Destined for success - are BMW becoming the KTM of WorldSBK?
BMW are poised to become a force in 2024 WorldSBK season as financial investment, the addition of Toprak Razgatlioglu and a new test team are changes that have all been made.
Heavy investment into their WorldSBK programme is nothing new for BMW, who have been on the front foot with bike development since returning to the series as a full factory team.
That’s something that can also be said about KTM in MotoGP, as the Austrian brand has elevated itself into a perennial contender for race wins.
- Razgatlioglu ‘enjoying the BMW’ after ‘big improvements’ found in Valencia
- Guintoli, Smith join new BMW WorldSBK test team
BMW has so far not shown that level of performance, although that could be about to change following some big moves ahead of next season.
The first of those is the addition of Razgatlioglu, who is arguably the best Superbike rider in the world despite missing out on the title to Alvaro Bautista in back-to-back years.
Some of that was down to Razgatlioglu finding himself disadvantaged with the Yamaha compared to Bautista’s Ducati, but even so, Razgatlioglu at times put together the type of performances we’ve never seen before, whether that was for victory or second place.
Like KTM, who themselves went hard in the rider market before 2023 in order to sign Jack Miller - they then added superstar talent Pedro Acosta ahead of 2024 - BMW’s decision to sign Razgatlioglu alongside Michael Van Der Mark was a statement of intent.
In doing so they dropped Scott Redding from the factory team, however, the 2020 runner-up has remained in WorldSBK with the German manufacturer, alongside Garrett Gerloff at Bonovo, which means BMW has one of the best rider line-ups on the grid, if not the best across all its bikes.
But the second reason why BMW looks to be replicating KTM’s path is the new test team that’s been constructed.
KTM has Dani Pedrosa and Pol Espargaro as part of their test team, which for talent is unrivalled across the other brands.
In WorldSBK, very little in the way of high-profile names are currently taking up those roles, although BMW has since confirmed ex-WorldSBK champion Sylvain Guintoli and former MotoGP rider Bradley Smith.
BMW now has a two-headed test team that should push the development of the M 1000 RR to new heights.
