World Supersport Champion, four-time Suzuka 8 Hours winner and multiple time WorldSBK race winner Michael van der Mark is looking to move to MotoAmerica with BMW in 2026.
In an interview with the official WorldSBK.com website, van der Mark, who currently races for the factory BMW ROKit World Superbike team, says he will not continue with BMW in World Superbike next year but hopes to keep racing for the German manufacturer.
Van der Mark’s future has been uncertain, especially after BMW announced that it hired Danilo Petrucci to replace Toprak Razgatlioglu on the factory World Superbike team for next year, but made no mention of van der Mark. Razgatlioglu will race for Prima Pramac Yamaha in MotoGP next year.
“I think BMW made a good decision to sign Danilo (Petrucci). He’s third in the standings and I think he’ll fit the team and bike very well. That’s good for the team,” van der Mark said. “On my side, I won’t continue in WorldSBK with BMW although I plan to stay with BMW. We’re looking at different options. One of them, and I’m looking forward to and is my wish right now, is to go to MotoAmerica. We’re working on it. This is my plan to stay with BMW. We’ve planned a lot of things together with them and, of course, my Suzuka endurance team. I had a good time there so this could be in the pipeline. I want to stay with BMW.
“I’ve been here quite a long time and sometimes things don’t plan out how you want; that’s what happened this year. If I can stay with BMW, we can have a fresh start in another championship. I don’t feel like you have to stay there just to stay there. You can find something new. If I could stay with BMW, that would be fantastic.”
It is unclear where van der Mark would race in MotoAmerica if he did cement a deal for 2026. In the statement to WorldSBK.com, van der Mark did not specifically state that he was looking at the Superbike class. Currently in MotoAmerica, Tytlers Cycle Racing fields a single BMW Superbike for Cameron Beaubier. OrangeCat Racing fields Stock 1000-spec BMWs for Andrew Lee and Jayson Uribe, Edge Racing has a Stock 1000 BMW for Jason Waters, and Danilo Lewis rides a BMW for Aftercare Schiebe Racing. Alex Arango rides a Stock 1000 BMW for Top Pro Racing and AJ Blackmon rides in the class for Ikonic Yachts.
Van der Mark is a six-time WorldSBK race winner, a European Superstock Champion, a World Supersport Champion and has raced in MotoGP, Moto2 and 125cc Grand Prix competition.
