t our style,” the team boss noted at the time.

Michael Galinski wird Technischer Direktor der IDM

Foto: Gold & Goose

After six full World Championship seasons, the partnership is now coming to an end. The story spans from the difficult start with Folger, through Gerloff’s pole positions and podium finishes, to the Ducati relaunch, which Galinski made possible despite considerable opposition.

He will remain involved in German motorcycling: from 2027, Galinski will take on the role of Technical Director for the newly restructured IDM under the umbrella of the ADAC. There, he will return to a championship with which he has had close ties for many years. “I’ve always been involved with a passion,” he said of the IDM. His commitment to MGM in the Superbike World Championship reflected the same attitude.