BMW Motorrad Motorsport ready for the 2023 WorldSBK season finale at Jerez de la Frontera.

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Munich.
This weekend (27th to 29th October) sees the 2023 FIM
Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) draw to a close with the
twelfth and final event of the season. BMW Motorrad Motorsport is
eager to build on the good results of previous rounds at the finale
at Jerez de la Frontera (ESP). Garrett Gerloff (USA / Bonovo action
BMW Racing Team) finished in fourth place in both the main races at
the penultimate round of the season at Portimão (POR), trailing
first place by less than three seconds. Michael van der Mark (NED /
ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) returned to the top ten there
after an injury-enforced break.

Scott Redding (GBR / ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) is also hoping
to round off the season with strong results after recent difficult
races, and the same is true of Loris Baz (FRA / Bonovo action BMW
Racing Team), who will be contesting his final races as a BMW Motorrad
WorldSBK factory rider at Jerez de la Frontera.

The season was originally due to end in San Juan, Argentina, but
changes were made to the calendar and Jerez de la Frontera became the
new venue for the finale. The Andalusia tracm has hosted the WorldSBK
many times previously, the most recent time being in 2021.

Quotes ahead of the Jerez de la Frontera season finale.

 

Marc Bongers, BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director: “It
feels like we only just kicked off the 2023 WorldSBK season in
Australia and now we’re already at the final races of the year. The
season hasn’t gone quite the way we would have hoped for various
reasons, including our bad luck with injuries. However, even if we
couldn’t always secure the results, from mid-season onwards, we
repeatedly demonstrated strength and pace, as we could confirm most
recently at Magny-Cours with Garrett and at Portimão with Garrett and
Michael. This shows that we have taken the right path. We are
confident that we will be able to build on this at Jerez. Scott will
be focussing on regaining his feel for the BMW M 1000 RR and we want
Loris to bring home strong results once again in his final WorldSBK
races for us. We are all familiar with Jerez from previous years and
from test rides, and we need to translate our knowledge into
performance. We’re all looking forward to the finale in front of the
enthusiastic Spanish motorcycle fans.”

Garrett Gerloff, #31 BMW M 1000 RR, Bonovo action BMW Racing
Team:
“I’m really looking forward to going into this last
weekend of the year. I feel like the team and I are in a really good
place. If we could have a solid weekend to finish off the year, this
would be really good for us going into winter testing and into 2024.
Our focus and our heads are set to try to finish the year off with a bang.”

Scott Redding, #45 BMW M 1000 RR, ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK
Team:
“We’re already heading into the final round of the
season. It’s different to what was initially planned but Jerez is a
circuit that a lot of riders know very well. I’m looking forward to
the last round of the season. Hopefully we can have a good weekend.”

Michael van der Mark, #60 BMW M 1000 RR, ROKiT BMW Motorrad
WorldSBK Team:
“It’s nice to go to Jerez, especially after
Portimão. We had such a good weekend there and I gained a lot of
confidence. Jerez is a very nice track, I really enjoy riding there.
So with the improvements on the bike I cannot wait to see how it turns
out there. Keep building, keep making progress and have a good end to
the season – that’s the plan. Obviously it has not been the season I
had hoped for but let’s end it on a high and get ready for the winter.”

Loris Baz, #76 BMW M 1000 RR, Bonovo action BMW Racing Team:
“It’s going be a special weekend for me, the last race with
the team. I still don’t know how to feel about it, it will be strange.
It has been two years, which were difficult, but we had some
highlights last year. This season, it was tricky with the injury, but
I always had a great group of guys around me. I want to push hard
until the last lap for them. I really hope we can have a good and
clean last weekend together, especially for the Bonovo action BMW
Racing Team. I hope we can have a strong last race and some good
moments. I am looking forward to it. It’s hard at the moment, but I
want to be the best I can be for them and have a great party with them
on Sunday.”

Track Facts Jerez de la Frontera.

Circuit
length

4.432
km – clockwise

Corners

13 – 8 right-handers, 5 left-handers

Pole
position

Left

Longest
straight

580 metres

Grip level

Medium

Track
layout

Partly long corner, hard braking zones

Strain on
brakes

Medium / high

Amount at full
throttle

25 %

Top speed / lowest
speed

283
km/h / 59 km/h

Best overtaking
opportunity

T1, T6, T13

Key
factors

Good
delay, agility

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