Official: Michael van der Mark joins BMW

Michael van der Mark has been officially confirmed as joining the factory BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team in 2021.

The Dutchman, 27, recently announced he would be leaving Yamaha and has now been named as BMW's first signing for next season.

After winning the World Supersport championship in 2014, van der Mark moved with Ten Kate Honda to the Superbike class, then switched to Pata Yamaha in 2017.

As well as three WorldSBK race victories, van der Mark has been part of the victorious Suzuka 8 Hours team on four occasions and made two MotoGP starts in late 2017.

“We are delighted to welcome Michael to the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK team," said team principal Shaun Mir. "He brings a wealth of experience and is one of the youngest, most talented riders on the WorldSBK grid.

"Securing Michael's services emphasis the focus and determination we have to compete for top honours, and we will give Michael every chance to reach that goal."

"We are very pleased about the commitment of Michael, who has developed very strongly in the World Superbike Championship in recent years," added BMW Motorrad Motorsport director Marc Bongers.

"We are convinced that Michael is an enrichment for our project, and together, in combination with the strong package we can offer him, we can reach the next higher level in terms of results.

"We would like to welcome Michael to the BMW WorldSBK team and look forward to a strong cooperation.”

Former world champion Tom Sykes finished eighth overall in last year's WorldSBK standings for BMW, with four podiums. The Englishman has been joined by another proven race winner, Eugene Laverty, for the 2020 season.

van der Mark's future team-mate 'will be announced at a later date'.