Loris Baz and Eugene Laverty will join the satellite Bonovo BMW team in WorldSBK 2022 after the early departure of Jonas Folger from the squad.
Laverty has been racing in WorldSBK since 2011 and enters his third season with BMW Motorrad Motorsport in 2022. Baz also comes with plenty of WorldSBK experience: The 28-year-old Frenchman rode a BMW S 1000 RR in WorldSBK in 2018.
Baz made his Superbike World Championship debut in 2012 and started in the series for three years, before switching to MotoGP from 2015 to 2017. He then returned to WorldSBK.
In the 2021 season, Baz has been riding in MotoAmerica but has also impressed on a number of outings in WorldSBK. His WorldSBK record to date: two wins and 20 podiums. Baz will now be a BMW works rider in the 2022 season.
“I’m very happy to continue with BMW Motorrad and join the Bonovo action BMW Racing Team for the 2022 World Superbike season. It is fantastic to remain in the BMW WorldSBK family,” said the Irishman.
“The past six months have been tough for me as a rider and so I’m very grateful for the continued support and belief from everyone involved in this project. I’m very motivated to repay that faith in my abilities and I feel confident that following a solid winter testing campaign we can arrive ready and competitive at round one.”
Baz added: “I am really happy to be back in WorldSBK so I want to thank BMW and the Bonovo action BMW Racing Team for giving me this opportunity. I think that I have shown during these two rounds in Spain and Portugal that I have the pace to fight at the front in this championship. BMW is the brand that grew the most in the second part of the season.
“I have closely watched how the bike was improving. I have been racing with BMW before so I know a lot of people there and also, I have been competing with MGM Racing for one race back in 2012. I am really happy and really excited about this opportunity and am looking forward to trying the bike and to starting to work together with the team and BMW. Thanks again to all the people involved in this project.”
