Preparation for the WorldSBK season - BMW tests!

Photos by BMW

In preparation for the 2021 season in the FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK), BMW Motorrad Motorsport completed two test days on the Spanish “Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya”. After a private test in Jerez de la Frontera (ESP), the new BMW M 1000 RR met its competitors from the WorldSBK for the first time. During the test on Wednesday and Thursday, Tom Sykes (GBR) and Michael van der Mark (NED) from the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team and Jonas Folger (GER) from Bonovo MGM Racing completed numerous laps.

WorldSBK season - BMW

In sunny weather the conditions were good on both days. The test was used, among other things, to test various components and further developments on the new BMW M 1000 RR. The bike will be competing in WorldSBK for the first time this season. In addition, the driving behavior with different tire compounds was evaluated and work was carried out to adapt the motorcycles and electronics to the individual needs of the drivers.

The 2021 WorldSBK season starts May 21-23 in MotorLand Aragón, Spain.

Voices after the Barcelona test.

Marc Bongers, BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director: “We were able to work our way through an extensive program on these two test days and try out many different things and settings. The feedback from the drivers on the further developments that we have made over the past few weeks and here during the test has been positive. It's always exciting to go out on the track with the competition for the first time with a new bike and see where you stand in comparison. Our conclusion is that we are heading in the right direction with our new BMW M 1000 RR, even though we still have a lot of homework to do, of course. We will do that now and work on further developing the new bike in all areas and fine-tuning the individual adjustments of the riders. "

Shaun Muir, Team Principal BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team: “It was another positive test after Jerez. Both drivers, Tom and Michael, continued to work on tuning the chassis and electronics. The lap times didn't play a major role, even if it was of course good to compete against the competitors and see where we stand. We still have work to do. Neither of our two drivers had a major technical problem or other issues to worry about. I think the reliability, the performance and the way the whole team worked closely together are the positive aspects that we take away. We are happy that we left the test well positioned and look forward to our test in Aragón. "

Tom Sykes, BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team: “We were able to use the test very well. We were able to learn a lot more about the new BMW M 1000 RR and have gathered a lot of information. In terms of engine performance and in some other areas of the bike, we've taken a big step forward. But I would still like to work on the traction from the chassis. Here we're already looking at a few different options. It was good for me to have two more days of testing the bike. It's still brand new, and here, where we competed against our competitors, we could see where exactly we still need to improve. So it was an extremely useful test, and I am glad that we were able to gather all of the information that we are now building on. The entire BMW Motorrad WorldSBK team now has a few weeks to work with the data that we have collected over the past two days. "

Michael van der Mark, BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team: “It was great to be back on track, especially with the other competitors. There are still a lot of things that we have to try and discover on this bike, especially me. Sometimes it's not easy, but we've found some positive things about the bike and there is a lot of data. Overall, we had two days of testing with almost no problems, and that's really important to us. Because that way we were able to complete a lot of laps to further improve the bike for the next test. "

Jonas Folger, Bonovo MGM Racing: “The test started well on the first day. There have been some innovations in electronics since Jerez. The support from BMW is great and has helped us a lot in driving the development of Jerez on Barcelona. I was very impressed with the handling of the BMW M 1000 RR. So from the first lap we had a good basis with which to work. On Wednesday we tried a lot on the electronics, and also one or the other part on the chassis. On Thursday we focused more on tire performance, how long the tire would last, or how we can meet it over the distance of more laps. Overall, I am very happy with the job we did here as a team and I had fun driving. "

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Preparation for the WorldSBK season - BMW tests!

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