WorldSBK in Misano: BMW Motorrad Motorsport in action at the Italian Adriatic coast.

Misano. The next round of the FIM Superbike World Championship 2022 takes BMW Motorrad Motorsport to the Italian Adriatic coast: the fourth event of the season will take place in Misano this weekend (10th to 12th June). Ilya Mikhalchik (UKR) will be competing there in the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team, replacing Michael van der Mark (NED). Van der Mark is still recovering from a fracture of the right femoral neck, resulting from a fall at the previous event in Estoril (POR) in May.

Mikhalchik had already stepped in for van der Mark at the season-opener in MotorLand Aragón (ESP), when he was unable to compete due to an ankle injury. In Misano, the Ukrainian rider will now be joining up again with Scott Redding (GBR) in the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK. Last weekend, Mikhalchik celebrated a historic victory with the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team at the 24H SPA EWC Motos (BEL) in the FIM Endurance World Championship (FIM EWC).

Both BMW Motorrad Motorsport teams had already visited Misano in March for two days of pre-season testing. The BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team with Redding and the Bonovo action BMW Racing Team with riders Loris Baz (FRA) and Eugene Laverty (IRL) worked through an intensive schedule of tests.  

Quotes ahead of the Misano round.

Marc Bongers, BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director: “Of course, it's a real shame that Michael has suffered another injury. He was operated on that same evening in Lisbon. Everything went well and Michael was able to return home on the Monday. We are in close contact with him and wish him a speedy recovery. We are delighted that Ilya is able to help out again as his replacement. Eighth place in the Superpole and in the first race in Aragón already showed that he can also record some great results in the WorldSBK. His experience on the BMW M 1000 RR also means that he can provide important feedback for the continued development of the superbike. Turning to Scott, we would like to continue the good work from Estoril in Misano. We have found a good basis, he is getting a better feel for the bike each time and we now want to take the next step. The Bonovo action BMW Racing Team is also going in the right direction, as the team has proved repeatedly since Aragón. Loris and Eugene both had some bad luck recently in Estoril and were unable to convert the potential into fitting results. However, we are convinced that they will be back stronger than ever in Misano.”

Scott Redding, BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team: “With the Misano round, a different part of the season begins as we start to come into the hotter races and we need to understand how the bike is working in these conditions. So it will be a little bit different working programme for us in Misano for us to understand the conditions and for me to understand the bike in hot conditions also. Misano is a great circuit with many fans that come to the races which are very passionate. I can’t wait to race in Misano.”

Ilya Mikhalchik, BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team: “I am really looking forward to Misano. My first appearance in Aragón went very well. I hope that I can achieve good results also in Misano and that I can help to improve the bike for the team. I know Misano from the past, when I was riding there in the 600 cc and the Superstock 1000 classes. I don’t know yet how it will be there on a Superbike but for sure we will do our best and I hope that we will also be competitive there.”

Loris Baz, Bonovo action BMW Racing Team: “I am really happy to go back racing again. We have been testing at Misano which will be something important even if I think that the conditions and the grip level will be very different than at the test. I had a good feeling there at the test and we will try to pull out the best of the package now at the race weekend. If we just manage to put everything together, the top-5 or top-6 are the target at the moment and we have to be able to do that. So we are trying our best at that nice place. I love being in Misano, so I am looking forward to be with the guys again and we will work as hard as always.”

Eugene Laverty, Bonovo action BMW Racing Team: “I am looking forward to Misano. We tested there in the winter and the bike was feeling good. Honestly also last time out in Estoril the bike was feeling good, we qualified in the first three rows and the pace with the fresh tyre was reasonable. But over the race distance after a few laps I could not make the tyre work. So let’s see in Misano. My crew chief has some ideas to allow me to use the tyre more. I am not such a heavy guy, so maybe I need a backpack or maybe I need Michael Galinski on the back just to push better on the rear tyre (laughs) – but let’s see. I am very happy with our progressing but the key is the race, the key is to be fast for 21 laps. That’s my target for Misano.”