Mandalika. The 2022 season in the FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) draws to a close with two back-to-back overseas events for BMW Motorrad Motorsport. This weekend (11th to 13th November), the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team and the Bonovo action BMW Racing Team line up with BMW factory riders Scott Redding (GBR), Michael van der Mark (NED), Loris Baz (FRA) and Eugene Laverty (IRL) in Mandalika, on the Indonesian holiday island of Lombok. They then head to Phillip Island in Australia the following weekend (18th to 20th November) for the season finale.
Mandalika International Street Circuit opened last year and this season hosts WorldSBK for the second time. When the series made its debut here in 2021, van der Mark finished third on his BMW M 1000 RR for the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team in the main race on the Sunday. The Bonovo action BMW Racing Team is set to make its first appearance in Mandalika this year, while the circuit is also new territory for riders Baz and Laverty.
Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit is a regular on the WorldSBK calendar. However, the coronavirus pandemic means the world championship last lined up there at the start of the 2020 season. It now returns to the track in southern Australia, which is extremely popular among all the riders and teams. For Laverty, the races in Phillip Island will be the last in his long career as a WorldSBK rider, before he switches to the management side of the Bonovo action BMW Racing Team from next season.
Quotes ahead of the Mandalika and Phillip Island rounds.
Marc Bongers, BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director: “We are looking forward to the final push of the season at two special racetracks. Mandalika’s debut last year was fantastic, with an incredible atmosphere. We also had a good event there from a sporting perspective. We are looking to back that up this year, and everyone is working hard to ensure that is the case. As we saw last year, the weather in Mandalika can play a major role. We must be ready for any conditions. After that, we head straight to the season finale in Phillip Island, and we are all looking forward to returning there. It will be the first time that we have raced there with the BMW M 1000 RR, as the pandemic meant Phillip Island did not feature on last year’s calendar. However, we know the circuit and our bike, so it shouldn’t take us long to find a good basic set-up. We want to end the 2022 season with some positive results, before we shift our focus entirely to next year.”
Scott Redding, BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team: “Mandalika is a great place to race with the new circuit we had last year. I had some good results last year and I had a good feeling with the track and the fans. Obviously, the weather was quite crazy but we know this in Indonesia. I am looking forward to going back to Lombok. We will see how it goes with the weather there, and the bike. Phillip Island is a track that I’ve really enjoyed a lot in the past, although we haven’t raced there for a couple of years now, so I have missed the place. It’s a circuit I haven’t been to with the BMW, so again we will see how it goes.”
Michael van der Mark, BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team: “We are already heading into the last two races of the season. Of course, my season did not go as planned but since my comeback, it went really quick. We have two amazing events for the last two rounds of the season. Indonesia, where I had some really good results last year and then, after that, we go to Australia. Phillip Island is a track I think everyone missed and I love to ride there, and I also love to ride in Indonesia. We were getting better step by step in Argentina so the goal is to maintain the progress, to finish the season as best we can, and get everything ready for the next season.”
Loris Baz, Bonovo action BMW Racing Team: “I hope to finish the 2022 season on a strong note. First, we go to Mandalika and I am really excited to discover a new track. And I know how much the Indonesian people love racing so I can’t wait to be there. Then we will head to the best track in the world; I always loved racing at Phillip Island. Of course it’s even more special with those two rounds being the last of Eugene’s WorldSBK career. We will do everything to finish on a high note and enjoy those two weeks.”
Eugene Laverty, Bonovo action BMW Racing Team: “Both Loris and I didn’t race at Mandalika last season and so the first hurdle is to learn the track on Friday. The second hurdle is likely to be the weather but we’ll take that as it comes! We have two rounds in quick succession to finish the season with Phillip Island scheduled immediately after Mandalika. I love Phillip Island and it holds a special place in my heart because it was the scene of my last WorldSBK victory. There could be no better place to sign off my WorldSBK career.”
Track Facts Mandalika.
Circuit length
4.310 km – clockwise
Corners
17 – 11 right-handers, 6 left-handers
Pole position
Left
Longest straight
507 metres
Grip level
Medium
Track layout
Partly fast, banked corners, flowing lay-out
Strain on brakes
Medium
Amount at full throttle
13 % or 13 seconds
Top speed / lowest speed
289 km/h / 66 km/h
Best overtaking opportunity
T10
Key factors
Lots of confidence, high corner speed, good traction at the corner exit
Track Facts Phillip Island.
Circuit length
4.445 km – anti-clockwise
Corners
12 – 5 right-handers, 7 left-handers
Pole position
Left
Longest straight
835 metres
Grip level
Medium-low
Track layout
Mostly flowing, partly very fast, banked corners, significant changes in elevation
Strain on brakes
Low
Amount at full throttle
24 % or 22 seconds
Top speed / lowest speed
329 km/h / 60 km/h
Best overtaking opportunity
T4, 10
Key factors
Lots of confidence in the front, good traction at the corner exit, stability