Eugene Laverty de Toome has signed a new BMW contract for next year’s Superbike World Championship after a “difficult” season for the former runner-up.
averty started the year with the BMW satellite team of RC Squadra Corse based in Italy, but only competed in the first four rounds as the team fell back after encountering problems behind the scenes.
He will join Frenchman Loris Baz in the new Bonovo Action Racing Team look as Jonas Folger makes his way after a disappointing season for the German driver.
Laverty has been a frustrated spectator for much of this year until he got the call to replace injured Tom Sykes on the official BMW factory squad.
The 35-year-old rider has ridden the new M1000RR Superbike in three successive rounds in Spain, Portugal and most recently Argentina, which hosted the penultimate round of 2021 last weekend.
Laverty, who had been out of action for over two months, said: “I am very happy to continue with BMW Motorrad and join the Bonovo Action BMW Racing Team for the 2022 season.
“It’s fantastic to stay in the BMW WorldSBK family. The last six months have been difficult for me as a pilot and so I am very grateful for the continued support and trust of everyone involved in this project.
“I am very motivated to return that faith in my abilities and I have no doubts that after a solid winter testing campaign we can arrive ready and competitive in the first round.”
Laverty finished second in the 2013 championship after battling Sykes.
He signed for the official BMW Motorrad squad in 2020 but lost his seat this year, with Sykes being retained alongside new signing Michael van der Mark.
Yorkshireman Sykes, however, is now looking for a new deal for 2022, with Ducati’s Scott Redding switching to BMW next year in a move confirmed earlier this year.
The final round of the championship will take place next month at the new Mandalika circuit in Indonesia from November 19-21, when Jonathan Rea must close a 30-point deficit over Turkish star Toprak Razgatlioglu to claim the world crown for the seventh time.
Joerg Teuchert
