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“My level of excitement? Of course, it’s a 10!”. It’s little surprise that Shaun Muir, Team Principal of the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team, is looking forward to the season ahead. The signing of Toprak Razgatlioglu, together with the increased development efforts coming from BMW, would point towards the 2024 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship being the most successful one so far for the team that took over the works BMW project in late 2018.

Yet, the increased attention and increased potential do not seem to have brought along with them any additional pressure to perform. If anything, the experiences of the past few seasons – the highs, the disappointments, the arrivals, and departures – may just fuel the motivation for the upcoming year.

“Surprisingly, the pressure isn’t higher than ever”, confirms Muir, speaking at the BMW launch event in Berlin. “We felt pressure for quite a long time, when we signed Scott [Redding] into the team, and previously with Tom [Sykes]. I think everybody realizes now that the project’s gained so much momentum, with four riders on equal machinery, a fantastic test support behind us, it’s our time to start delivering and there’s absolutely no excuses”.

EXPECTATIONS: “We feel that Toprak can be on the podium very quickly”

Higher support should, on paper, equate to a higher ceiling – but by how much? With a WorldSBK Champion and two-time runner-up now in the garage, the expectation is to find an immediate step.

“Toprak brings a certain amount of quality to the team that we’ve been lacking in the past”, his team principal admits. “If you were to ask the question to Toprak, he’d be expecting to be on the podium very quicky, and I think we echo that. As a group, as a team, the whole project from the test team right through to our ROKiT BMW team, we feel that Toprak can be on the podium very quickly.

“And I’ve said it in the past and I’ll say it again now: if you are close to the podium, you’re close to the win. Where will that leave us in Championship terms? I’m not sure. But I think the first three races in the Championship this year will define our season”.

FOURTH YEAR WITH VDM: “Mikey knows he has to deliver”

The other side of the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team garage will feature the longest-running BMW rider out of the four-strong field. Michael van der Mark faces his fourth season as a factory BMW rider, and with the last two injury-riddled campaigns now firmly behind him, the focus is on getting him back to his best.

“When you look back at it, Mikey has missed probably 2.5 seasons with the injuries he’s sustained”, says Muir. “I think it’s a massive boost for him to remain in our team. We know he’s worked with Toprak in the past. The expectation from Mikey is that he wants to be following Toprak over the line, I think he seriously believes he can be right there.

“I think he fully deserves his place in the team. Of course, it’s contract year for him, so he really knows he has to deliver. Hopefully he has a good pre-season, he can put those injuries behind him. I see no reason why Michael can’t be right up there in the top six of the Championship”.

How high can BMW rise? Follow all the action from pre-season testing to find out, thanks to WorldSBK VideoPass!