CHALLENGING START TO THE WORLDSBK SEASON FOR BMW MOTORRAD MOTORSPORT AT PHILLIP ISLAND
- Opening round of the 2023 FIM Superbike World Championship at Phillip Island, Australia.
- Top-ten finishes for ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team and Bonovo action BMW Racing Team.
- Second round of the season next weekend at Mandalika, Indonesia.
Phillip Island – After a short but busy winter break, BMW Motorrad Motorsport kicked off the 2023 FIM Superbike World Championship with the new BMW M 1000 RR at Phillip Island, Australia. The ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team and the Bonovo action BMW Racing Team claimed top-ten finishes, but on the whole it was a challenging weekend for both teams and the four BMW factory riders Michael van der Mark (NED), Scott Redding (GBR), Garrett Gerloff (USA) and Loris Baz (FRA).
After the first two practice sessions were held in sunshine and high temperatures on Friday, the weather changed on Saturday. Light rain started to fall in the third free practice session, but it was dry again by Superpole. Van der Mark in twelfth place was the best of the BMW riders in an extremely tight field. The rain returned for the start of the Saturday race. Van der Mark soon climbed to ninth place, but crashed on lap two and was forced out of the race.
It rained again on Sunday morning, but the Superpole race took place in bright sunshine. Van der Mark was again the best-placed BMW rider in tenth. In race two on Sunday afternoon, the BMW racers failed to make it into the top ten with Van der Mark in twelfth again.
The WorldSBK caravan now heads straight to Indonesia, where the second round of the season will take place this weekend (3rd to 5th March) at Mandalika.
Michael van der Mark, ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team (SP: 12 / R01: DNF / SP Race: 10 / R02: 12): “This morning’s Superpole race was nice. I got a little bit tangled up on the first lap and lost some positions which was a shame as I lost some time, but then I was feeling okay. P10 was not quite where I wanted to be but I was quite happy with the feeling of the bike. In race two, I had a good start and I was feeling quite comfortable on the first laps. I struggled a bit in the last two sectors of the circuit but I tried to stay calm, and for a long time I was just behind a nice group. We were catching the big group ahead of us but unfortunately I then had a massive drop in the tyre. It was a shame but we learn. I think it was really important for us to be with the other guys for the first part of the race. Now the pace is there we just need to find a way to manage the tyres better, but Phillip Island is always difficult for tyre management. Now I am looking forward to Mandalika. We are still not where we want to be but I have a quite good feeling from Phillip Island’s race two.”