FIRST LOOK: BMW unveil new WorldSBK liveries for 2023 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.

Robert Jones

17 Feb 2023

Scott Redding, Michael Van Der Mark, Garrett Gerloff, Loris Baz, BMW WorldSBK Portimao 2023 — Scott Redding, Michael Van Der Mark, Garrett Gerloff, Loris Baz, BMW…

Featuring a light blue and white livery, Gerloff and Baz will next be aboard their BMW machines next week as preparations continue for the 2023 WorldSBK season with a two day test at Phillip Island.

Scott Redding and Michael Van Der Mark, who instead have a much darker livery for the new season, will also be in action in what is an official Dorna-organised test ahead of next weekend’s season-opener, which is also taking place at the Australian circuit.

For Redding, the 2023 season could be a make-or-break type of season as results so far in testing have been underwhelming.

After winning multiple races in both 2020 and 2021 with Aruba.it Ducati, Redding’s switch to BMW saw him struggling to fight for the podium on a consistent basis, although standout performances at Donington Park and Most showed that the British rider is still capable of fighting the leading trio from last season.

The same goes for teammate Van Der Mark, who has won races with both Yamaha and BMW in the Superbike championship, although the last of those come in 2021 which remains his only win in the last two seasons since swapping Yamaha for BMW.

Both Redding and Van Der Mark have at times shown frustration towards BMW due to their lack of success in bringing them closer to challenging for a world title, and should that continue to be the case this season then potential departures could be possible.

At Bonovo Action, Gerloff is now the only new rider to BMW machinery as teammate Baz was riding for the team last season.

Unable to capitalise on his potential at Yamaha, Gerloff will be hoping that BMW can help eliminate some of the things that held him back in 2022, most of which were rider related as opposed to a lack of competitiveness from his R1 machine.