BMW Motorrad Motorsport kicks off 2021 WorldSBK campaign this weekend

BMW’s motorcycle brand motorsports division will kick off its 2021 FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) campaign this weekend. The team is set to participate in a double-header event which will take place from May 21 to May 23 at MotorLand Aragón in Spain and from May 28 to May 30 at Estoril in Portugal.

“We go into the 2021 WorldSBK season with a lot of new features. For example, we are obviously looking forward to the race debut of our BMW M 1000 RR. The tests went very well and, although we still have a bit of work ahead of us with the new bike, I am feeling very positive,” said BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director Marc Bongers.

The MotorLand Aragón circuit will feature a circuit length of 5.077km with a track layout consisting of very long straight (1,211 meters) with flowing infields. On the other hand, the Estoril circuit will put the racers on a 4.182km circuit consisting of a long straight with some very tight corners.

Riding for the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team are Tom Sykes and Michael van der Mark. Jonas Folger and Eugene Laverty, on the other hand, will be lining up BMW satellite teams Bonovo MGM Racing and RC Squadra Corse.

Tom Sykes said, “I am very excited to finally get back racing, and what better way to do it than to do it with a double-header? We start in Aragón, which is obviously a circuit I really enjoy riding. The target is quite clear for me: I want to get back winning races and being consistently at the sharp and the target for me as well as for the whole BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team.”

Michael van der Mark added, “It has been such a long time without any racing… MotorLand Aragón is a nice track to start the season; especially after the test, we had there. For us, that’s really positive. Estoril is a lovely track as well. Last year, I had my debut on the BMW there, so I’ve ridden the BMW on both tracks, and that for sure helps to make it a little bit easier. Regarding our goals for the first races: of course, we always want to fight for the podium but at the moment we are still developing the bike. I just want to get the best possible result.”

BMW Motorrad Motorsport will also debut the new BMW M 1000 RR. It was based on the BMW S 1000 RR and is fitted with the M RR engine: a water/oil-cooled four-cylinder four-stroke in-line engine that boasts a maximum power output of 205hp with 112Nm of near-instantaneous torque. It has a maximum speed of 304kph and can speed from zero to 100kph in as fast as 3.1 seconds.

The tweaked BMW S 1000 RR will be a liquid-cooled, 999cc, four-cylinder, four-stroke engine with four titanium valves and titanium rods. The WorldSBK race engine will have a maximum power output of 230 race-bred horses. Race-specific upgrades, as well as the chassis geometry and aerodynamics, were also fine-tuned for the races.

 

“We are looking forward to finally get into the race weekend. It has been a long off-season between Estoril and this first round. I think we have really taken good steps forward with the BMW M 1000 RR and I am looking forward to seeing what we can do in race conditions,” said BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team Principal, Shaun Muir.

A two-part documentary showing the bike’s journey from assembly to the tracks can be viewed here: (Part 1) (Part 2)

Photos from BMW Group

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