Tom Sykes (BMW) – One of the absolute fastest in the rain and the joker from Huddersfield would love to show his opponents the rear wheel as often as possible in the dry. But the BMW S-1000RR did not have the potential for what should be history with the new M-1000RR. A first start in Barcelona was promising so far (© WorldSBK).

The blue-whites in three-quarter time – votes from the test in Catalonia

We were the first to report that Eugene Laverty’s WorldSBK season at RC Squadra Corse looks fundamentally in jeopardy. It was not just about the team’s waiver of the test in Barcelona, although Eugene Laverty had even traveled. The statements of the BMW managers on the subject are by no means sufficient to understand what is going on behind the scenes. Apart from the fact that their statements often enough have little to do with reality. This could be seen impressively before the 2020 season, when pithy tones of the expectations for their second year in the WSBK were heard and read from the blue-whites. The main problem is not the often questionable credibility of BMW, but of the team that signed the Northern Irishman or its owner.

Jonas Folger (left) and Eugene Laverty at the BMW launch of the two new private teams Bonovo Action MGM and RC Squadra Corse of Italian Roberto Colombo (© BMW WorldSBK).

RC Squadra Corse and the future in question
Laverty is the absolute bad luck of WorldSBK and probably no other driver has had as much misery as the likeable man from Toomebridge, not far from the birthplace of Jonathan Rea. In November 2020, he and Jonas Folger were presented as a private driver in a separate BMW customer team. Although BMW was the last team to hit the track in Jerez a week ago, the Northern Irishman’s team was missing. We are talking about a good 4 months since the presentation of the two new private teams and their drivers. Laverty was put off by his team for the Barcelona test, booked his flight and stood in Catalonia with his pants cut off. To cite an alleged illness of the team boss as an excuse for the absence of the team is absolute nonsense. This is just another indication that unfortunately our source was apparently spot on, which prompted us to write the article on March 29, 2021 (see on this page under “Laverty before the end”. In Barcelona only 3 out of 4 drivers drove and this was concerned us as well as the fans of Eugene.

Eugene Laverty photographed by us on the BMW S-1000RR (in front of Alvaro Bautista on HRC Honda) in Phillip Island (Australia) at the season opener at Turn 6, called Siberia in Superpole Even before the new season even begins, the likeable Northern Irishman is one of the losers.

Instead of four, only three BMW musketeers tested on the Circuito de Cataluña

After Laverty apparently even had his bikes ready, but the team with cheap excuses was missing, only three of the four BMW musketeers competed in Barcelona for the test. Whether it was any consolation to Eugene that they didn’t cut a bad figure is doubtful. Below are the statements with first the senior of the three drivers about his impressions with the brand-new BMW M-1000RR. The Huddersfield man was just a tad slower than rookie Jonas Folger.

The weapon of the 3 or 4 BMW pilots for 2021 in the battle for points in the WorldSBK – BMW M-1000RR, an evolution of the model that was driven for the first two years since the return as the factory team of the blue and white (© BMW WorldSBK).

Tom Sykes: „ It was a very useful test. We were able to find out a lot more about the new BMW M 1000 RR and have definitely gathered a lot of information. We have made a good step forward in terms of engine performance and certainly some other areas of the bike, but I would still like to work on the chassis traction and we are already looking into a few different options. It was good for me to add two more days of testing to the bike. It’s still very new and since we wanted to assert ourselves against our competition here, we could see exactly where we need to improve. So it was a very, very useful test and I’m excited to get this information under our belt and to build on it. The entire BMW WorldSBK team now has a few weeks to work with the information we have gained over the past two days.“

Tom Sykes (BMW) photographed by us in an interview with Motul WorldSBK in his first year at BMW. The S-1000RR achieved podium places straight away, but the first season was also accompanied by setbacks and technical breakdowns. After 2020 got much worse despite high expectations, hopes now rest on the new M-1000RR, which will hopefully prove to be much more stable.

Michael van der Mark: „It was good to be back on track, especially with the other competitors. We still have a lot to try and discover on this bike especially for me. Sometimes it’s not easy, but we’ve found some positive things about the BMW and there is a lot of data. Overall, we hardly had any problems on these two test days, which is very important for us. It was also about being able to do a lot of laps to improve the bike for the next test.“

“Magic Michael” van der Mark photographed by us with a young fan in the paddock in horrible April temperatures in 2019. His switch from Pata Yamaha to BMW came as a surprise to many observers, as did Alvaro Bautista’s switch from Ducati to HRC Honda a year before. While the latter definitely doesn’t regret it, the Dutchman from Gouda has to wait and see how the season on the blue and white bike develops for him.

Jonas Folger (Bonovo Action – MGM): “I am super happy! There is no other way to describe my feelings as I never expected such a result on this test. Delivering this performance on the second outing on this bike requires fantastic teamwork. Together we have consistently worked through our to-do list and have definitely found our direction. Of course, we want to take another step with our next test in Motorland Aragon. With the good tire it was almost a perfect lap. With racing tires we still have to improve and get more consistency. So far I am very happy with where we are. Finally, I would like to thank the whole team for their efforts. Everyone always gives 110 percent. I also have to say a huge thank you to BMW for their great support. Also, to Jürgen Röder, who first made my return to the race and now also made my dream of gaining a foothold in the Superbike World Championship possible, thank you very much for everything.”

Jonas Folger (BMW S-1000RR) at the Barcelona Test – even if the test time of the German at the qualifier should not be overestimated (for example Kawasaki set the best times on Superpole tires, or in the case of Lowes even on racing tires), it was definitely a promising start to the first test with almost all opponents of the coming ones season (© WorldSBK).