World Superbike
IDM champion Mikhalchik gets BMW World Superbike call-up
BMW has called up IDM Superbike champion Ilya Mikhalchik to deputise for an injured Michael van der Mark for pre-season testing at Barcelona and Aragon.
Jamie Klein
Published: Mar 23, 2022, 10:31 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Van der Mark suffered a fractured leg in a mountain bike accident earlier this month, which is likely to result in the Dutch rider missing the opening round of the new season at Aragon on April 8-10.
Scott Redding was left to represent the factory BMW team alone in last week's Misano test, but the German marque has now recruited three-time IDM title-winner Mikhalchik for this week's two-day test at Barcelona and the Dorna-supported official test at Aragon that precedes the curtain-raiser.
Read Also:
“First of all, we wish Michael a good and speedy recovery, of course," said BMW Motorrad boss Marc Bongers. "His absence shortly before the start of the season is obviously very unfortunate.
"With him being absent we partly were missing a reference to last year’s topics which made the test work a bit more difficult.
"However, in Ilya we have a very good replacement, who will stand in for him at the next two tests. With him we can now work through the test list, fine-tune the 2022 package and Michael’s crew can gel.
"Ilya knows the BMW M1000 RR well and is thus able to provide valuable input. He is a strong BMW factory rider and has thus earned the opportunity to test the WorldSBK package."
Ukrainian rider Mikhalchik is no stranger to the WSBK paddock, having competed in support categories World Supersport and Superstock 1000 in previous seasons.
More recently, he has won the German IDM domestic Superbike title on three occasions riding BMW machinery, in 2018, '19 and '21. The 25-year-old's main programme for the 2022 season is in the Spanish-based ESBK Superbike series, which kicks off at Jerez on April 2-3.
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Redding hails BMW for "big improvements" in Misano test
Next article WSBK announces MotoGP-style manufacturer concessions
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Jamie Klein
Super Formula Fuji: Ayumu Iwasa wins as Kakunoshin Ohta misses chance to seal title
Super Formula
Super Formula
Fuji II
Super Formula Fuji: Ayumu Iwasa wins as Kakunoshin Ohta misses chance to seal title
Super Formula Fuji: Igor Fraga wins while Kakunoshin Ohta closes on title
Super Formula
Super Formula
Fuji II
Super Formula Fuji: Igor Fraga wins while Kakunoshin Ohta closes on title
More from
BMW Motorrad Motorsport
BMW "not far behind" WSBK rivals as Razgatlioglu targets 2025 title
World Superbike
World Superbike
BMW Motorrad launch
BMW "not far behind" WSBK rivals as Razgatlioglu targets 2025 title
Why Redding could be set for BMW reprieve after all
World Superbike
World Superbike
Why Redding could be set for BMW reprieve after all
Van der Mark adamant BMW seat not under threat from Razgatlioglu
World Superbike
World Superbike
Van der Mark adamant BMW seat not under threat from Razgatlioglu
Latest news
Dodge announces return to NASCAR Cup Series in 2027
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup 1 h
Dodge announces return to NASCAR Cup Series in 2027
Justin Allgaier confirms he will return for 2027 NASCAR O'Reilly season
NASCAR O'Reilly
NOAP NASCAR O'Reilly
Martinsville II
1 h
Justin Allgaier confirms he will return for 2027 NASCAR O'Reilly season
NASCAR Cup Homestead finale to feature full field of 40 cars
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Martinsville II
4 h
NASCAR Cup Homestead finale to feature full field of 40 cars
Data reveals severity of Carson Hocevar's brake-check: "There's no denying it"
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Martinsville II
5 h
Data reveals severity of Carson Hocevar's brake-check: "There's no denying it"
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe