Munich. The BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team enters the finishing
straight in the 2021 FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) in
South America. ‘Circuito San Juan Villicum’ in San Juan, Argentina,
hosts the penultimate event of the season this weekend (15th to 17th
October). This is the first of the two overseas events, with which
the season draws to a close. The finale will take place from 19th to
21st November in Mandalika, Indonesia.
BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team’s regular rider Tom Sykes (GBR) is
continuing his recovery following his accident in Barcelona (ESP) and
will not be racing in Argentina.
Sykes explained: “I have many things to say and many people to thank
for many reasons and I will do this in the very near future on a
personal level to give more detail. But for now I just need to speak
on behalf of the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team and I want to say that my
recovery has been incredible and I am at the position to be ready to
go back to my passion that is racing. Unfortunately given the timing
of these back to back races and the fly away in Argentina it just left
us going there with a couple of questions, so unfortunately we had to
make an early decision which meant we have to be out for one more
round. It is hard for me because I have missed more races in the last
four weeks than I have missed in my 21 years of racing. The main thing
is we are looking at the return to racing and look to enjoy the last
round of the WorldSBK championship. Thanks again to all, it is really
appreciated. Tom.”
Next to Michael van der Mark (NED), Eugene Laverty (IRL) will again
line up on the BMW M 1000 RR for the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team in San
Juan. The province of San Juan is located in the west of Argentina,
roughly 180 kilometres north of Mendoza. With the 4.276-kilometre
‘Circuito San Juan Villicum’, it is one of the country’s motorsport
centres. WorldSBK also visited San Juan in 2018 and 2019.
Quotes ahead of the San Juan races.
Marc Bongers, BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director: “The
successful weekend in Portimão gives us a lot of momentum for the
final phase of the season. The team’s maiden victory in the Superpole
race was just one aspect, as we saw that Michael was also in
contention for a place on the podium in the two main races. We want to
back that up, although we are well aware that different and new
challenges now await us in Argentina and Indonesia. However, we have
confirmed that we are heading in the right direction, and we want to
continue that way. We are sorry that Tom will not be with us in
Argentina, but we fully understand his decision to miss the races.
Health always takes top priority. Our thanks go to Eugene, who is
ready and will stand in for him again in San Juan.”
Shaun Muir, Team Principal BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team:
“We are pleased to be going back to Argentina for our first
overseas event of the season. We are ready to fight for the podium
again after a successful Portimão event. The team is well prepared.
Once again, due to the recovery of Tom, Eugene will step in at this
event. Hopefully, Eugene can pick up on his positions at Portimão. He
did a very good job there and has a good experience at the San Juan
circuit so he should be ready for the weekend. Mickey came away from
Portugal with strong finishes. I think his confidence is on a high,
the bike is working well for him and he also knows the San Juan
circuit well. So overall, we feel that we are in a good position. It
goes without saying that we really hope that Tom can get back soon and
finish the season with the team. It is a shame that he could not make
it to Argentina but we fully understand the circumstances regarding
being in a fit condition to be able to travel overseas.”
Michael van der Mark, BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team:
“Personally I enjoy the San Juan track. It has a bit of
everything, but there are a lot of tight corners, a lot of
combinations and I am looking forward to going there. I think the
organisation and Dorna did a fantastic job to make it happen. It is a
World Championship and it is nice to go overseas and to go to
Argentina. I think that already at Jerez, we started to make steps
with the bike with some different set-up and we did a similar thing in
Portimão which worked out really well. We were a bit unlucky with the
crash in race one and a mechanical problem in race two but it seems
that with the change we made on the bike, we can be really more
competitive. It is always a question mark how it will go on a
different track but at least we go there with a lot of confidence and
knowing we can try a lot more things with the set-up now.”
Eugene Laverty, BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team: “Firstly
I must say a big well done to Dorna and all the teams for making this
Argentinian round happen. This is the first time that we’ve travelled
outside of Europe since the global pandemic really took hold 18 months
ago and that’s a sure sign of progress. I really enjoy the Villicum
circuit layout and I’ve enjoyed good results here in previous years.
We made progress last time out at Portimão finishing in the top 10 in
all three races and slowly but surely the bike is beginning to feel
more like my bike. We’ll continue working on the chassis set-up to
improve braking and turning during Friday practice as we aim to make
another step closer towards fighting for that top 6 this weekend.”