To Motogp or Not To Motogp

BMW in MotoGP

The fact that the official MotoGP website interviewed BMW’s general director Hendrik von Kuenheim and that he said, “Once we win [WSBK] we will move onto bigger and better things. MotoGP is the most watched motorcycle racing in the world. Next to F1, it is the benchmark for motor racing. But if you look at individual races and the number of spectators attending, such as in Jerez or Assen, there is no race in F1 in the world that even comes close to the number of spectators. So it’s a clear platform for us and we have to think about it. It’s a substantial step,” adding “but racing is expensive, so we have to think about it!” and its this last part of the statement that more or less gives you the idea that the German manager was just paying homage to Dorna as they have a contract to supply the official safety cars.

This isn’t the first time that Hendrik von Kuenheim has indicated that BMW likes MotoGP, but it is just more of the same yada, yada yada that we’ve been hearing since 2007 when the German manufacturer first shot down the idea of competing in MotoGP due to the cost of racing in the premier class. A €40 million MotoGP factory budget compared €12 million needed for World Superbikes makes the world of difference and you don’t even have to crunch the numbers.

The CRT bikes and the new proposed cost-cutting rules (rev limits, standard ECUs, technological freeze ect) may attract BMW as a manufacturer, but for them it is a lot less expensive to let private teams run their engines and eventually cash in on the publicity if the bikes perform.

Will we ever see BMW in Motogp?