WorldSBK Double-Header for BMW Motorrad Motorsport at MotorLand Aragón and Portimão

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Munich. In the closing stages of the 2023 FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK), BMW Motorrad Motorsport is gearing up for a double -header in Spain and Portugal. The tenth season event will take place at MotorLand Aragón (ESP) next weekend (22nd to 24th September), followed directly by round eleven at Portimão (POR) one week later.

Following Garrett Gerloff’s (USA) pole position and two top-five results, as well as solid performances by Scott Redding (GBR) in the first main race and Loris Baz (FRA) in Superpole and Superpole race at Magny-Cours (FRA), BMW Motorrad Motorsport aims to again demonstrate the potential of the BMW M 1000 RR in the upcoming races. Additionally, Michael van der Mark (NED) aims to continue to improve his feel for the bike after his injury break.

BMW Motorrad Motorsport and the two BMW teams, ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team and Bonovo action BMW Racing Team, are well-prepared for the race weekend at MotorLand Aragón. At the end of August, they conducted a highly productive two-day test with all four BMW Motorrad factory riders at the venue.

Between the WorldSBK events at Magny-Cours and MotorLand Aragón, Baz made a detour to endurance racing. He was the fourth rider of the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team at the Bol d’Or at Le Castellet (FRA), the season finale of the FIM Endurance World Championship (FIM EWC).

Quotes ahead of the Aragón and Portimão double-header.

Marc Bongers, BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director: “The test with our BMW M 1000 RR at Aragón was quite positive. The competition is very strong, but we’ve already been able to showcase the bike’s potential in the recent races at Imola, Most, and Magny-Cours. That's why I’m very confident that we can build on that and carry the positive momentum forward. Whether it’s enough for the podium, we’ll have to see. But our focus is on laying the base for the upcoming season now. I’m looking forward to the next races. It’s a busy part of the season, with four race weekends in a row, including the finale of the FIM EWC, but after the podium for the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team in the endurance world championship, we’re excited to go into the WorldSBK double-header.”

Garrett Gerloff, #31 BMW M 1000 RR, Bonovo action BMW Racing Team: “I’m happy that we were able to do the Aragón test a couple of weeks ago. I hope that will help us this race weekend. We have to wait and see. The test was okay, so hopefully from Magny-Cours we can make some improvements and bring those to Aragón. The team and I are working really well together. I know that we can have a solid weekend. It was also good to having tested on the BMW at Portimão even if it was long ago, at the beginning of the year when we didn’t know anything. So, it’s going to be different by the time we finally get there. But I’m looking forward to it. I like both tracks a lot. I know that as a team we’ll be ready for anything. I’m also super excited to have my friends coming for both rounds. That should be really cool to show my friends what World Superbike is like. It’s nice to have some home vibes there.”

Scott Redding, #45 BMW M 1000 RR, ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team: “We’re heading into the next round at Aragón after a difficult weekend at Magny-Cours. I’ve had good feeling on the bike but we just did not have the luck behind us and a couple of crashes. We tested at Aragón a few weeks ago and I felt pretty good there with the bike compared to the past so it’s another weekend I’m looking forward to. Hopefully we can have a better weekend than we last had at Aragón in the past which I think is possible. We’ll see how we get on and I’m looking forward to getting back on the bike again and moving forward and seeing if we can get some results better than at Magny-Cours.”

Michael van der Mark, #60 BMW M 1000 RR, ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team: “It’s nice to be back racing again. Obviously, Magny-Cours didn’t go as I had expected and also wanted but I’m still working on my return. The only thing I can do right now is to do as many races as possible so it’s nice to have two rounds back to back. We had a good test at Aragón so it’s nice to go there with a good base and the weather looks similar to test so that always good. Let’s see how it goes and then I’m really looking forward to the Portimão round. It’s one of my favourite tracks on the calender. I love being back there and it's nice to have back and back races. With the progression that BMW made over last rounds I cannot wait to do the same.”

Loris Baz, #76 BMW M 1000 RR, Bonovo action BMW Racing Team: “It’s a busy month but that’s nice. I always enjoy when it’s busy like that with back-to-back racing with different bikes. After the endurance weekend at the Bol d’Or I am now looking forward to being back on my Superbike. The feeling we had at Imola and Most was really good. We then had a tough weekend at Magny-Cours but still were able to go fast on one lap. I hope that the test at MotorLand Aragón will help as well to have a stronger pace. I’m really looking forward to being back with my guys again and to enjoying the two rounds back to back with Portimão. That is always one of my favourite races to go to. Portimão is my favourite track in Europe, together with France. I love being there. It’s an amazing track, an amazing place and always a lot of great racing there. That will be already the penultimate round so I will try to enjoy all the races before the season is over.”