Despite a first win in eight years and the first as a full factory team since their return in 2019, BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team Principal, Shaun Muir, says fighting for consistent wins in the dry must happen ‘pretty quick’.
He finished sixth in this year’s championship, but we have ranked BMW’s first WorldSBK race winner in eight years, Michael Van Der Mark, fifth in our top ten riders of 2021 list.
Coming in at sixth on our top ten WorldSBK riders of 2021 is rookie sensation Axel Bassani who finished three spots lower down in the official championship standings.
Ex-Grand Prix racers Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge are set for their Honda WorldSBK debuts, while BMW and Kawasaki are also scheduled to take part in a three-day test at Jerez.
Ahead of his move to BMW for the 2022 WorldSBK season, Scott Redding completed his first laps aboard an M 1000 RR road bike during a private Valencia test.
Jonathan Rea believes 2021 world champion Toprak Razgatlioglu has less weaknesses than all his previous WorldSBK title rivals; ‘I would say Toprak has less weaknesses than the others and that’s why he won the championship this year’.
Michael Van Der Mark believes new WorldSBK team-mate Scott Redding can help ‘develop’ the BMW M 1000 RR after spending two successful seasons at Ducati.
Tom Sykes has put BMW’s impressive recent run of wet weather WorldSBK results down to having ‘good riders’ as they ‘can get around some of the bike’s limitations’, as opposed to BMW being better than other bikes.
It’s fair to say the all-new Mandalika circuit was a success after several WorldSBK riders called the layout ‘incredible’, while the grip in the wet was ‘unbelievable’.
Third in this season’s 2021 WorldSBK championship, Scott Redding will make his BMW debut midway through December in a private test for the German manufacturer.
Despite securing his third WorldSBK podium for BMW in race two at Mandalika, Michael Van Der Mark was left ‘pissed off’ after having no power due to being unwell throughout the final round of 2021.
Results from race two, the final round of the 2021 World Superbike Championship which has seen Toprak Razgatlioglu become the first ever Turkish WorldSBK champion.
Results from race one, the final round of the 2021 World Superbike Championship at Mandalika, Indonesia, as Toprak Razgatlioglu becomes the first ever Turkish WorldSBK champion and Jonathan Rea wins race one.
While battling for podiums in the dry is a stretch too far for BMW at present, Michael Van Der Mark believes the team's current situation is not that bad; ‘you want to make steps and finish on the podium but sometimes you have to look at the reality. I think we’re not doing a really bad job’.
Tom Sykes sidelined for third WorldSBK event in a row following severe concussion; 'I have missed more races in the last four weeks than in my 21 years of racing'
Michael Van Der Mark wins BMW’s first World Superbike race in eight years and first aboard the new M 1000 RR package, after scything through from fifth on the grid during a wet Superpole race.