FIM Endurance World Championship: Double pole position at Le Mans.
After the opening race back in September, the Bol d’Or at Le
Castellet (FRA), the iconic 24-hour race at Le Mans (FRA) marked the
second round of the FIM Endurance World Championship (FIM EWC) 2018/19
season during the Easter weekend. The race weekend started with a
bang: a double pole position for the BMW S 1000 RR. Team ERC-BMW
Motorrad Endurance took first place on the grid for the endurance
classic with the #6 RR and riders Kenny Foray, Julien da Costa and
Mathieu Gines (all FRA). In addition, GERT56 by GS YUASA’s team, with
the #56 RR and riders Julian Puffe (GER), Pepijn Bijsterbosch (NED)
and Lucy Glöckner (GER), took pole position in the Superstock class,
the FIM Endurance World Cup. In the race, however, both teams had bad
luck. Team ERC-BMW Motorrad Endurance retired during the night, when
the bike was badly damaged in a crash on an oily track. Shortly
thereafter GERT56 by GS YUASA had to give up because of an electronics
issue. The highest placed BMW team in the final standings was Fany
Gastro BMW Motorrad by MERCURY RACING in eleventh place
(8th place EWC class). The #21 BMW S 1000 RR was ridden by
Karel Hanika (CZE), Ondřej Ježek (CZE) and Ilya Mikhalchik (UKR). The
#90 RR of Team LRP Poland reached the finish in 25th
position (12th in the EWC class), the squad of Arnaud
Friedrich (GER), Bartlomiej Lewandowski (POL) and Dominik Vincon (GER)
taking turns to ride.
British Superbike Championship: Superstock victory at the
Silverstone season-opener.
The British Superbike Championship (BSB) kicked the 2019 season off
over the Easter weekend at Silverstone (GBR). In the Superbike class
(BSB SBK), the Tyco BMW Motorrad and Smiths Racing teams entered the
new BMW S 1000 RR for the first time. Both teams used the weekend to
develop the brand new RR under race conditions for use in the BSB. In
the first race on Sunday, Christian Iddon (GBR / Tyco BMW Motorrad)
was the highest placed BMW rider in 11th place. Peter
Hickman (GBR / Smiths Racing) finished 14th and Keith
Farmer (GBR / Tyco BMW Motorrad) scored a point as well by crossing
the line in 15th. In race two, Farmer took the chequered
flag in 12th place while Hickman was again ranked
14th. Iddon finished race two in 17th place.
In the Superstock class (BSB STK), BMW riders clinched a win and
several podium finishes. Race one on Saturday was held as a marathon
race in two parts. In the first part, Taylor Mackenzie (GBR / Bathams
Racing) took second place with his RR while Alex Olsen (GBR / Team
IMR) finished third. After a short break, part two was started, and
Mackenzie and Olsen again finished in second and third place. In the
race on Sunday, Olsen then stepped onto the top step of the rostrum as
the winner while Mackenzie again secured second place on the podium.
All Japan Road Race Championship: Season’s round two in Suzuka.
At Japanese Suzuka, the second round of the 2019 All Japan Road Race
Championship (JP SBK) was held. The event also served as preparation
for the 8-hour endurance race in July with a total of five BMW riders
entered. Kokoro Atsumi (JPN / TONE RT SYNCEDGE 4413) was the
highest-placed BMW S 1000 RR rider, finishing the two races in
17th and 16th position.