After an eight-week break, the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team is now gearing up for the fourth round of the 2024 FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK). The event will take place next weekend (14th to 16th June) at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli on the Italian Adriatic coast. The Team aims to continue the success story of the current season. Toprak Razgatlioglu, with three wins and three additional podium finishes, currently holds second place in the world championship standings.
Much time has passed since the WorldSBK race weekend at Assen, the Netherlands, but the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team has remained active during the break. The whole SMR (Shaun Muir Racing) Team have worked intensively along with the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK test team to further improve the BMW M 1000 RR package.
Razgatlioglu and teammate Michael van der Mark (NED), both participated in the Misano test. Those two days were also successful and promising for the upcoming races at the same location.
Reactions before the race weekend.
Shaun Muir, ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team Principal:
“First of all, it’s great to be back. I think it’s fair to say that the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team and most of the teams in the paddock don’t want to endure a seven week break again after the third round of the championship. But nevertheless, we had a very successful test here in Misano a couple of weeks ago where we managed to get through all of our test items, and both riders have come here full of confidence. It’s been a good track for the BMW M 1000 RR in the past and Toprak feels confident he can fight for the podium, which is very encouraging. Michael came out the test strong as well, satisfying his test plan. I expect everyone that tested here will go straight into race simulations in FP1, which is going to be very important. Overall, we’re in a strong position and are hoping for a positive result from both riders this weekend.“
Marc Bongers, BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director:
“After the very long break, we can hardly wait to continue the WorldSBK season at Misano. The first three events of this year went very well for us. Following the positive and productive tests for the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team at Misano, we are now very optimistic about the next race weekend. Additionally, Misano is a track where we have had successes in the past. We will give our all to be strong with the entire squad on the Adriatic coast and to score a lot of points for the world championship.”
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu:
“It looks like we are ready to race to the podium, if we don’t face any problems. I have the feeling that we are very strong because the last test was really good. My target for the weekend is to get three wins but the races are always a different story. We will see. I will try to give my best and I am feeling really positive. I just still have a little bit of pain in my shoulder because before went to the test, I had a crash. I did not more than ten laps but in general I feel that everything is good. On Friday, we will immediately start with a race simulation to understand where we stand. Overall, I’m very optimistic and especially mentally I am really ready to race. I can’t wait for the weekend.”
Michael van der Mark:
“I am looking forward to the Misano race weekend. We had a really good test and I think we are quite ready to race, maybe some small setup changes but the test was generally good. We had some good pace on race tyres so I’m looking forward to it. It has been a long time since we raced so let’s keep the good momentum going. We want to be back in the top five, for sure.”
