Misano. After an eight-week break, BMW Motorrad Motorsport is now gearing up for the fourth round of the 2024 FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK). The event will take place next weekend (14th to 16th June) at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli on the Italian Adriatic coast. BMW Motorrad Motorsport aims to continue the success story of the current season. BMW Motorrad factory rider Toprak Razgatlioglu (TUR) from the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team, with three wins and three additional podium finishes, currently holds second place in the world championship standings.
Much time has passed since the WorldSBK race weekend at Assen, the Netherlands, but BMW Motorrad Motorsport and the two WorldSBK teams remained active during the break. The BMW Motorrad Motorsport engineers worked intensively with the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK test team to further improve the BMW M 1000 RR package.
In mid-May, the Bonovo action BMW Racing Team went testing at Cremona (ITA) with factory riders Garrett Gerloff (USA) and Scott Redding (GBR). The team and riders were able to establish a solid foundation for the upcoming Misano race weekend and familiarise themselves with the track where WorldSBK will race for the first time in September.
A week later, the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team, with Razgatlioglu and teammate Michael van der Mark (NED), participated in the Misano test. Those two days were also successful and promising for the upcoming races at the same location.
Quotes ahead of the Misano round.
Marc Bongers, Sporting Director BMW Motorrad Motorsport: “After the very long break, we can hardly wait to continue the WorldSBK season at Misano. The first three events of this year went very well for us. Following the positive and productive tests for the Bonovo action BMW Racing Team at Cremona and the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team at Misano, we are now very optimistic about the next race weekend. Additionally, Misano is a track where we have had successes in the past. We will give our all to be strong with the entire squad on the Adriatic coast and to score a lot of points for the world championship.”
Garrett Gerloff (#31 BMW M 1000 RR, Bonovo action BMW Racing Team): “I’m looking forward to finally getting back on track after what feels like a really long break. It was nice to have the test at Cremona to be back on the bike and to regain some feeling after not riding for so long. I know that when we arrive at Misano, we will be in a good place and have a good setting and that we will make the best of the weekend. It’s a track that I enjoy and I’m looking forward to arriving and starting the weekend.”
Toprak Razgatlioglu (#54 BMW M 1000 RR, ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team): “It looks like we are ready to race to the podium, if we don’t face any problems. I have the feeling that we are very strong because the last test was really good. My target for the weekend is to get three wins but the races are always a different story. We will see. I will try to give my best and I am feeling really positive. I just still have a little bit of pain in my shoulder because before went to the test, I had a crash. I did not more than ten laps but in general I feel that everything is good. On Friday, we will immediately start with a race simulation to understand where we stand. Overall, I’m very optimistic and especially mentally I am really ready to race. I can’t wait for the weekend.”
Scott Redding (#45 BMW M 1000 RR, Bonovo action BMW Racing Team): “Misano is a great place to race with amazing atmosphere. After a long break from racing I am excited to get back in to race mode. After testing at Cremona with a good feeling I hope to bring that with me to the Misano race weekend. Many teams tested at Misano a last week but it is a track I know well so I’m happy to be here now to race.”
Michael van der Mark (#60 BMW M 1000 RR, ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team): “I am looking forward to the Misano race weekend. We had a really good test and I think we are quite ready to race, maybe some small setup changes but the test was generally good. We had some good pace on race tyres so I’m looking forward to it. It has been a long time since we raced so let’s keep the good momentum going. We want to be back in the top five, for sure.”