Munich. After a summer break for a few weeks, BMW Motorrad Motorsport returns to action this weekend, as the 2023 FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) enters the final third of the season. From 8th to 10th September, Magny-Cours (FRA) will host the ninth of this season’s twelve events. Last week, the two BMW teams and four BMW Motorrad factory riders attended two days of testing at MotorLand Aragón (ESP), in preparation for this season’s final push.
BMW Motorrad Motorsport, the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team, with riders Scott Redding (GBR) and Michael van der Mark (NED), and the Bonovo action BMW Racing Team with Loris Baz (FRA) and Garrett Gerloff (USA) used the two-day test in the north of Spain to work on improvements to the chassis and electronics on the BMW M 1000 RR.
Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, located roughly 250 kilometres south of the French capital Paris, has proved to be a happy hunting ground for BMW Motorrad Motorsport in the past. Last year, Redding finished runner-up in the Saturday race to claim his best result of the season. Local favourite Baz was also in contention for a spot on the podium in 2022.
After Magny-Cours, the season concludes with a further three rounds at MotorLand Aragón (ESP / 22nd to 24th September), Portimão (POR / 29th September to 1st October), and Jerez de la Frontera (ESP / 27th to 29th October).
Quotes ahead of the Magny-Cours round.
Marc Bongers, BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director: “We are looking forward to getting going again after the summer break. The Aragón test was productive and we made some important findings with both our teams and the four riders ahead of the final phase of the season. We now travel to Magny-Cours well prepared. The circuit is very varied and the layout is a technically demanding mix of very fast straights and tight hairpins. We have fond memories of Magny-Cours, including those from last year. Everyone is working hard to make sure that we are competitive there again this year, and that we have a say in the battle at the front of the field.”
Garrett Gerloff, #31 BMW M 1000 RR, Bonovo action BMW Racing Team: “I’m looking forward to Magny-Cours as it’s a track that BMW had success on in the past. I am feeling good on the bike lately. We had a pretty good test at Aragón. We learned a lot of things there that we can hopefully also apply to Magny-Cours. Let’s see what the weather looks like, because there it’s always a bit of a guess, but as a team we are ready to have the best weekend possible.”
Scott Redding, #45 BMW M 1000 RR, ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team: “I’m looking forward to Magny-Cours. It’s obviously a race track where we felt good last year and it’s a circuit that I like. Coming back from a positive test at Aragón I look forward to it. The weather’s looking pretty hot which we don’t normally have at Magny-Cours so I’m looking forward to a good weekend.”
Michael van der Mark, #60 BMW M 1000 RR, ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team: “I am happy to be finally racing again. I’m looking forward to it. Most was nice but I know that I am a lot fitter and stronger now. We had two nice days of testing at Aragón so I think that we are ready. Magny-Cours is one of my favourite tracks, I really enjoy riding there so I cannot wait to go out this weekend and start my second part of the season.”
Loris Baz, #76 BMW M 1000 RR, Bonovo action BMW Racing Team: “It was a big break, but I kept myself busy. We did the IDM round and then I had a lot of things to do at home. That was followed by the test at Aragón. It was a test where we were trying to be back at the right pace. There were some setup ideas that we tried for the rest of the season. I’m looking forward to the home round now, of course. It’s always nice to ride at home and we will try to continue with the form we had at Imola and Most, which was quite good. I’ll try to score as many points as possible for the rest of the season. We’ll do our best as always and hopefully have some fun.”
Track Facts Magny-Cours.
Circuit length
4.411 km – clockwise
Corners
17 – 9 right-handers, 8 left-handers
Pole position
Right
Longest straight
Approx. 900 metres (‘Golf’)
Grip level
Medium
Track layout
Some sweeping turns, some stop-and-go passages, fast changes of direction
Strain on brakes
Relatively high
Amount at full throttle
32 % respectively 31 seconds
Top speed / lowest speed
295 km/h / 46 km/h
Best overtaking opportunity
T5
Key factors
High speed through the corners, stability, good delay on entry into turns, wide range of performance