Miguel Oliveira closes his Superbike debut in 11th place and reunites with Binder in 2027

Engines Motorcycles Miguel Oliveira ends his Superbike debut in 11th place and reunites with Binder in 2027 The Portuguese Miguel Oliveira (BMW) finished his first season in the Superbike World Championship in 11th place, with four podiums and 142 points, in his debut year in the championship for motorcycles derived from road models. The Portuguese concluded the championship with 10th place in the last race of Jerez de la Frontera, in Spain, after withdrawing from Saturday's race due to technical problems and finishing the Superpole race, already in 11th place, outside the points. The debut in derived series was marked by a promising start, with three podiums in the second round, in Portimão, but also by an injury that interrupted the adaptation to the BMW M 1000 RR. Oliveira returned to the podium in the first race of Balaton Park, in Hungary, before a drop in the Superpole race that put him out of the following rounds, in Most, in the Czech Republic, and Aragon, in Spain. The return happened in Misano, Italy, but the Portuguese did not return to the top three until the end of the season. The passage through Estoril, in the penultimate round, provided two fourth places and an eighth. In the Superpole race, Oliveira was in a position to reach the podium, but was overtaken by the Italian Alberto Surra on the last lap. The Portuguese finished the championship 23 points behind the 10th placed, the North American Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki), and was the best representative of BMW, ahead of the Italian Danilo Petrucci, 17th, with 61 points. Despite the difficulties, the German brand confirmed the contract renewal in September, with Oliveira announcing the continuation until 2029. "We laid the foundations this season, but I believe the best is yet to come," the rider stated, pointing to the evolution of the project. In 2027, Oliveira will have the South African Brad Binder as teammate, who will replace Danilo Petrucci and make his debut in the Superbike World Championship, coming from MotoGP. The two riders are sharing a team again after competing together in Moto3, Moto2, and MotoGP, for the KTM structure. The reunion brings together two winners of major MotoGP awards: Oliveira won five victories in the main category and Binder won twice, after becoming the world champion of Moto3 in 2016.