Munich. It was another fantastic weekend for the BMW Motorrad
Motorsport racers in several international and national
championships. They dominated the action in the International Road
Racing Championship (IRRC), claiming a top-10 and a top-8 lockout in
Imatra (FIN). The IDM International German Championship (IDM) held
its races in Zolder (BEL), with Markus Reiterberger (GER) and Danny
De Boer (NED) celebrating a double 1-2 result. In the French
Superbike Championship (FSBK), Kenny Foray (FRA) raced to his sixth
win of the season in Magny-Cours (FRA), while Florian
Brunet-Lugardon (FRA) won both French European Bikes Championship
(FR EU) races at the same venue. The BMW riders and experts have
also been in action in Laguna Seca in the USA and in Australia at
the weekend.
MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship in Laguna Seca, USA.
The Althea BMW Racing Team and the specialists from Munich travelled
overseas at the weekend: the eighth round of the 2017 MOTUL FIM
Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) was held at popular Laguna
Seca Raceway near Monterey (USA) in California. In Saturday’s first
race on the course with the famous Corkscrew corner, Jordi Torres
(ESP) finished seventh on his BMW S 1000 RR. His team-mate Raffaele De
Rosa (ITA) was 13th. The second race on Sunday was a
difficult one for the team with both riders retiring after crashing.
Jordi Torres: “Race one didn’t go too badly. We made
some more changes to the bike before the race. The bike worked better
than before and I was more confident. In race two, we started well and
were up there, in fourth place. Then Davies and Melandri came along
and I lost a little ground. I was doing my best to defend my position
and build confidence with the bike that was working better compared to
Saturday, but then at turn one I went to downshift, missed the last
gear and was thrown to the ground.”
Raffaele De Rosa: “We started quite far back in race
one and there was contact between me and another rider at the first
turn which caused me to lose ground. I tried to make up some positions
and my pace wasn’t bad up until the mid-race point. From then on
though, there was a drop in tyre performance and I was struggling to
manage the sliding, particularly in braking. Regarding race two,
there’s not much to say because I only did a few laps. Up until that
point I was feeling better on the bike, which seemed more stable
compared to Saturday. I crashed without warning. I’m sorry because we
could have had a good race. It was a pity not to make the most of the opportunity.”
International Road Racing Championship in Imatra, Finland.
The BMW S 1000 RR racers were a force of their own at the second
round of the 2017 International Road Racing Championship (IRRC) held
in Imatra in Finland. In the two Superbike class races they claimed a
top-10 and a top-8 lockout.
On Saturday, Rico Penzkofer (GER), team principal of Penz13.com BMW
Motorrad Motorsport, celebrated his 42nd birthday – and his
three riders presented him with first, second and third place on the
podium. Michael Rutter (GBR) took the win, while his team-mates Dan
Kneen (GBR) and Alessandro Polita (ITA) joined him on the rostrum.
Places four to ten also went to BMW S 1000 RR riders: Erno Kostamo
(FIN / Markka Racing), Marek Červený (CZE / Wepol Safemetal Racing),
Pauli Pekkanen (FIN), Juha Kallio (FIN / Markka Racing), Didier Grams
(GER / GG Motorsport by Todoracing), Sébastien Le Grelle (BEL /
Herpigny Motors – BMW Motorrad Belux) and Martin Pärtelpoig (EST / MBH
Superbike Team).
In race two on Sunday, Belgian Le Grelle returned to winning ways. He
secured his third victory of the season. Polita and Rutter rode onto
the podium again by finishing in second and third. Kneen was fourth
that time, followed by Kostamo (fifth), Pekkanen (sixth), Červený
(seventh) and Grams, who completed the top-8 lockout in eighth.
International German Championship in Zolder, Belgium.
The BMW S 1000 RR racers in the International German Championship
(IDM) also had a fantastic weekend. The second meeting of the season
was held in Zolder (BEL) and it was the home round for the Van
Zon-Remeha-BMW team. The squad celebrated a double 1-2 result. Markus
Reiterberger (GER) dominated on his BMW S 1000 RR, taking the win in
both races with an advantage of 12 and ten seconds respectively. His
team-mate Danny De Boer (NED) was second on the podium on both occasions.
In race one, three more BMW S 1000 RR riders crossed the line within
the top-10. Jan Bühn (GER / Van Zon-Remeha-BMW) was fifth, Dominik
Vincon (GER / BMW Stilgenbauer) sixth and Arnaud Friedrich (GER / Van
Zon-Remeha-BMW) tenth. In race two, Vincon was seventh and Bühn ninth.
