BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team and Tom Sykes celebrate first podium for the new BMW S 1000 RR in WorldSBK.

Misano. When the chequered flag was waved at Misano (ITA), the
joy in the garage of the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team knew no bounds.
Tom Sykes (GBR) finished runner-up in Saturday’s race to claim the
first podium for the new BMW S 1000 RR in the FIM Superbike World
Championship (WorldSBK). Despite racing in treacherous conditions,
Sykes kept a cool head and was on course for a podium finish
throughout the entire race which was red flagged due to rain.
Team-mate Markus Reiterberger (GER) was 15th.

 

Sykes laid the foundation for his podium result in the morning’s dry
Superpole qualifying when he landed his RR on the front row of the
grid in third place. However, patience was initially the order of the
day in the afternoon. A heavy shower caused the start of the race to
be delayed by 25 minutes. Sykes defended third place and held on to
the position until inclement weather caused the race to be red
flagged. The race eventually restarted after a break of almost half an
hour. Sykes once again showed his wet-weather ability, not only
keeping the chasing pack at bay, but also opening up a small gap to
fourth place. When leader Alex Lowes (GBR / Yamaha) crashed out on lap
nine of 18, Sykes adopted second position – and never looked at risk
of losing that place.

 

Reiterberger had finished 12th in Superpole qualifying.
However, he fell back through the field in the opening stages of the
race. After the interruption, he started the remaining 18 laps from
17th place. While many other riders crashed in the
difficult conditions, Reiterberger guided his RR home in
15th place to pick up another world championship point.

 

Quotes after race one at Misano.

 

Dr. Markus Schramm, Head of BMW Motorrad:
“Congratulations to Tom Sykes and the entire BMW Motorrad WorldSBK
Team. It is fantastic that our fledgling project has been able to
celebrate the first WorldSBK podium for the new BMW S 1000 RR at only
the seventh event of the season. This is confirmation of the
commitment, passion and hard work that everyone in the team has put
into the project since we started out in the winter. I would like to
say a big thank you to everyone. Tom gave a fantastic, commanding
performance in the rain. And the team gave him a bike, in the RR, that
was capable of a podium finish. We can be very proud of what we have
achieved today.”

 

Marc Bongers, BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director: “We
have achieved our first goal with the new BMW S 1000 RR in WorldSBK –
we made it onto the podium. That is excellent, and the best possible
reward for all the hard work the team has tirelessly put in. We set
ourselves the goal of improving consistently towards the front of the
field. With Tom’s second place today, we have taken the next step. The
track conditions were far from easy today, but Tom and the team
mastered this challenge superbly. We hope we can back up this success
tomorrow. Markus had a difficult race, but tomorrow is a new day and
we are confident that the tide will turn again for him.”

 

Shaun Muir, Team Principal BMW Motorrad WorldSBK
Team:
“We are absolutely delighted for everyone at BMW, for
the whole project, for everyone in Germany and in Guisborough at SMR.
It’s been a proper joint team effort and to have Dr. Markus Schramm,
the Head of BMW Motorrad, here to witness that is absolutely
fantastic. We took the gamble and did not go out with Tom this morning
in the wet free practice three thinking it would be a dry afternoon,
but the clouds opened up and it was wet all the way until the
chequered flag came out. It was a very difficult, stressful period
with the delayed start and the re-start. But anyway, we had a full
18-lap race and Tom thoroughly enjoyed riding in the wet and more than
earned his P2 in the race. We’re absolutely excited. The downside is
that Markus really had a difficult race. He got caught within the very
back of the pack and there was a lot of spray and he ran off at turn
eight. It was a tough day for Markus and he wants to put that behind
him. But now we must celebrate the first podium for this new project.
I think that is has come ahead of schedule and it’s certainly
something that we should be proud of as the team. Hopefully we can
build on this and keep the momentum going into tomorrow and into
Donington Park.”

 

Tom Sykes: “To say that I am very happy would be a
slight understatement. I am very, very happy and it’s just credit to
all the guys in the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team. We’ve been working
really hard and finally we’ve got the result which I feel we deserve.
We’ve been pushing forward and it’s absolutely fantastic. I really
enjoyed riding in the wet conditions. The BMW S 1000 RR gave me some
great feedback today and what a better place to do that than here at
Misano in front of some amazing fans. So we will try and keep that
momentum together and try to get the results tomorrow. Thanks to all!”

 

Markus Reiterberger: “Congratulations to Tom and the
team on a superb result and the first podium for BMW. I was a little
surprised that it rained this morning. However, I was happy about
that, as I was quick in the rain during the test here. I gave it my
all in Superpole, but it was only good enough for 12th on
the grid. We just need to make a few more adjustments to the bike and
my riding style. Unfortunately, the wet race was disappointing. I lost
positions in the first part, as my starting position meant I had
absolutely no visibility in the spray. I was then able to make up a
few places in the second part of the race, but touched the white line
during an overtaking manoeuvre, got my braking wrong and had to veer
off into the gravel. After that, I just made sure I finished.
Fortunately, I picked up a point.”