Munich. BMW Motorrad Motorsport returns to the ‘Cathedral of
Speed’. Having taken a year’s break due to the Coronavirus pandemic,
the FIM Superbike World Championship is returning to the TT Circuit
at Assen (NED) this coming weekend (23rd to 25th July). The fifth
event of the 2021 season will take place at the historic circuit in
north-eastern Netherlands. The first motorbike race in the region
took place as long ago as 1925 and the permanent circuit was opened
in 1955. Racers and fans are equally enthusiastic about the
challenging course, which boasts high speeds and swift changes of direction.
At Assen, the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team will be aiming to build on
the successful weekend at Donington Park (GBR), where Tom Sykes (GBR)
and Michael van der Mark (NED) recorded the first WorldSBK podiums for
the new BMW M 1000 RR. The BMW satellite team MGM Racing will again be
competing with Jonas Folger (GER) at Assen. For internal reasons, the
RC Squadra Corse team will not be attending the Assen round.
Quotes ahead of the Assen round.
Marc Bongers, BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director:
“Assen is a very special circuit and you can really feel the
over 100 years of motorbike tradition in every corner. Of course, the
podiums at Donington Park have given us some extra momentum for Assen,
but we know that we still have a lot of work ahead of us. Now we need
to back up the results from Donington. The TT Circuit has a very
special character. It’s a fast track layout with lots of leaning and
some high outside turns – these are the challenges that we face during
setup for our BMW M 1000 RR. We are looking forward to the Assen
weekend and also to the enthusiastic Dutch fans, who are sure to
generate a great atmosphere once again at the TT Circuit. We deeply
regret that RC Squadra Corse is unable to participate at Assen and we
hope to see them back on the track again soon.”
Shaun Muir, Team Principal BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team:
“The team came away from round four at Donington Park with a
very positive state of mind. Both Tom and Michael reached the level we
were hoping in a successful event with some podium success. But more
important for us is that the gap to the front is much reduced, which
is our target. We are going to Assen having had a strong performance
there the last time we were there in 2019. We aim to take over our
level of performance from Donington Park over to Assen. For sure,
Michael will have a home turf advantage similar to Tom at Donington,
but in general we believe the BMW M 1000 RR can performance strongly
at Assen. Overall, our expectations are that we can continue the good
work at Donington and continue to close the gap to the leading group.
If we succeed in doing so we would be very happy.”
Tom Sykes, BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team: “Obviously I
am very much looking forward to Assen. On the back of some strong
results for the whole BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team at Donington I am
going to Assen trying to keep that momentum going. We have certainly
found some improvements with the new BMW M 1000 RR and Assen to me is
a circuit I really enjoy. It’s a very exciting track and my target
would be to get back on the podium. That’s what I am aiming for and
for my team-mate Michael, it’s his home race, so he will be pushing
for something extra. Overall I think we have all ingredients to try to
make it a successful weekend again. It will also be a pleasure to see
fans on the grandstands again after they already cheered us at
Donington so I am looking forward to that as well.”
Michael van der Mark, BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team:
“Assen is a special race for me, my home race, and I missed
it last year. It definitely is one of my favourite tracks, also
because I really enjoy the fast and flowing bits. Especially the last
part of the circuit is great; it’s fast and flowing and with the last
chicane there is always really nice action there. We are making steady
progress with our BMW M 1000 RR and at Donington we had a really good
weekend with both of our BMWs with finishing on the podium in the
Superpole race and Tom also reaching the podium in race two. We now
want to continue this progress and of course it would be really nice
to even do a bit more at my home race. It is also fantastic that we
will have fans at the grandstands for my home round. I am really
looking forward to it.”
Jonas Folger, Bonovo MGM Racing: “I am already
looking forward to Assen. We have analysed the data from Donington in
detail and fixed a fault that we noticed. Now that we know what was
causing the problem, we have the strength to head to Assen and make a
positive start to the weekend. I hope the weather stays fine and I am
looking forward to the circuit. It is a great circuit that suits me
very well. We are aiming to record a clear upturn in form.”