Munich. For BMW Motorrad Motorsport, the action comes thick
and fast over the next few weeks in the FIM Superbike World
Championship (WorldSBK), with three race weekends in a row. First,
this weekend (17th to 19th September), is the ninth event of the
season at Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona (ESP). The BMW
Motorrad WorldSBK Team and its riders Tom Sykes (GBR) and Michael
van der Mark (NED), as well as Bonovo MGM Racing and Jonas Folger
(GER), then head south to the Iberian Peninsula. Rounds ten and
eleven of the season will then take place at Jerez de la Frontera
(ESP) and Portimão (POR).
Circuit de Catalunya hosted WorldSBK for the first time last year.
This spring, the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team and Bonovo MGM Racing
completed extensive tests at Jerez de la Frontera and Barcelona, where
they prepared their BMW M 1000 RRs for the season ahead. The BMW
Motorrad WorldSBK Team and Sykes also attended another Barcelona test
in hot conditions this August.
Jerez de la Frontera, where round ten of this season’s WorldSBK will
take place from 24th to 26th September, has been a fixture on the
calendar for many years. The same goes for Portimão on the Portuguese
Algarve, venue for the eleventh event of the season from 1st to 3rd
October. The triple being held in Spain and Portugal marks the end of
the European leg of WorldSBK for BMW Motorrad Motorsport, before the
series moves on to the two overseas events in Argentina and Indonesia
in October and November.
Quotes ahead of the WorldSBK triple header.
Marc Bongers, BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director: “Some
intensive weeks await us in WorldSBK. With three back-to-back race
weekends, we have a demanding programme ahead of us. However, we are
looking forward to the challenge. Barcelona may still be a relatively
new hunting ground in WorldSBK, but we were already able to gather
important information there during this year’s tests to have a good
base. It was also helpful to get out on the track there in summery
conditions in August as we have to expect high temperatures at the
next races, especially at Jerez de la Frontera and Portimão. Our goal
is to get the triple-header off to a strong start with our M RRs in
Barcelona, then to carry the momentum into the remaining races in the
south of the Iberian Peninsula.”
Shaun Muir, Team Principal BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team:
“At Magny-Cours, the two sides of the garage had different
issues but all are working to overcome that. The aim for the next race
at Barcelona and the coming triple-header is to build on our test work
that we did there in pre-season and recently with Tom also. We are
confident we can once again hit the ground running in FP1 with a very
good pace. We know that we can be competitive at Catalunya, we have
proved that in the past. The temperatures will be pretty high and we
know we need to manage that with the bike. Overall, we are keen to be
back on track again; it is going to be very hectic and very hard work
for the mechanics and the entire team working on three back-to-back
races so we need to plan our work very efficiently and we prepare
ourselves. I think it will be once again critical that we start FP1
and FP2 and go into qualifying with a very good pace and give
ourselves a real chance in the races by qualifying on the front two
rows where possible and we are hopeful that we can do that.”
Tom Sykes, BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team: “I am really
looking forward to the next three rounds of the World Superbike
Championship. To be honest, it’s a little bit different approach now;
I don’t remember in all of my years racing that we had three
back-to-back races so that’s definitely a quite intense part of the
championship. It will be three exciting circuits and ones that I
really enjoy so starting in Catalunya we can hopefully find a little
bit more form and continue the run that we had there the last time we
visited. Plus we also had a test there recently to get some more
information so I am overall looking forward to the run of these three
races and trying to gain many more points for the championship.”
Michael van der Mark, BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team: “I
always love to ride my race bike and I think we can be still very
happy that we can do so many races this year so I am looking forward
to the triple-header. In addition, we are going to three of my
favourite race tracks in a row, so that’s also not so bad. We tested
at Barcelona in spring and it is good to come there again and see
where we improved. I think that we have shown at Magny-Cours that we
are getting closer to the podium. Of course, I want to fight for the
podium and we are getting closer. At Magny-Cours, we were unlucky with
a few things but our goal for sure is to fight again for these
positions. I think the general package has improved and our goal is to
fight for the podium on the coming weekends.”
Jonas Folger, Bonovo MGM Racing: “Firstly, I am
looking forward to Barcelona, as we had a good test there in the
spring. We are now looking to implement some of that at the race
weekend and adapt one or two of the settings. It is also a great
circuit which really suits me. I hope I can make the most of that and
that we can score a good haul of points. We attended our very first
test with BMW at Jerez de la Frontera, and I know the track just as
well as I do the Barcelona circuit because I have ridden there many
times in the past. I am obviously hoping that we continue to see an
upward trend there and can pick up some points. In contrast, Portimão
is new territory for me. I don’t know the circuit. I have watched many
videos of MotoGP and the Superbike World Championship, and it appears
to be a very demanding circuit, which is often referred to as
‘rollercoaster’. However, I am really looking forward to this new
challenge and am already very excited about the ‘rollercoaster ride’
at Portimão.”