Miguel Oliveira: What’s more difficult in the Superbike World Championship than in MotoGP

Although the introduction of the sprint race in MotoGP has, at first glance, brought the formats of the two most important motorbike racing series closer together, significant differences remain. For example, three races take place over a race weekend in the Superbike World Championship, whereas there are only two in the premier class. The sequence and importance of the practice and qualifying sessions also differ.

These differences are felt by riders who switch from one series to the other – such as Miguel Oliveira. The Portuguese rider competed in MotoGP for Pramac Yamaha in 2025 and this year for the ROKiT BMW works team in the World Superbike Championship. For the seasoned rider, both formats have their pros and cons.

“The fact that we have two free practice sessions on Friday in the World Superbike Championship is more relaxing,” said the 31-year-old. “Because no matter what happens, you don’t have to worry about a pre-qualifying session, but can focus exclusively on the races. That helps you keep an open mind to try things out and be able to make a mistake now and then. You don’t have the pressure of having to set a fast time on a new tyre at the end to make the top 10.”

As a reminder: the afternoon practice session in the premier class has an impact on the rest of the race weekend. That’s because the top 10 from this session go straight through to Q2 on Saturday and are therefore guaranteed a starting position in the first four rows.

A high level of concentration and energy on the bike on the third day.

Miguel Oliveira

Oliveira continues: “A Superbike weekend isn’t a walk in the park, though – Sunday in particular is a real challenge. By then, you’ve already been at the circuit for three days and have the warm-up, the Superpole race and then a long race all in quick succession. It’s not easy, because we’re riding at a high pace and you need a high level of concentration and energy on the third day on the bike. For me, it’s more gruelling here than in MotoGP, at least as far as Sunday is concerned, because it’s more hectic and a bit more chaotic. But I’m adapting – as far as stamina goes, I could handle five Superbike weekends in a row.”