febbraio 27, 2023 - BMW Motorsport

Challenging start to the WorldSBK season for BMW Motorrad Motorsport at Phillip Island

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After a short but busy winter break, BMW Motorrad Motorsport kicked off the 2023 FIM Superbike World Championship with the new BMW M 1000 RR at Phillip Island, Australia. The ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team and the Bonovo action BMW Racing Team claimed top-ten finishes, but on the whole it was a challenging weekend for both teams and the four BMW factory riders Scott Redding (GBR), Garrett Gerloff (USA), Michael van der Mark (NED) and Loris Baz (FRA). The best race result was a ninth place for Redding in the opening race on Saturday.

After the first two practice sessions were held in sunshine and high temperatures on Friday, the weather changed on Saturday. Light rain started to fall in the third free practice session, but it was dry again by Superpole. Van der Mark in twelfth place was the best of the BMW riders in an extremely tight field. Redding, Gerloff and Baz finished 13th, 16th and 18th.

The rain returned for the start of the Saturday race. Van der Mark soon climbed to ninth place, but crashed on lap two and was forced out of the race. Redding worked his way through the field and into sixth place, but dropped back to ninth in the closing stages as his rear tyre fell off a cliff. Gerloff struggled with poor visibility in the spray at the start, but then launched a fightback from 19th place that took him as high as tenth. Problems with the rear tyre forced Baz into the pits after 13 laps. He rejoined the race after a tyre change and eventually came home 18th.

It rained again on Sunday morning, but the Superpole race took place in bright sunshine. Van der Mark was again the best-placed BMW rider in tenth. Baz, Redding and Gerloff crossed the finish line 13th, 14th and 15th at the end of the ten-lap sprint. In race two on Sunday afternoon, the BMW racers failed to make it into the top ten. Van der Mark was twelfth again, with Redding, Gerloff and Baz picking up points in 13th, 14th and 15th place.

The WorldSBK caravan now heads straight to Indonesia, where the second round of the season will take place this weekend (3rd to 5th March) at Mandalika.

Quotes after the Phillip Island races.

Marc Bongers, BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director: “It was not an easy weekend for the two BMW teams. We already saw signs in the test on Monday and Tuesday that we would not be able to compete at the very front here. We then faced additional challenges on the race weekend itself. Firstly, the conditions were really unsettled. Secondly, we only had a limited tyre selection at our disposal. However, there were also positives. Thanks to the aerodynamic updates on the new BMW M 1000 RR, we were consistently among the best when it came to top speed. That is one area in which we have improved significantly. However, top speed alone is obviously not enough to produce good lap times. Another positive were the clear signs that Michael van der Mark is back after his injury. Plus, newcomer Garrett Gerloff is handling the bike as well as the other riders. We have seen that we have a strong quartet of riders, but also that we have a lot of work ahead of us to get the BMW M 1000 RR to the front of the field. We will now analyse what was missing here, and prepare for the next races in Indonesia.”

Scott Redding, ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team (SP: 13 / R01: 9 / SP Race: 14 / R02: 13): “It has been a difficult weekend. Mickey got off to a good start in race two, he had a clear lap. I was boxed in in the first two corners and kind of missed the run with them guys. Then it was just about getting in the rhythm and I ended up with the other two BMWs. It was just a battle between us. I was trying to push but in the end I could not get away so I just sat with them and raced, trying to maybe see what is different or what the bike is doing. Then in the end I made a pass on the two guys to finish 13th. We have a lot of work to do because we are suffering a lot. Mandalika maybe is different. We have to see. The track can make a big difference.”

Further information in the press release to download

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