BMW has admitted that beating Ducati in the 2026 WorldSBK season will be ‘challenging’.
Across the last two seasons, BMW established itself as Ducati’s biggest rival in WorldSBK, winning the 2024 and 2025 riders’ titles with Toprak Razgatlioglu.
But the opening four rounds of the 2026 season have highlighted just how difficult life after Razgatlioglu could be for the German manufacturer in WorldSBK this season.
While Miguel Oliveira has shown flashes of speed with four podium finishes — including three at Portimao and one at Balaton Park — BMW has been unable to consistently challenge Ducati at the front.
That contrast is best reflected by Nicolo Bulega and Ducati winning all 12 races contested so far in 2026.
Despite insisting the bike itself has improved compared to last season, BMW admits the progress made over the winter has not been enough to keep pace with Ducati following Razgatlioglu’s switch to MotoGP.
BMW WorldSBK director Sven Blusch discussed the manufacturer’s difficult start to the 2026 campaign after the Hungarian WorldSBK round.
For now, Blusch admits BMW still lacks the pace needed to stop Ducati’s unbeaten start to 2026, despite improvements made to the bike over the winter months.
After the Hungarian WorldSBK Round, Blusch told GPOne, “Compared to last year, we’ve made progress—in fact, we’re faster—but not fast enough to win.
“It’s not my place to judge the other manufacturers; we can only work to close the gap.
“We improved the bike over the winter, but the step forward wasn’t enough. We’ll keep working to close the gap, even though the situation remains challenging.”
He added, “Last year, we demonstrated our engineering capabilities, improving significantly over the course of the season.
“This year, too, we have ideas and an excellent team of engineers. We’ll see if it’s enough to fight for the win soon.”
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