WorldSBK Superbike: Baz and Laverty will pair up at Bonovo action BMW Racing Team in 2022

As expected, the French rider will make his comeback in Superbike next year as part of the BMW manufacturer's support team, alongside the British rider.

The composition of its team for 2022 was an open secret, but the Bonovo Action BMW Racing Team has just made official this morning the duo of drivers who will defend its colors next season.

Among them, we find Loris Baz, who will make his comeback in Superbike next year after having demonstrated, during his two stints at the end of the season replacing Chaz Davies within the Go Eleven team, that he had lost none of his speed, far from it.

 

Portimão, key handle in Baz's signature

The Frenchman actually scored two podiums during the round held in Portimão, a performance which did not go unnoticed when he thought he was done with competition this year, after a convincing first season across the Atlantic in MotoAmerica , and finished in fourth place in the championship.

2022 will not, however, be the first year where the Haut-Savoyard will drive a BMW, having already raced on a BMW S 1000 RR in 2018. He also started in Superbike in 2012, immediately winning a first victory. at Silverstone, before doing it again the following year.

 

 

After a stint in MotoGP between 2015 and 2017, Baz made his first full-time return to the championship of motorcycles derived from the series in 2018 on BMW, before continuing for two seasons at Yamaha for the benefit of the Ten team. Kate.

" I am very happy to make my return to Superbike, and I would therefore like to thank BMW as well as Bonovo action BMW Racing Team for offering me this opportunity,” said the Frenchman. “ I think I showed during the rounds in Spain as well as in Portugal that I had the pace to fight at the front in the championship. BMW represents the brand that progressed the most during the second half of the season, and I was able to see up close how much the bike has evolved. I have already raced with BMW in the past, so I know quite a few people. I raced with MGM Racing in a race in 2012. I am very happy and enthusiastic, and I can't wait to try the bike and start working with the team and BMW. »

Laverty reaps the rewards of his strong involvement at BMW

On the other side of the garage will be a driver who also has an interesting pedigree, to say the least, namely Eugene Laverty. The Northern Irishman is coming off a difficult season with BMW, but his vast experience with different manufacturers such as Yamaha, Aprilia and Suzuki (not to mention his 13 victories and 35 podiums in the discipline), makes him the right rider for carry out the development of the BMW M 1000 RR.

 

 

" I am very happy to continue the adventure with BMW Motorrad and to join the Bonovo action BMW Racing Team in 2022,” he said.
" It is great to stay in the BMW family in Superbike. The last six months have been difficult for me as a pilot, so I am grateful for the support shown to me on this occasion by everyone who is involved in the project. I am motivated to thank them for the confidence placed in me through my driving, and I am sure that with solid winter testing we will be able to present ourselves ready and competitive during the first round of the 2022 season. »

This strengthening of the Bonovo Action BMW Racing Team is a further step in BMW's growing involvement in Superbike. Returning as a manufacturer in the championship in 2019, the Munich brand managed to return to the podium in its first season through Tom Sykes, before Michael van der Mark finally won a victory, very recently during the Superpole race contested in Portimão this year.

 

 

BMW continues to expand its Superbike project

With the signing earlier this season of Scott Redding for next season within the factory team, it is with an ever more imposing armada that the German manufacturer will present itself on the grid in 2022, as confirmed by the director from BMW Motorrad Motorsport, Marc Bongers: “Everything is in place for this second Superbike season between BMW Motorrad Motorsport and Bonovo action BMW Racing Team to be crowned with success. We have already accumulated a lot of experience during our first year of cooperation, and this now constitutes a good basis on which we can build. The choice of our two drivers clearly underlines this ambition. We are delighted that Eugene Laverty will remain part of the BMW driver family, and team up with us for a third season. 2021 was certainly not an easy year for him, but he showed great combativeness and was very involved in our project. »

" In At the same time, we are happy to have Loris Baz by our side. He spent a season on the BMW S 1000 RR in 2018, so he too is already part of the BMW racing family. Loris has more than impressed during his various Superbike outings this season. We are therefore confident that with their talent and experience, Eugene and Loris will enable the Bonovo action BMW Racing Team to go from strength to strength. the front. »

On the side of the Bonovo action BMW Racing Team, enthusiasm and optimism are also required, and you only have to read Michael Galinski, the team's team manager, to be sure: « We are very proud of our two drivers. With Eugene Laverty and Loris Baz, we have two very good drivers. Loris has ridden in many categories, such as MotoGP and Superbike, as well as with different manufacturers, notably BMW and Yamaha. He recently showed what he is capable of racing in Portugal, with two third places despite only being there as a replacement. We are really happy to count him among We. »

“Eugene had a mixed year, but he also didn't have the opportunity to ride for long periods. He is a key driver in the development, and he will help us in this sense to improve the bike with BMW. »