BMW officially confirms World Superbike plans for 2009

BMW has confirmed in an official press release that it will enter the 2009 World Superbike championship, as revealed by MCN back in July, with a new team formed during the 2008 season under the management of Motorsport General Manager Berti Hauser, to undertake testing.

As detailed by MCN, BMW will use the newly developed 1000 cc in-line four-cylinder motorcycle, and will partner with the Alpha Technik GmbH team based in Stephankirchen near Rosenheim. Click here to see MCN’s Ben Purvis interview BMW’s Research and Development boss, Peter Muller, at the Paris Motorcycle Show in September.

Peter Müller: “By entering the Superbike World Championship we will be competing against manufacturers and teams which are many years ahead of us in terms of experience in a segment which is new to us. We know it won’t be easy. With alpha Technik GmbH we have found a partner with a lot of development expertise and over 10 years of experience in superbike racing. We anticipate that we will be able to establish ourselves successfully within the strong international competitive field with our new motorcycle.”