Portuguese driver Miguel Oliveira begins a new stage in his career this weekend by debuting in the Superbike World Championship World Championshipafter several years in MotoGP. The 31-year-old driver, born in Almada, is part of the official BMW Motorrad team, brand that won the last two world titles.
The opening round takes place at the Phillip Island Circuit, in Australia, the first of the 12 stages planned for the season. The calendar includes two races in Portugal, at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve and the Autódromo do Estoril.
Oliveira replaces two-time world champion Toprak Razgatlioglu, who moved to the premier classand arrives at a new paddock after a pre-season affected by rain, which limited the adaptation time to the BMW M 1000 RR. Even so, in the tests carried out at Phillip Island it showed progressive progress, finishing in the top ten.
The Superbike World Championship is considered the second most important championship in circuit speed racing. Unlike MotoGP, which uses prototypes developed from scratch, the competition uses production-derived motorcycles with around 1000 cc, adapted for track use. Six manufacturers participate — BMW, Ducati, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Honda and Bimota — and each day includes three races: two main races and a superpole sprint.
Despite the title belonging to BMW, Ducati and Italian Nicolo Bulega appear among the main candidates for the championship after pre-season testing in Australia.
The weekend program includes free practice on Friday, qualifying and the first race on Saturday, and on Sunday the short superpole race followed by the second main race. For Miguel Oliveira, the debut represents adaptation to a new competitive format, but also continuity at the highest level of world motorcycling.
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