Australians Andrew Pitt and Mat Mladin have been linked to the second BMW team to contest the Superbike World Championship in 2010.

The privateer Austrian-based Reitwagen Racing team was initially believed to be one of the teams that seven-time American Superbike Champion Mladin was referring to when he posted that he had a couple of WSBK offers for next season, but it’s now Pitt who has emerged as another likely candidate.

British Motorcycle News first reported that Mladin was set to test the team’s S 1000 RR at Eastern Creek, although other speculation has linked the recently retired 37-year-old with the Yoshimura Suzuki team that will be contesting selected rounds as a wild card entry next season.

Various European news sources are now suggesting that Mladin’s negotiations with the Reitwagen team have broken down, leaving former double Supersport World Champion Pitt as the favourite to join Austrian Roland Resch as the second rider on the team.

The Reitwagen team has been the centre of attention in recent weeks since announcing it would be campaigning next season with the German manufacturer, with ex-Stiggy Racing boss Johan Stigefelt believed to be joining the effort as technical director and taking Australian suspension specialist Peter Goddard with him according to Moto Matters.

Former MotoGP riders, American John Hopkins and Japanese rider Makoto Tamada, have also both been linked to the ride.

Watch this space.