A longterm partnership will continue as BMW Motorrad WorldSBK re-signs Tom Sykes for 2021, making it a third season in a row. The 2013 World Superbike champion switched to the German motorcycle manufacturer in 2019 when the factory team returned to the series.
Sykes will be joined by new arrival Michael van der Mark, who leaves Yamaha at the end of the 2020 season to ride the BMW S 1000 RR. While he’s yet to take a win in two years with BMW, the British rider has achieved pole positions in both 2019 and 2020, plus four podium finishes.
“Tom has been part of our WorldSBK Team from the very start and is an important pillar of this project”, said Marc Bongers, BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director.
“We are pleased to be able to continue along the common path in 2021, which we embarked upon with the first tests back in December 2018. This gives us continuity, which is very important for the successful development of a project. We have already achieved a lot together, and the goal is now to definitively close the gap to the front-runners. Tom’s extensive knowledge of the BMW S 1000 RR and his input will play a key role in achieving this.”
The 35-year-old from Huddersfield originally debuted in WSB as a wildcard at Brands Hatch in 2008, and joined the series fulltime with Yamaha Motor Italia in 2009 before moving to Kawasaki first with the Paul Bird Motorsport team, and then the factory squad. He’s currently 10th in the standings in the 2020 WorldSBK championship
As BMW Motorrad WorldSBK re-signs Tom Sykes for 2021 alongside new arrival van der Mark, it means there’s no spot available for Eugene Laverty who joined the team at the start of heavily disrupted 2020 season.
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