One of the standouts from Race 1 of the Indonesian WorldSBK round in Mandalika, Michael Van Der Mark roared into action during the closing stages to finish sixth.
Set to make his first-ever appearance at Mandalika, Danilo Petrucci believes this weekend’s second round of the WorldSBK campaign will be ‘one of the most complicated races’ this season.
After the factory BMW WorldSBK team officially unveiled their striking new livery last week, the Bonovo Action team led by Garrett Gerloff and Loris Baz have joined them in showcasing their new M 1000 RR machines in a launch at Portimao.
WorldSBK race winner Michael Van Der Mark is not convinced that the likes of Danilo Petrucci and Remy Gardner are normal ‘rookies’ given their success and experience in other championships.
Scott Redding has pulled no punches after claiming BMW is ‘maybe’ focusing too much on selling motorcycles to the public, rather than winning in WorldSBK.
Scott Redding says no rider in WorldSBK ‘can do what Toprak Razgatlioglu is doing’, whilst joking that team-mate Michael Van Der Mark is the dirtiest rider on the grid.
After suffering one of his worst seasons in WorldSBK, Loris Baz has claimed BMW’s competition did a better job of improving their package throughout the season.
The first of five pre-season tests ahead of the 2023 WorldSBK season will see Jonathan Rea and Alex Lowes on-track for Kawasaki, while the factory BMW team will also be in action.
An early contender in Race 2 after making his way up from sixth to second by the end of lap two, Scott Redding faded just as quickly as he was eventually pushed back down to P6, the position he finished the final WorldSBK race of 2022 in.
Scott Redding believes a P4 finish was there to be had in Race 2 at Mandalika before the 2020 WorldSBK runner-up made several costly mistakes, leaving him ‘angry’ in the aftermath.
Iker Lecuona claims all new parts tested by Honda in recent weeks will be going towards the 2023 package and that nothing new is expected on the bike for the final few WorldSBK rounds of this season.
With Remy Gardner officially confirmed as his replacement at GRT Yamaha, Garrett Gerloff has agreed to a deal with BMW that is expected to see him line-up alongside Loris Baz in 2023.
Despite an injury-hit second season with the German marque, BMW have confirmed Michael Van Der Mark will remain with the factory team for the 2023 WorldSBK campaign.
Xavi Vierge, Lucas Mahias and Oliver Konig have been passed fit for round five of the 2022 WorldSBK championship at Donington Park, although Christophe Ponsson will be re-evaluated after FP1.
Following a big highside at turn 13 in FP3, GRT Yamaha rider Garrett Gerloff has been declared unfit for the remainder of the Estoril WorldSBK weekend.