Fifteen years to
the first title.
BMW entered World Superbike in 2009 to justify building a road bike, not the other way around. It took until 2024 to win the riders' championship outright — but along the way, S1000RR- and M1000RR-based machines quietly collected some of the most significant records in motorcycle racing.
World Superbike: two attempts, one championship
2009–2013 — the first attempt. BMW arrived in WSBK the same year the road-going S1000RR launched, with Troy Corser and Rubén Xaus as its first factory riders. Race wins didn't come immediately — the 12 victories BMW managed across this stint, credited to Sylvain Guintoli, Marco Melandri and Chaz Davies, were all concentrated in the final two seasons. BMW withdrew its factory effort at the end of 2013 to focus resources elsewhere.
2019 — the return. The launch of the all-new, ShiftCam-engined S1000RR gave BMW a reason to come back as a factory team, fielding Tom Sykes with Shaun Muir Racing. The M 1000 RR, introduced in 2021, then became the dedicated homologation base for the effort.
2024–2025 — the breakthrough. Signing 2021 world champion Toprak Razgatlıoğlu for 2024 changed everything. In his first season aboard the M 1000 RR for the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team, he won 17 of 37 races, stood on the podium 25 times, and reeled off a record-breaking 13 consecutive wins — sealing BMW's first-ever WorldSBK riders' championship at Jerez. He defended it in 2025 with 616 points, 13 clear of Ducati's Nicolò Bulega, before departing for MotoGP.
2026 — a new chapter. BMW's factory line-up was rebuilt around Miguel Oliveira, a Grand Prix race winner making his WorldSBK debut, and three-time WorldSBK race winner Danilo Petrucci. As this page was written, the season was still underway, with Ducati's Nicolò Bulega leading the standings — a reminder that in this championship, as BMW learned across fifteen years, nothing is guaranteed in advance.
The fastest lap in the sport's history
Away from championship points, the S1000RR and M1000RR have quietly rewritten what's possible on public roads. The Isle of Man TT's 37.73-mile Mountain Course is the closed road-racing world's ultimate test, and BMW-mounted rider Peter Hickman holds its two most significant lap records.
Peter Hickman, Smiths Racing BMW S1000RR — the first-ever 135mph+ lap in TT history, and the outright record until 2023.
Peter Hickman, BMW M 1000 RR — still the outright and Superstock lap record today, and still faster than any Superbike-class lap ever recorded.
For context: the Superbike-class lap record (a different regulatory class) belongs to Michael Dunlop on a Honda, at 135.970 mph (2024) — a reminder the TT rewards several different classes of machine, not just one.
Endurance racing: the 24-hour proving ground
BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team entered the FIM Endurance World Championship in the 2019/20 season with the new S1000RR, then switched to the M 1000 RR from 2021 — chasing reliability and pit-stop speed as much as outright pace.
First EWC win
In the M 1000 RR's debut season, riders Ilya Mikhalchik and Markus Reiterberger took the #37 BMW to victory in the season-ending six-hour race, securing second overall in the championship standings.
24 Heures Motos winners
BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team won the 24-hour race outright on the M 1000 RR — the first 24-hour endurance victory for a European motorcycle manufacturer since 1971.
Every milestone, in order
WSBK debut
BMW enters the Superbike World Championship with Troy Corser and Rubén Xaus, using the brand-new S1000RR as its homologation base.
First WSBK wins
12 race wins arrive via Sylvain Guintoli, Marco Melandri and Chaz Davies before BMW withdraws its factory effort at season's end.
First 135mph+ TT lap
Peter Hickman sets an outright Isle of Man TT lap record of 135.452 mph on a Smiths Racing S1000RR, also winning at the North West 200 and Ulster Grand Prix that year.
Factory WSBK return + EWC entry
The all-new S1000RR brings BMW back to factory WorldSBK racing and into the FIM Endurance World Championship for the first time as a works team.
M 1000 RR debuts + first EWC win
BMW's first M-badged motorcycle becomes the new WSBK homologation base and wins its first FIM EWC race at Most.
Spa 24 Hours winners
First 24-hour endurance win for a European manufacturer since 1971.
Outright TT lap record broken — by BMW, again
Peter Hickman raises his own record to 136.358 mph aboard an M 1000 RR — still unbeaten.
BMW's first WorldSBK riders' title
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu wins 17 races and the championship in his first season with the factory team.
Back-to-back champions
Razgatlıoğlu defends the title before moving on to MotoGP.
A new line-up takes the field
Miguel Oliveira and Danilo Petrucci carry the factory effort forward as the defending champions.