BMW factory rider Scott Redding pulled out all the stops on the new M1000RR that the brand has been working on this winter in preparation for the 2023 WSBK season. For the Englishman, the tone was almost that of a chronicle of a predicted failure, when it is not that of a song of departure. But there are three other riders from the Munich symbol on the World Superbike track, including our Loris Baz who left Jerez with the status of best representative of the German manufacturer, which nevertheless did not allow him to bring his coat of arms into the top 10. What did the Frenchman think of his motorcycle?
Loris Baz is the driver of the Bonovo team, satellite of the brand BMW entered in World Superbike with his M1000RR. The tricolor has a new teammate this year in the person of Garrett gerloff came from Yamaha . In the ranking of two days of testing in Jerez with all the gratin of the 2023 plateau, Loris Baz showed himself to be the fastest of the four M1000RR riders. Eleventh, he beat the official Scott Redding, quite unhappy with the new Bavarian opus, gerloff fifteenth and Van der Mark, the other representative of the factory, sixteenth.
Here's what the former MotoGP rider learned from his getaway to Spain: “It was the first test where we worked with the new bike. We were able to try new parts and experiment with the setup. It was good ", he declared to speedweek. We therefore start on a more positive basis than that presented by the Englishman…
Loris Baz: “ my feeling is that we are doing better in all areas«
But for all that, all is not well in the best of all possible worlds: “ it is clear to us that the distance to the top does not depend on just one thing. The aerodynamics are definitely improved, as is the airbox, and we've also improved the chassis a bit. We'll have to wait and see, everything can only be evaluated during a race weekend ». And he mentions: “ in any case, unlike 2022, I no longer need to cry.”
The Frenchman completed 61 laps during the first day of testing, and 60 during the second. “ After a few weeks of absence from the circuit, everything had to fall back into place on the first day. But we did a good job with the electronics and then worked on the settings », Reports the Frenchman. “My feeling is that we are doing better in all areas. The team is better organized and BMW produced all the parts. Last year, everything was almost finished at the last moment. In Portimão we will put everything back to work and try to confirm what we learned in Jerez ».
A deadline expected from January 31 and until February 1. As for the classification produced by the timesheet, Loris Baz remember : " you should not give too much importance to lap times during a test in Jerez. Only teams know which tires a rider used during his run and whether the bike was full of fuel or in qualifying configuration ».
Rankings from the second day of Superbike testing in Jerez:
