Munich. After a four-week break from racing, BMW Motorrad Motorsport now travels to the Adriatic coast. This weekend (2nd to 4th June), Misano (ITA) is the venue for round five of the FIM Superbike World Championship 2023 (WorldSBK). Making a temporary return to the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK family is Tom Sykes (GBR), who is standing in for the injured Michael van der Mark (NED) until further notice.
Three weeks ago, BMW Motorrad Motorsport and the two teams were in Misano for a two-day test at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, in preparation for the coming races. The ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team, with riders Scott Redding (GBR) and Sykes, and the Bonovo action BMW Racing Team and its pairing of Garrett Gerloff (USA) and Loris Baz (FRA) completed a productive test programme on both days.
Quotes ahead of the Misano round.
Marc Bongers, BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director: “We used the break and the Misano test to continue to adapt our new BMW M 1000 RR to the individual requirements of the riders. As such, the teams and riders rode different programmes, compared components and, among other things, worked on geometry and weight distribution – particularly with Scott and Garrett. For Loris, the Misano test was primarily about getting a feel for the bike again after his leg injury. He has had three weeks of recovery time since then, and we are confident that he will be stronger at Misano than recently at Assen and Barcelona. The test gave Tom the opportunity to familiarise himself with the new M RR and Michael’s crew. On the whole, the test was good preparation for the coming races. Our goal is to perform well with both teams and all four riders at Misano, and to convert the hard work into good results.”
Garrett Gerloff, #31 BMW M 1000 RR, Bonovo action BMW Racing Team: “I’m really looking forward to going to Misano. It’s nice that we had a test a couple of weeks ago, so I feel like we are in a good place for the setup. I hope we can show off on Friday in FP1 and go fast right away and continue to go fast all weekend. It’s a track I enjoy and I’m looking forward to a solid weekend. I also have a friend who is coming, so it’s pretty cool to have someone from home with me. It should be a fun weekend, so I’m looking forward to it. I’m ready to see the whole Bonovo action BMW Racing Team again and to jumping back on my BMW M 1000 RR!”
Scott Redding, #45 BMW M 1000 RR, ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team: “Misano is a nice track which I like and the fans there are always great. I am looking forward to the weekend. I hope we can make some improvements from Barcelona. We tested atMisano a few weeks ago where we tried a lot setup changes.”
Tom Sykes, #66 BMW M 1000 RR, ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team: “I am very much looking forward to going to Misano this weekend and competing for the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team. It is a circuit which always produces great racing in a great part of the world. It helps as well that we are going there on the back of a shakedown test. I was hoping to get more laps on that test but unfortunately, the weather was not very consistent. Having said that, I feel that I had enough dry time on the BMW M 1000 RR just to re-acquaint myself and get some ride position and pace setting in place. I am heading to Misano with my own personal targets, can’t wait for the weekend to get underway and from there we will assess the next goals for the upcoming races.”
Loris Baz, #76 BMW M 1000 RR, Bonovo action BMW Racing Team: “Finally, after a couple of months feeling strange on one leg and the last couple of races in total pain and not fit enough to be fast, now I’m heading to a race feeling almost 100 %. That feels good. The last time I was riding this bike 100 % was in Mandalika and the feeling there was quite decent. Since then it was more like surviving on the bike. I’m just looking forward to leaving this tough beginning of the season behind me and start working in a proper way again. I’m basically starting my season at Misano. It’s still not perfect in terms of mobility, but the strength and the power in my leg are finally back. I’ve been training hard since the last round so I’m confident heading to Misano, a place that I always love going to and I’m looking forward to seeing my guys, working with them and enjoying the next races on the BMW starting from Misano.”
Track Facts Misano.
Circuit length
4.226 km – clockwise
Corners
16 – 10 right-handers, 6 left-handers
Pole position
Right
Longest straight
510 metres (start-finish straight)
Grip level
Medium
Track layout
Several long straights, partly fast corners, hard braking zones
Strain on brakes
Medium
Amount at full throttle
30 %
Top speed / lowest speed
276 km/h / 55 km/h
Best overtaking opportunity
T1, T8
Key factors
Good feeling on the brakes, stability, traction