Points instead of podiums: A difficult Assen weekend for BMW Motorrad Motorsport.

Assen. The third round of the 2026 FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) took place at the historic TT Circuit in Assen (NED). For BMW Motorrad Motorsport and the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team, it turned into a turbulent race weekend – highlighted by an outstanding Superpole performance from Danilo Petrucci (ITA) and a strong comeback ride from Miguel Oliveira (POR) on Saturday. Sunday, however, proved more challenging.

Fourth place in Superpole qualifying showed that Petrucci is becoming increasingly comfortable with his #9 BMW M 1000 RR. Accordingly, confidence was high heading into the main race on Saturday afternoon. However, race control ruled a jump start, and Petrucci had to serve a double long-lap penalty. As a result, he crossed the finish line in 18th place.

Oliveira started the first race from 13th on the grid and steadily worked his way forward aboard his #88 BMW M 1000 RR. After 21 laps, he finished in seventh place, collecting more valuable points. On Sunday, both riders faced greater difficulties. Petrucci finished the Superpole Race and race two in seventh and ninth positions. Oliveira recorded 11th and 12th places. The action continues in two weeks at the Balaton Park Circuit in Hungary.

Reactions after the Assen round.

Sven Blusch, Head of BMW Motorrad Motorsport: “Assen was a challenging race weekend for us, even though we arrived with strong momentum following the good results at Portimão. Various factors prevented us from achieving the result we had hoped for. This makes it all the more important that we now consistently analyse the insights we’ve gained and work on them in a targeted way. The team and the riders responded as a unit and are looking ahead. With Balaton, we have a circuit coming up where we aim to position ourselves better again. Our goal is to show clear improvement there and get back on the attack.”

Christian Gonschor, Technical Director BMW Motorrad Motorsport: “Assen was a difficult weekend for us. Our goal was clear: to collect a lot of points. We partially achieved that, but the results did not match what we had set out to do. The pace for the top five was there for both Miguel and Danilo, and the fact that, following Miguel’s podiums at Portimão, we now had the potential with both riders to fight for the podium is a step forward. However, in the races we lacked execution and a bit of race luck. We were unable to convert the potential over race distance into the corresponding results, for various reasons. That is why we leave Assen with mixed feelings. On the one hand, the performance confirmed the potential; on the other, we were unable to score possible points and suffered a setback after Portimão. Now we move on to Hungary, a stop-and-go circuit where our strengths should come more into play. There, we expect to see a different weekend on both sides of the garage.”

Miguel Oliveira, ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team: “It was a tough weekend for us. We know Assen is always a bit of a challenge, but we fought hard. The team gave absolutely everything to put the best possible bike out there on track, but it was still challenging. Without a good qualifying, we were left mid-pack and we didn’t optimise the result. Yesterday was kind of okay, but today it was even more difficult to move forward through the field. Still, we’re heading to a new track where we know the bike can work well, so we’re looking forward to that, and as always, we’ll be ready to fight.”

Danilo Petrucci, ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team: “This weekend was crazy. I immediately felt good on the bike, and I’m starting to really enjoy it. Superpole qualifying was really good: I enjoyed the bike and put in a good lap time. Then yesterday there was the penalty for the jump start. I’m not sure I actually did a jump start, but the rules are the rules. I think the penalty was too long and not really fair, especially since I didn’t gain any position. But anyway, today we were able to score some points. We fought, and we can look at the positive side. I think our bike will work really well in the next two rounds. I enjoy those tracks, so we have to focus on the positives. For sure, we’re still working on the bike, so there’s still potential. I can’t wait to ride the bike again as soon as possible.”

Facts and figures.

Superpole.

Air temperature: 16°, track temperature: 20°, humidity: 59%, conditions: dry.

*  New all time lap record

Race 1.

Air temperature: 14°, track temperature: 21°, humidity: 75%, conditions: dry, laps: 21.

Fastest race lap: Nicolò Bulega, lap 6, 1:33.341 (new record)

Superpole Race.

Air temperature: 11°, track temperature: 15°, humidity: 72%, conditions: dry, laps: 10.

Fastest race lap: Nicolò Bulega, lap 2, 1:32.357 (new record)

Race 2.

Air temperature: 10°, track temperature: 15°, humidity: 69%, conditions: dry, laps: 21.

Fastest race lap: Nicolò Bulega, lap 4, 1:33.162

Current riders’ classification (R03/12, after 9 of 36 races).

Current manufacturers’ classification (R03/12, after 9 of 36 races).