Miguel Oliveira performing worse than expected at Dutch WorldSBK

Miguel Oliveira says he expected to be challenged by the combination of the BMW M1000 RR and the TT Circuit Assen layout at the Dutch WorldSBK, but not to the extent as he was on Friday in the Netherlands.

Oliveira was outside the top-10 in both practices on day one of the third World Superbike round of 2026, a day that included a crash at turn 10 in FP1.

The Portuguese was also behind his teammate, Danilo Petrucci, who ended the day as the fastest non-Ducati rider in fourth.

Oliveira said before the weekend that he was aware the Assen layout could be a difficult one for BMW, but after Friday’s running he felt it had been worse than he expected.

“We knew it was going to be a good challenge, Assen, for us,” Miguel Oliveira told WorldSBK.com after FP2 at Assen.

“So, kind of expected [to struggle], but not as bad on top of the bike. 

“But, still, we are 0.8, 0.9 [seconds] behind; Danilo [Petrucci] is 0.4 [seconds] and he is P4, so that’s the gap that we need to dig. 

“I’m sure we will be in a better position tomorrow.”

Oliveira said that he never felt good with the bike from the beginning of FP1, and that he struggled to turn the bike in Assen’s flowing sections.

“Already from the get-go we didn’t feel good with the bike,” he said.

“I struggled a lot to make the bike turn in these kind of more flowing corners.”

About the crash, he added: “I got some chatter in turn 10, which very rare but it happens. I got some chatter and both wheels just went away from underneath me. 

“Anyway, it was a small crash, but already gave us an indication that that was not the direction we should follow.”

The Portuguese said he was able to find improvements in the afternoon but that they were not significant enough.

“This afternoon we could make some steps forward, but they were not substantial steps to make me feel like I could be myself on top of the bike and ride as I would like to ride,” he explained.

“So, there is definitely some work to do tomorrow. 

“We know we have some margin to improve, for sure – how much I don’t know, but for sure we will try to be more competitive tomorrow.”