Bradley Smith joins the BMW Motorrad Motorsport factory rider family

Posted on Dec 08, 2023 by George Penny

The BMW Motorrad Motorsport factory rider family is expanding further with the addition of Bradley Smith and Sylvain Guintoli. Both have been fixtures in international racing for many years, participating in various world championships with high-displacement racing motorcycles from different manufacturers. Now, as riders of the newly formed test team, they will bring their extensive expertise to the development and testing of the BMW M 1000 RR.

33-year old Smith is primarily known for his time in MotoGP. The Briton began his lengthy international career in the 125cc class of the world championship. After two years in the Moto2 class, Smith moved up to MotoGP in 2013, where he remained active until 2020. Additionally, Smith won the Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race in 2015. Now, he joins the BMW Motorrad Motorsport family as a test rider.

“Welcome aboard, Sylvain and Bradley,” says Christian Gonschor, Technical Director BMW Motorrad Motorsport. "It’s fantastic that their wealth of experience strengthens our project. Sylvain brings extensive knowledge from many years in the Superbike and Endurance World Championships, where he also secured the titles, as well as from MotoGP. Bradley complements this knowledge perfectly with his extensive experience as a race and test rider in MotoGP. They are the perfect riders for our new test team, which focuses solely on testing work on the track, independent of race commitments.”

BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director Marc Bongers adds: “I am proud that, under Chris’s leadership, we have assembled such a strong lineup to support our factory commitments in WorldSBK and FIM EWC with the test team in the background. It is also a clear indication of BMW Motorrad’s strong commitment to motorsport. The significant input provided by the test team has already shown promise in recent months, and we are confident that this structure will contribute to success.”

Bradley Smith:
“To be asked by BMW Motorrad to join the test team is a great privilege. I will work my hardest to deliver what our four WorldSBK factory riders need to battle with the best in the championship.”