P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Shaun Muir says Michael Van Der Mark expects to push Toprak Razgatlioglu very closely in the 2024 WorldSBK campaign.
Former teammates at Yamaha, Michael Van Der Mark and Toprak Razgatlioglu, had a close competition in which Van Der Mark finished just five points behind Razgatlioglu. However, Van Der Mark then moved to BMW while Razgatlioglu went on to win the world championship the following season. Despite injuries impacting Van Der Mark’s time at BMW, the team’s manager, Shaun Muir, expects him to be a strong contender in 2024. Muir believes that Van Der Mark remaining in the team is a major boost and that he can closely follow Razgatlioglu’s performance. Last season, when BMW signed Razgatlioglu, there was speculation about which rider between Van Der Mark and Scott Redding would lose their factory seat, and it was ultimately Redding who lost out. Muir has stated that Van Der Mark deserves his place in the team, despite missing races, and has high expectations for him in the upcoming season, aiming for a top-six finish in the championship.
