2024 has been nothing short of sensational for BMW following the arrival of Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team). ‘El Turco’ now holds the record for most consecutive wins, with 13, and has taken 15 victories this season on his way to leading the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship standings with five rounds to go. At Portimao, BMW’s Technical Director, Chris Gonschor, spoke candidly about their ‘really unreal’ season so far, evolving the M 1000 RR and riders always wanting more.

2024 SUMMED UP: “The first half was stronger than you could ever dream of… unrealistic that it can go on like this!”

Gonschor started by summing up the first seven rounds of 2024 for BMW, which turned into a record-breaking campaign with Razgatlioglu’s incredible winning streak. Reflecting on the season so far, he said: “It’s a very strong first half but, like you saw at Portimao, it’s hard to fight for Toprak so there’s still a long way to go. I’m sure the other riders are very competitive and will strike back. You saw in Race 2 at Portimao how close it can be, how it should be as it’s about racing. Toprak wants to fight; we want to have a good fight with the competitors. The first half was stronger than you could ever dream of! It’s unrealistic that it can go on like this. We will fight at Magny-Cours and all the upcoming rounds again for the maximum but it’s really unreal. No way of imagining something like this, and it would be wrong to imagine something like this. It was clear that we could have strong pace after winter testing. It was clear, even after the first test here at Portimao with him, that lap times were close to what you need to win races. Winning races was the target and also realistic. Winning 13 races in a row, 15 in total, in the middle of the season is something you can enjoy but never plan.”

MAKING A STEP FROM 2023: “We improved every single part… we had to make a big step”

The 2024 success would’ve been unimaginable to BMW after 2023, where they claimed one pole position thanks to Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) but no podiums. Explaining how the German manufacturer made such a big step, Gonschor said: “The difference is we improved every single part including, for sure, the rider. Finally, it put the puzzle perfectly aligned together. We changed the aerodynamics, the swingarm up and down to understand the bike better. The test team data, we got more homework to do over the months, so we produced parts, produced data, produced parts, we go testing but right from Misano, we had the package in line. We were under control with what we need. There is no one piece we changed. We had to change everything. If you look back to the last two or three seasons, it wasn’t as successful as we wished to be. We had to make a big step and the big step is possible if you fine tune every part.”

ALWAYS WANTING MORE: “The bike is working consistently fast, but riders are riders and they’re always complaining!”

While BMW’s step is clear to see, the riders – as every competitor on the grid will be doing – are always pushing for me, something which Gonschor believed was good for the project. He said: “Honestly, the bike is working fast consistently, but riders are riders and they’re always complaining! It’s good because they give us the homework to do, and the bike can still improve in turning. I said it in the winter, and they were working on it already because the corner entry and corner exit is always the target. It’s where you get the time or lose it. I think braking stability is quite okay but, nevertheless, you have to keep the speed until the apex and then get a good drive out. When you see Race 2 at Portimao, you could see Mickey was very strong in the last corner. With Toprak, we had some margin in the setup. We learned our lesson and our competitors were unbelievably strong in the last corner and top speed.”

OTHER BMWS FIGHTING AT THE FRONT: “We’re getting all BMWs closer to the front, and this is how it should be”

BMW have enjoyed a lot of success this season but one key aspect is that, in the first seven rounds, Razgatlioglu has been the only rider on the podium for the German brand. At Donington, Most and Portimao, Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), Scott Redding (Bonovo Action BMW) and Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) have been closer and this is something Gonschor is hoping to see more often. Talking about the trio, he said: “They are definitely coming. We’ve had a few P4s, P5s starting with Scott at Donington, Mickey at Most after a hard recovery from Superpole. At Portimao, Garrett had a strong Race 1 and Mickey fought until the last metres in the Superpole Race. He deserved a podium but the other riders on the podium deserved it too! It was a good fight, but you see that the BMWs are coming. We’re getting all BMWs closer to the front, and this is how it should be; just waiting for the final podium with more than one BMW.”

LOSING TWO BIKES FOR 2025: “What we lose, we’ll try to recover with the test team”

In June, Bonovo Action announced they would withdraw from WorldSBK at the end of the year although Team Manager Michael Galinski expressed his desire for the MGM structure to stay, although they wouldn’t run with BMW. This means there will be two fewer M 1000 RR machines on the grid in 2025, something Gonschor acknowledged and explained how the German manufacturer will look to overcome the loss of data from only running two bikes.

On the challenge of losing two bikes, Gonschor said: “You can’t have enough data! With the increase of the test team, kilometres because they’re unlimited, you have an opportunity to balance it out again. We’re not losing exactly the same data but, for sure, it would’ve been nice to see some more BMWs on the grid but the paddock is changing. It’s part of the game. What we lose we’ll try to recover with the test team. I’m pretty sure we can manage it. Whatever comes out with Bonovo next year, I’m glad to see them back in the paddock and looking forward to some fights.”

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