Jerez de la Frontera. Three teams, six BMW Motorrad Motorsport
factory riders; the first test session of the year saw BMW Motorrad
Motorsport kick off the critical phase of preparations for the 2024
season in the FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) with a big
line-up. The official tests at Jerez de la Frontera (ESP) on
Wednesday and Thursday not only featured the ROKiT BMW Motorrad
WorldSBK Team with Toprak Razgatlioglu (TUR) and Michael van der
Mark (NED) and the Bonovo action BMW Racing Team with Garrett
Gerloff (USA) and Scott Redding (GBR) on the circuit. The BMW
Motorrad Motorsport Test Team was also in action with Sylvain
Guintoli (FRA) and Bradley Smith (GBR).
The two days of testing in southern Spain also represented the first
opportunity to go up against WorldSBK rivals, as all manufacturers
were taking part. The BMW Motorrad Motorsport WorldSBK teams and the
test team enjoyed good conditions at Jerez de la Frontera, with plenty
of sunshine and mild temperatures. They were able to complete a
comprehensive testing schedule. The focus was on set-up work in a
range of areas such as chassis and electronics, as well as evaluating
newly developed components.
A further two days of testing are scheduled for early next week at
Portimão, Portugal. Phillip Island in Australia will be the location
for final testing on 19th and 20th February. That will be followed by
the season-opener there from 23rd to 25th February.
Quotes after the Jerez de la Frontera test.
Garrett Gerloff (#31 BMW M 1000 RR, Bonovo action BMW Racing
Team): “Overall, it was a good test. We were able to sort
out a few problems that we had which is good. All in all it was just
really nice to get on the bike again after two months of not riding
and to finally do some laps. I am really excited to head to Portimão
and keep trying to get faster. I feel like we have an idea of what we
want to try and change at Portimão and then we should be good to go
for the season. I am happy with this test, happy to reunite with my
team and looking forward to riding again in a few days.”
Toprak Razgatlioglu (#54 BMW M 1000 RR, ROKiT BMW Motorrad
WorldSBK Team): “These two days of testing have been very
positive for me, especially as I am still learning the bike on every
lap and I am improving. Especially on these two days we have learnt a
lot and we improved some things. We tried many new parts. Sometimes
they worked well, sometimes not, but this is normal. We just try to
find a good set-up and good parts. In general, it has been a very
positive test. I did not expect to ride a 1:38 lap time. I’m very
surprised because for me the bike is still new, I am still learning
and usually my plan is to do a mid 1:39 maybe, but yesterday I started
straight away with a 1:39 and I believe that I also could have made a
1:38 yesterday. Today I finally made it and I am very happy about it
because I see the potential of the bike and this is very good for me.
Now we keep working hard and we just need to find my set-up. And after
that we will start fighting.”
Scott Redding (#45 BMW M 1000 RR, Bonovo action BMW Racing
Team): “So, the first two days of testing this year are
completed. On day one I was feeling pretty sick. It has been difficult
but we have been able to do some laps and find some feeling with the
bike. It was just about settling with the new team and blowing the
cobwebs away. Coming into day two I felt a lot better and then we
worked a lot with the bike to get my confidence and my feeling. We
played a little bit with the set-up and tested a few new parts from
BMW and I was reasonably happy with the steps that we made for my
confidence on the bike. I am looking forward to Portimão next and see
if the set-up also works on another circuit.”
Michael van der Mark (#60 BMW M 1000 RR, ROKiT BMW Motorrad
WorldSBK Team): “It has been a busy test; two perfect days
with amazing weather, so it was great for testing and I really enjoyed
riding again. We’ve been trying to test a lot of different set-ups and
different parts on the bike. They have been quite busy days but I
really enjoyed it. We are still trying to improve the bike, and are
getting better and better. Also myself, my riding has improved so I am
quite happy with it. We learnt a lot and I’m looking forward to
Portimão. It’s one of my favourite tracks so I can’t wait to go out
there and keep working.”
