20/09/23
Munich. In the closing stages of the 2023 FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK), ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team is gearing up for a double-header in Spain and Portugal. The tenth season event will take place at MotorLand Aragón (ESP) next weekend (22nd to 24th September), followed directly by round eleven at Portimão (POR) one week later.
Following solid performances by Scott Redding (GBR) in the first main race, the tea aims to again demonstrate the potential of the BMW M 1000 RR in the upcoming races. Additionally, Michael van der Mark (NED) aims to continue to improve his feel for the bike after his injury break.
The ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team are well-prepared for the race weekend at MotorLand Aragón. At the end of August, they conducted a highly productive two-day test with all four BMW Motorrad factory riders at the venue.
Quotes ahead of the Aragón and Portimão double-header.
Marc Bongers, BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director: “The test with our BMW M 1000 RR at Aragón was quite positive. The competition is very strong, but we’ve already been able to showcase the bike’s potential in the recent races at Imola, Most, and Magny-Cours. That’s why I’m very confident that we can build on that and carry the positive momentum forward. Whether it’s enough for the podium, we’ll have to see. But our focus is on laying the base for the upcoming season now. I’m looking forward to the next races. It’s a busy part of the season, with four race weekends in a row, including the finale of the FIM EWC, but after the podium for the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team in the endurance world championship, we’re excited to go into the WorldSBK double-header.”
Scott Redding, #45 ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team: “We’re heading into the next round at Aragón after a difficult weekend at Magny-Cours. I’ve had good feeling on the bike but we just did not have the luck behind us and a couple of crashes. We tested at Aragón a few weeks ago and I felt pretty good there with the bike compared to the past so it’s another weekend I’m looking forward to. Hopefully we can have a better weekend than we last had at Aragón in the past which I think is possible. We’ll see how we get on and I’m looking forward to getting back on the bike again and moving forward and seeing if we can get some results better than at Magny-Cours.”
Michael van der Mark, #60 BMW M 1000 RR, ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team: “It’s nice to be back racing again. Obviously, Magny-Cours didn’t go as I had expected and also wanted but I’m still working on my return. The only thing I can do right now is to do as many races as possible so it’s nice to have two rounds back to back. We had a good test at Aragón so it’s nice to go there with a good base and the weather looks similar to test so that always good. Let’s see how it goes and then I’m really looking forward to the Portimão round. It’s one of my favourite tracks on the calender. I love being back there and it’s nice to have back and back races. With the progression that BMW made over last rounds I cannot wait to do the same.”
