Van der Mark re-signs with BMW in World Superbikes
ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team will take a settled rider lineup into the 2025 FIM Superbike World Championship after Michael van der Mark signed a one-year contract extension with the factory team. Announced by BMW Motorrad on 17 June, the re-signing will see the 31-year-old enter his fifth season as a factory BMW rider. The Dutchman’s team mate, Toprak Razgatlioglu, is a newcomer to BMW, joining this season on a two-year contract.
After winning the World Supersport Championship in 2014, van der Mark stepped up to World Superbike in 2015, initially with Honda before joining the factory Yamaha team in 2017. Over four seasons with Yamaha, van der Mark achieved four race wins, multiple podium finishes and a best championship placing of third in 2018.
For his first year on the BMW M 1000 RR in 2021, van der Mark was solid, winning at Portimao and achieving podiums at Donington Park and Mandalika. His past two seasons have been severely interrupted by injury, including a fractured right leg in 2022, then a fractured left leg in 2023.
At time of writing, after four rounds of the 2024 WorldSBK season, van der Mark’s best finish has been a fourth in Race 2 at Catalunya, while new team mate Razgatlioglu has achieved six wins in the same period and was leading the championship.
“I am very, very happy and honoured to continue with BMW,” van der Mark said. “I am really happy that, especially after the two difficult years, they still have trust in me and I think that this year’s results are showing improvements.
“I’m really happy with how the team’s working, how the BMW M 1000 RR is working and how we are still improving it, so it’s fantastic to be able to stay. This also gives me a lot of confidence for the rest of the season.
“I’m ready to keep building our momentum and be even more ready for next year.”