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BMW MOTORRAD MOTORSPORT KICKS OFF THE SECOND HALF OF THE 2022 WORLDSBK SEASON IN FRANCE

  |   News Racing
  • Round seven of the 2022 FIM Superbike World Championship at Magny-Cours.
  • Michael van der Mark set to return from injury.
  • Home outing for Loris Baz.

 

After a six-week summer break, BMW Motorrad Motorsport kicks off the second half of the 2022 FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) in France. Magny-Cours hosts round seven of the season this weekend (9th to 11th September). BMW Motorrad factory rider Michael van der Mark (NED) is set for his comeback in the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team, as he returns from injury.

 

In preparation for the second half of the season, BMW Motorrad Motorsport, the two teams, and the four factory riders Scott Redding (GBR), van der Mark, Baz and Eugene Laverty (IRL) were at Barcelona (ESP) for tests in August. Among other things, a lot of work was done on the electronics and chassis. Van der Mark, who fractured his right femoral neck at Estoril (POR) in May, used the test to find his rhythm again after the long injury break, and to familiarise himself with any further developments that have been made to the BMW M 1000 RR.

 

Michael van der Mark, BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team: “I think everybody can imagine that I am really looking forward to this weekend. It has been a long time, so I am really excited to go back racing. Of course, I have to be declared fit. I am feeling fine and everything but of course it still depends on the doctors and what they will say. For me, it is a bit difficult to say what I expect after this long time. I think the main thing is to stay calm, because I have not been racing for a long time. The test at Barcelona was good to get back up to speed but we have to wait and see. For sure, Magny-Cours is a track I really enjoy and last year we had some proper results there as well. So I am just really, really happy to be back racing and the main target is to stay calm because we have six more race weekends this year.”

 

Marc Bongers, BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director: “After the long summer break, we are all looking forward to the second half of the season. Before the break, we showed a clear improvement in form, not only with Scott Redding’s podiums in the Superpole race at Donington Park and the first main race at Most, but with the results and performance as a whole. We now want to continue this trend. At the test in Barcelona, we were able to make important findings with our teams and riders, in order to improve the overall package of the BMW M 1000 RR. We are also very pleased that Michael van der Mark is fit again after his injury and is able to make his comeback. It was important to give him the time to heal completely, and we are confident that he will soon return to his old strength. We are now excited about the race weekend at Magny-Cours. In recent years, we have been very competitive at this varied circuit, the layout of which has a bit of everything. We are working hard to ensure that is the case again this year.”