Pramac Yamaha rider Miguel Oliveira will leave the MotoGP paddock in 2026, having signed a factory deal in World Superbikes.
The 30-year-old Portuguese will team up with Danilo Petrucci in the BMW factory team.
Oliveira has raced in the premier class of grand prix racing since 2019, winning five races as a KTM rider, and had signed a contract with Yamaha that was supposed to keep him on the grid next year, too.
However, his adaptation to the Yamaha M1 bike has not been the smoothest - not helped by a significant injury early in the season - and Yamaha activated a break clause in the deal to take him out of the Pramac seat at the end of 2025.
That seat, now that everything has shaken out, has been effectively taken by World Superbike star Toprak Razgatlioglu, who makes the switch from BMW in World Superbikes.
Razgatlioglu paid off spectacularly for BMW as a hire in winning its first WSBK title last year - and he is currently on pace to repeat as champion before his MotoGP switch.
BMW is thought to have cast a fairly wide net in filling out its 2026 line-up - with Moto2 frontrunner Aron Canet known to have been a major target, and even rumours of an approach for MotoGP rider Maverick Vinales.
But it's now landed on an all-new line-up - with Razgatlioglu's team-mate Michael van der Mark making way - of two MotoGP winners in Oliveira and Petrucci.
"Miguel has impressively proven throughout his career that he belongs to the most talented and versatile riders of his generation," said head of BMW Motorrad Motorsport Sven Blusch.
"Together with Danilo Petrucci, his new team-mate, he forms a strong and competitive rider duo. The two already know each other well."
Faced with an exit from the MotoGP grid, Oliveira deliberated between remaining in the premier class as a test rider and pivoting to WSBK - but admitted he felt it was too early in his career not to be racing regularly.
While the conventional factory contract cycle in WSBK, like in MotoGP, is two years, both Oliveira and Petrucci are only confirmed for 2026. This is believed to be because BMW has not yet formally committed to continuing to WSBK from 2027 onwards.
2026 WSBK grid so far
Ducati: Nicolo Bulega, Iker Lecuona
BMW: Danilo Petrucci, Miguel Oliveira
Yamaha: Andrea Locatelli, Xavi Vierge
Bimota: Alex Lowes, Axel Bassani
Honda: Jake Dixon, Somkiat Chantra
Kawasaki: Garrett Gerloff
Barni Ducati: Alvaro Bautista, Yari Montella
Marc VDS Ducati: Sam Lowes
Motocorsa Ducati: Ryan Vickers
GRT Yamaha: Remy Gardner, Stefano Manzi
