It had been in the air for a little while, then the bellows came back down under the impetus of another noise presenting our national Sylvain Guintoli as the first representative of a new association of riders in MotoGP. A perspective that has become blurred, but that of seeing our WSBK World Champion as well as in Endurance as a BMW test driver is now official. The Bavarian brand thus shows the increase in its involvement in its Superbike projects but also in Endurance. And then the Frenchman is not the only one to be recruited. An Englishman is also installed in the person of Bradley Smith.
Sylvain Guintoli at 41 years and Bradley Smith at 33 enter the family BMW to help brand-owning riders optimize the competitiveness of the M1000RR. It is with this machine that the Bavarian company aims to win the Superbike and Endurance World Championships. And other national championships.
In addition to becoming a World Champion in WSBK in 2014 and being titled in Endurance in 2021 Sylvain Guintoli also raced in MotoGP, and he was also a Suzuki test rider. In addition to working as part of the testing team, he will compete in the FIM EWC with the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team. On his new situation, the Frenchman commented: “I am very happy to join the official BMW Motorrad Motorsport WorldSBK project as a test rider. The project is very exciting and I can't wait to bring my experience to it. I can't wait to get started and enjoy the BMW M1000RR ».
« Sylvain Guintoli brings a wealth of knowledge gained over many years spent in the Superbike and Endurance World Championships »
Bradley Smith also has experience in MotoGP. In 2014, he won the Suzuka 8 Hours. He declares about his arrival: “ being invited by BMW Motorrad to be part of the test team is a great privilege. I will work as hard as possible to provide what our four factory WorldSBK riders need to compete with the best in the championship ».
Christian Gonschor, technical director of BMW Motorrad Motorsport, is also happy to have recruited two such experienced drivers: “ it's great that their rich experience strengthens our project. Sylvain brings a wealth of knowledge gained over many years spent in the Superbike and Endurance World Championships, where he also won titles, as well as in MotoGP. Bradley seamlessly integrates this knowledge with his extensive experience as a MotoGP racing and test rider. These are the perfect drivers for our new testing team, which focuses exclusively on track testing, regardless of race commitments ».
Marc Bongers, Director of BMW Motorrad Motorsport, is also satisfied: “I’m proud that, under Chris’ leadership, we have built such a strong crew to support our official WorldSBK and FIM EWC commitments with the testing team in the background. It is also a clear indication of BMW Motorrad's strong commitment to motorcycle sport.. The significant contribution made by the test team has already shown promise over the past few months and we are confident that this installation will contribute to the success ».
