WorldSBK Magny-Cours: First a major setback, then victory and podium celebrations.

Magny-Cours. The eighth round of the 2024 FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) at Magny-Cours (FRA) started with a shock for BMW Motorrad Motorsport. World championship leader Toprak Razgatlioglu (TUR), who had recently set a new record with 13 consecutive wins, suffered a severe crash in the second free practice session on Friday and was unable to take part in the Superpole and the three races. In a rollercoaster of emotions, jubilation followed this setback on Saturday and Sunday when teammate Michael van der Mark (NED) continued BMW Motorrad Motorsport’s and ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team’s winning streak, celebrating his first victory since 2021. Garrett Gerloff (USA) secured the first WorldSBK podium for the Bonovo action BMW Racing Team, and his teammate Scott Redding (GBR) rounded off the BMW racers’ strong performances with two fourth-place finishes.

In the first free practice session on Friday morning, everything was still on track. Razgatlioglu set the fastest time ahead of Gerloff and van der Mark – three BMW riders in the top three for the first time since 2012. However, the joy quickly turned to concern when Razgatlioglu suffered a severe crash in the second free practice, colliding with a tyre barrier. After initial examinations at the medical centre, he was taken to Moulins (FRA) hospital, where he spent the night. Doctors diagnosed a mild pneumothorax, and the championship leader was declared unfit for the remainder of the race weekend.

From that point on, his fellow BMW riders showcased the potential of the BMW M 1000 RR. Van der Mark set the fastest time of the day on Friday. After Superpole, the squad was in a strong position for the rest of the weekend, with Redding starting from third place on the front row, followed by Gerloff and van der Mark in fourth and fifth. That session saw challenging conditions due to rain.

In the first race on Saturday afternoon, van der Mark’s moment of glory arrived. In heavy rain, many riders crashed, but the Dutchman kept control. After 21 laps, he crossed the finish line with an eight-second lead. After two difficult years plagued by injuries, van der Mark made a triumphant return to the top and secured BMW Motorrad Motorsport’s and the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team’s 14th consecutive victory. The first to congratulate him was his teammate and friend Razgatlioglu, who watched the race from the pits. In Sunday morning’s Superpole race, van der Mark was also in podium contention for much of the race, only dropping positions at the end to finish eighth. In the second main race on Sunday, he battled with Gerloff for a podium spot before crossing the line in fifth place.

Bonovo action BMW Racing Team crowned a strong weekend with its first-ever WorldSBK podium, with Gerloff finishing third in the second main race. The American had already led for a while in Saturday’s first race, but the rain became too much for his intermediate tyres, and he ended up in 12th place. In the Superpole race, Gerloff secured sixth place, returning to the top positions. On Sunday afternoon, he really hit his stride, moving into podium contention from the 10th lap and holding on to third place until the finish. Teammate Redding equalled his best result of the season on Saturday with fourth place, despite a crash, and repeated that result with a strong performance in the Superpole race. He concluded the weekend with an eighth-place finish in the second main race.

Razgatlioglu remains at the top of the riders’ championship with a 55-point lead. BMW leads the manufacturers’ standings now by 10 points. Whether Razgatlioglu will be able to compete in two weeks’ time at the ninth round of the season at Cremona, Italy (20th to 22nd September), remains unknown. His top priority is now to recover with the help of therapists, and further medical examinations will follow.

Reactions after the Magny-Cours round.

Sven Blusch, Head of BMW Motorrad Motorsport: “This weekend is hard to describe. I think it was an emotional rollercoaster for everyone, and honestly, it’s something we don’t want to experience in this form again. It started with top performances in the first two free practice sessions – until Toprak’s crash. Our focus is entirely on supporting his recovery as best we can in close cooperation with the WorldSBK medical team. We will wait and see in the coming days and help him wherever we can. Right now, it’s hard to predict how things will develop.

On the other hand, Mickey’s victory was a dream come true for all of us, and after the serious injuries he had, it felt great for everyone to see him back on top of the podium. It was also fantastic to see that we brought all the BMW M 1000 RRs to the front. Garrett and the Bonovo Action BMW Racing Team confirmed this today with their podium. Congratulations to them as well! On top of that, Scott had two fourth-place finishes. Today, we had three BMW machines in the top eight. With the strong results this weekend, we were also able to limit the damage in the battle for the manufacturers’ title, as we collected many points in all three races. But right now, all our thoughts are with Toprak, and we hope that he will be back with us at Cremona.”

Michael van der Mark, ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team (SP: 5 / R01: 1 / SP Race: 8 / R02: 5): “I am really, really happy with how the weekend went. The bike felt fantastic from the first day on. We had some really good results, especially yesterday’s victory, and we scored a lot of points. Today in the Superpole race, we gambled a little bit with the tyre and for some reason it did not really work out on my bike. It was a shame to lose so many positions in the end, but we were still in the top ten and scored some points. In race two, I had fantastic start but straight away I felt I did not have the pace of Nicolo Bulega and Danilo Petrucci so I tried to manage my pace and I was having a good race. We have to improve in some areas, for example on the exit of the corners and if we fix this, we should be able to fight longer for podiums. But overall, I think the weekend has been fantastic and going home with a victory and a lot of points is always great.”

Garrett Gerloff, Bonovo action BMW Racing Team (SP: 4 / R01: 12 / SP Race: 6 / R02: 3): “I’m very happy with this first podium for me and the team! I actually thought this is something we could do much earlier, I thought we could have a podium already last year, and we have been close a couple of times last year, but not close enough. Now I’m so happy for the team. We have been struggling a bit this year, but we all have been focused and were trying to figure out the problems and we have been able to make big progress. To finally get the podium is really amazing. But I just wanted to say: all the best for Toprak and I hope he recovers as soon as possible. For sure, if he was out there, it would have been a lot more difficult to get the podium. But anyway, I take the podium, when it comes.”

Scott Redding, Bonovo action BMW Racing Team (SP: 3 / R01: 4 / SP Race: 4 / R02: 8): “I’m happy for my team to get a podium because I know they worked so hard for it and we have both been working hard. I came close twice but didn’t quite sealed the deal, but today Garrett has done an amazing job to get the podium. I know he has been wanting that a lot and he will cherish that moment and I’m really happy for him. For myself I had a pretty good race, I was just struggling a little bit to get into the position to overtake, but when you said before the weekend that I would start at front row, get two fourth positions and an eighth position, I would have been happy. Overall I’m satisfied with the weekend, I can go home happy now and hopefully, by the time Cremona comes, I will already be a father.”

Toprak Razgatlioglu, ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team (quote from Saturday): “Michael did an incredible job in race one. He is always strong in wet conditions, and he showed that again. It was a fantastic ride. He did not take a risk, he was just riding smoothly and finally he got the deserved win. It's a pity that I can’t take part in the races after my crash, but my recovery is the most important thing. This is what I focus on now. I hope to be back in two weeks’ time at Cremona. We will see. I want to thank all the medical staff at the track and in Moulins hospital. And I want to thank everybody for the many messages and best wishes. See you soon on track again!”