13/7/2022

• Home race for BMW works riders Scott Redding and Eugene Laverty.
• Ilya Mikhalchik again replacing the injured Michael van der Mark.

 
Donington Park. A special round of the FIM Superbike World Championship 2022 awaits BMW Motorrad Motorsport this coming weekend. The fifth event of the season at Donington Park (GBR) is the home race for Scott Redding as well as for Shaun Muir Racing. After about a month’s break, the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team is aiming to take the next step forward at Donington Park.

Ilya Mikhalchik (UKR) will once again race as a replacement for Michael van der Mark (NED) in the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team. The Dutch rider will be there at Donington Park, but is still recovering from the femoral neck fracture that he suffered at Estoril (POR).
 
BMW Motorrad Motorsport used the break after the race at Misano (ITA) for brief testing at Donington Park. Redding and Loris Baz (FRA) evaluated a range of updates for the BMW M 1000 RR, including changes to the electronics and the chassis.

 “We did not fail to take advantage of the break since the race at Misano and have been working hard on further development of the BMW M 1000 RR. The brief test with Scott and Loris two weeks ago at Donington went well, and we were able to evaluate and confirm a range of updates. Both riders provided positive feedback. Donington Park is a circuit where we have enjoyed success in the past. Now we are hoping to continue that at the weekend and close the gap to the leaders with both teams. Everyone will be working hard and concentrating on that. However, we are also really looking forward to Peter Hickman and the FHO Racing BMW Team competing at Donington with a wildcard. It is great that Faye Ho’s team is now taking the step onto the world championship stage. I am sure that it will also be a highlight for the British fans to see ‘Hicky’ in action in the WorldSBK.”

“Donington Park – the home race for me which I am really looking forward to. It’s the first time for me in WorldSBK to have fans in the paddock there so it will be a crazy weekend and I look forward to it. I am also looking forward to the second part of the season. Donington Park is a cool track for me, it is a lot of history there, the track has a lot of character and hopefully we can show what our hard work has been doing in pushing for some good results.”

“I am looking forward to my third WorldSBK race weekend. The first race at Aragón was pretty good; I was within the top ten and riding with the really fast guys. Then the Misano weekend was a bit little difficult, because I did not have too much time to get used to the bike again after two months on the Stock and endurance bikes with different tyres. We just had a few free practice sessions and then went immediately into qualifying and race. But now, between Misano and Donington, I almost did not ride and this means that my mind will remember the bike from Misano. Donington is a really good track, I enjoyed it a lot when I was there in the past. It has a nice layout, the people there a great. So I am looking forward to it.”