Markus Reiterberger: “It was a great weekend, and the
bike worked very well from the word go. In warm-up I was able to show
a strong performance on used tyres and that was the final proof that
we would have very good race pace. Both races were pretty similar for
me – I claimed a start-finish win with an advantage of over ten
seconds on both occasions. I tried to really push on the opening laps
to pull away from the field and then to keep the advantage to the
chequered flag. I succeeded in doing so in both races. Riding in
front, I did not only try to bring the wins home but also to learn
what the bikes needs and what I need. I tried different things
regarding braking points, lines and so on. In doing so, I was able to
gather very good information that we can hopefully use in the future
and that can also be valuable in the preparation of our bike for my
wild card appearance at the world championship round at the Lausitzring.”
French Superbike Championship in Magny-Cours, France.
The fifth round of the 2017 French Superbike Championship (FSBK) in
Magny-Cours (FRA) saw Kenny Foray (FRA) extend his lead in the overall
championship standings. In race one on Sunday morning, Foray played it
safe in wet and tricky conditions. The Tecmas Racing Team rider took
no unnecessary risks and settled with fourth. For race two on Sunday
afternoon, conditions had bettered and Foray returned to the top step
of the podium. He rode his BMW S 1000 RR to his sixth victory of the
season. In the overall standings, Foray has now 207 points and an
advantage of 73 points over his closest rival.
Kenny Foray: “It was a good weekend for us. On
Saturday, we secured both pole positions. Race one was a bit difficult
as it was held in wet conditions. I did not take any risks and
finished fourth. In race two, I had a good start but at the beginning
I struggled a bit with my feel for the bike. I was pushing but lost
three positions. After five laps, my feeling came back, I was able to
attack, I overtook my opponents and won the race with a small
advantage. It was a great race, thank you to BMW and to my entire team
for their perfect work.”
French European Bikes Championship in Magny-Cours, France.
The French European Bikes Championship (FR EU) also held its fifth
round of the 2017 season at Magny-Cours (FRA) at the weekend. Florian
Brunet-Lugardon (FRA / Gers Moto Vitesse Ordannaise) was the man of
the weekend, winning both races on his BMW S 1000 RR. This season he
now has a tally of six wins despite the fact that he missed the second
round due to injury. Overall, the BMW racers once more dominated the action.
In Saturday’s first race, the BMW riders secured a top-4 lockout.
Cyril Brunet-Lugardon (FRA) was second behind his brother and
team-mate Florian. Michel Amalric (FRA / Tecmas Racing Team) joined
them on the podium in third, while Fabien Gabrielian (FRA / FG Racing)
was fourth. Manu Dagault (FRA / DAGYmoto 72) and Fréderic Pecoraro
(FRA / Pistard du Sud) also claimed top-8 results, crossing the line
in sixth and seventh respectively.
In the second race held on Sunday, the BMW racers claimed all top-6
places. Florian Brunet-Lugardon again took the win, with Julien Brun
(FRA / JB Racing Team) following in second place. Cyril
Brunet-Lugardon was third on this occasion. Amalric crossed the line
in fourth, while Hernani Teixeira (FRA / Team ERT Motorshow) and
Dagault were fifth and sixth. In the overall standings the first six
places are taken by BMW riders. Cyril Brunet-Lugardon leads, followed
by his brother Florian, while Amalric is third.
Florian Brunet-Lugardon: “It was great for me and
Cyril to take home a total of four trophies from Magny-Cours. On
Saturday, we had dry and nice weather conditions. In the opening
stages of the race, I was second and Cyril third but then halfway
through the race the leader crashed and we could secure a comfortable
1-2 result. Sunday morning’s qualifying was held in wet conditions,
and Cyril and me had to settle with fourth and ninth on the grid. In
the race, we both had a good opening lap and I managed to get back in
the fight for victory coming from ninth. I took the lead with two laps
to go, while Cyril secured third place on the podium on the final lap.”
MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship in
Laguna Seca, USA.
Laguna Seca (USA) also was the venue for the sixth round of the 2017
MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship (AMA).
Jason DiSalvo (USA / Scheibe Racing / Hayes Brakes) finished the two
races in ninth and 15th respectively. Frenchman Sylvain
Barrier returned to the series, being in action on a BMW S 1000 RR of
team Brixx Performance. He unfortunately crashed in race one, but was
tenth in the second heat.
Australian Superbike Championship at Hidden Valley Raceway, Australia.
After a long break of over two months, the Australian Superbike
Championship (ASBK) held its fourth round of the 2017 season at Hidden
Valley Raceway (AUS) at the weekend. Troy Guenther (AUS) of the
NextGen Motorsports team claimed his best results of the season so
far, finishing both races in tenth place. This comes despite the fact
that the 18-year old was injured less than two weeks ago when he
crashed heavily during testing.
Troy Guenther: “It was a hectic couple of weeks for
myself and the team. After my testing crash I was happy to finish both
races, and to do so within the top-10 for the first time. I want to
thank the entire team and everybody involved for their help over the weekend.”