BMW Motorrad Motorsport enters the final third of the 2023 WorldSBK season at Magny-Cours.

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Munich. After a summer break for a few weeks, BMW Motorrad
Motorsport returns to action this weekend, as the 2023 FIM Superbike
World Championship (WorldSBK) enters the final third of the season.
From 8th to 10th September, Magny-Cours (FRA) will host the ninth of
this season’s twelve events. Last week, the two BMW teams and four
BMW Motorrad factory riders attended two days of testing at
MotorLand Aragón (ESP), in preparation for this season’s final push.

 

BMW Motorrad Motorsport, the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team, with
riders Scott Redding (GBR) and Michael van der Mark (NED), and the
Bonovo action BMW Racing Team with Loris Baz (FRA) and Garrett Gerloff
(USA) used the two-day test in the north of Spain to work on
improvements to the chassis and electronics on the BMW M 1000 RR.

Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, located roughly 250 kilometres south
of the French capital Paris, has proved to be a happy hunting ground
for BMW Motorrad Motorsport in the past. Last year, Redding finished
runner-up in the Saturday race to claim his best result of the season.
Local favourite Baz was also in contention for a spot on the podium in 2022.

After Magny-Cours, the season concludes with a further three rounds
at MotorLand Aragón (ESP / 22nd to 24th September), Portimão (POR /
29th September to 1st October), and Jerez de la Frontera (ESP / 27th
to 29th October).

Quotes ahead of the Magny-Cours round.

 

Marc Bongers, BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director: “We
are looking forward to getting going again after the summer break. The
Aragón test was productive and we made some important findings with
both our teams and the four riders ahead of the final phase of the
season. We now travel to Magny-Cours well prepared. The circuit is
very varied and the layout is a technically demanding mix of very fast
straights and tight hairpins. We have fond memories of Magny-Cours,
including those from last year. Everyone is working hard to make sure
that we are competitive there again this year, and that we have a say
in the battle at the front of the field.”

Garrett Gerloff, #31 BMW M 1000 RR, Bonovo action BMW Racing
Team:
“I’m looking forward to Magny-Cours as it’s a track
that BMW had success on in the past. I am feeling good on the bike
lately. We had a pretty good test at Aragón. We learned a lot of
things there that we can hopefully also apply to Magny-Cours. Let’s
see what the weather looks like, because there it’s always a bit of a
guess, but as a team we are ready to have the best weekend possible.”

Scott Redding, #45 BMW M 1000 RR, ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK
Team:
“I’m looking forward to Magny-Cours. It’s obviously a
race track where we felt good last year and it’s a circuit that I
like. Coming back from a positive test at Aragón I look forward to it.
The weather’s looking pretty hot which we don’t normally have at
Magny-Cours so I’m looking forward to a good weekend.”

Michael van der Mark, #60 BMW M 1000 RR, ROKiT BMW Motorrad
WorldSBK Team:
“I am happy to be finally racing again. I’m
looking forward to it. Most was nice but I know that I am a lot fitter
and stronger now. We had two nice days of testing at Aragón so I think
that we are ready. Magny-Cours is one of my favourite tracks, I really
enjoy riding there so I cannot wait to go out this weekend and start
my second part of the season.”

Loris Baz, #76 BMW M 1000 RR, Bonovo action BMW Racing Team:
“It was a big break, but I kept myself busy. We did the IDM
round and then I had a lot of things to do at home. That was followed
by the test at Aragón. It was a test where we were trying to be back
at the right pace. There were some setup ideas that we tried for the
rest of the season. I’m looking forward to the home round now, of
course. It’s always nice to ride at home and we will try to continue
with the form we had at Imola and Most, which was quite good. I’ll try
to score as many points as possible for the rest of the season. We’ll
do our best as always and hopefully have some fun.”

Track Facts Magny-Cours.

Circuit
length

4.411
km – clockwise

Corners

17 – 9 right-handers, 8 left-handers

Pole
position

Right

Longest
straight

Approx. 900 metres (‘Golf’)

Grip level

Medium

Track
layout

Some
sweeping turns, some stop-and-go passages, fast changes of direction

Strain on
brakes

Relatively high

Amount at full
throttle

32
% respectively 31 seconds

Top speed / lowest
speed

295
km/h / 46 km/h

Best overtaking
opportunity

T5

Key
factors

High
speed through the corners, stability, good delay on entry into
turns, wide range of performance

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