Five wins and a total of 13 podiums: BMW riders continue their run of success in international and national championships.

Munich. The BMW racers continue their run of success in
international and national championships. Their haul from the
weekend: five wins and a total of 13 podiums. In the MOTUL FIM
Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK), Loris Baz (FRA) secured a
front row grid position  at Donington Park (GBR) and finished in the
top ten in both races. At the same track, Markus Reiterberger (GER)
celebrated his third win of the season in the FIM Superstock 1000
European Championship. Roberto Tamburini (ITA) finished on the
podium for the fourth time in the fourth race of the season. The
races in the Alpe Adria Road Racing Championship Superbike class
(AARR SBK) at Poznan, Poland, ended with a win for Karel Hanika
(CZE) and a podium for Christopher Kemmer (AUT). In the Superstock
class (AARR STK) Michal Filla (CZE) won both races, with BMW riders
securing the top four positions in race two. Reigning champion
Carmelo Morales (ESP) finished in second place on the podium in the
second race of the season in the Spanish Championship (RFME CEV).
And at the season opener of the Canadian Superbike Championship
(CSBK) at Shannonville (CAN), record champion Jordan Szoke, Ben
Young and Matt McBride (all CAN) claimed the top three positions for BMW.

 

 

 

MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship at Donington Park,
Great Britain.

 

Typical British weather welcomed the 2018 MOTUL FIM Superbike World
Championship (WorldSBK) riders and teams to the sixth round of the
season at Donington Park (GBR) – with rain on Friday and Saturday.
Loris Baz (FRA) of the Gulf Althea BMW Team was unfazed by the wet
conditions. The Frenchman finished the first practice session in third
place; he set the eighth fastest time overall on Friday, making it
straight into the crucial Superpole 2. As the third-fastest in that
qualifying session, he secured a position on the front row of the
grid. Baz finished the two races in positions seven and ten.

 

Loris Baz: “In the wet, I had good feeling with my
bike, which was behaving well. I’m pleased to have scored the first
front row start for BMW in five years. I felt very confident with the
qualifying tyre, and we have made good progress with the bike, but
nevertheless the front row came as a pleasant surprise. I knew the
race would be tougher; when you start from the front row you always
hope you can fight for the podium but unfortunately that wasn’t
possible. I still had some grip issues and, although I tried my best,
I gradually lost ground, losing a few tenths each lap. Overall, P7 in
race one was a very good result, considering how things went at Imola.
Sunday was a very tough day. We tried a different tyre in warm-up, but
we’d need to work more on the bike set-up to be able to use that tyre
in the race, so I started the race with a different tyre again, but
unfortunately I had no feeling with the front and too much chattering
which meant I couldn’t go into the turns quickly. Tenth was all we
could do. But overall we’ve definitely taken a step forward this
weekend though and I hope we can continue in this vein in Brno.”

 

 

FIM Superstock 1000 European Championship at Donington Park,
Great Britain.

 

Fourth race of the season in the FIM Superstock 1000 European
Championship (STK1000) – and third win of the season for alpha
Racing-Van-Zon-BMW Team’s Markus Reiterberger (GER) . The BMW S 1000
RR rider had another perfect weekend at Donington Park (GBR).
Reiterberger secured pole position with a record time and set a new
lap record in his dominant start-to-finish victory. Fellow BMW rider
Roberto Tamburini (ITA / Berclaz Racing Team) continued his run of
finishing on the podium in Great Britain and after three second
places, he finished in third place on the podium this time. Jan Bühn
(GER / alpha Racing-Van-Zon-BMW) and Eric Vionnet (SUI / MOTOS
VIONNET) also finished in the top ten, in eighth and tenth place.
Reiterberger’s win sees him extend his lead in the championship. With
86 points, he now has a ten-point lead over second-placed Tamburini.

 

Markus Reiterberger: “We modified the chassis
slightly during warm-up to make the tyres last better over the
distance. It worked perfectly. The motorcycle was well-balanced, easy
and consistent to ride, and that was the key to success at Donington.
It was a fantastic weekend; everyone in the team did an impeccable
job. We were able to extend the lead in the championship to ten points
again, and that is important. Now I’m looking forward to Brno – a
really great track on which we will go on the attack again.”

 

 

Alpe Adria Road Racing Championship at Poznan, Poland.

 

The Alpe Adria Road Racing Championship (AARR) headed to Poznan in
Poland for its second event of the 2018 season. Karel Hanika (CZE) in
the Superbike class (AARR SBK) celebrated his first win of the year.
The Mercury Racing Team rider won the second race on Sunday on his BMW
S 1000 RR. Christopher Kemmer (AUT / Bertl K. Racing Team) joined him
on the podium, finishing in third place. Hanika finished the first
race in fourth place, with Kemmer finishing in sixth place.

 

In the Superstock class (AARR STK) BMW rider Michal Filla (CZE / BMW
Sikora Motorsport) remains the dominant man. He won both races,
getting the fastest race lap in each and celebrating his third and
fourth wins of the season. In race one, his team-mate Bartlomiej
Wiczynski (POL) finished second to clinch a one-two finish for BMW.
Michal Šembera (CZE / TME racing team) finished fourth.

 

In the second race in the Superstock class, BMW riders claimed the
top four positions. Behind Filla in second place was Arnaud Friedrich
(GER / Team LRP Poland), third place on the podium went to Michal
Prášek (CZE / Rohac and Fejta motoracing team). Wiczynski crossed the
finish line in fourth place.

 

 

Spanish Championship at Barcelona, Spain.

 

The Spanish Championship (RFME CEV) held its second race of the 2018
season at the “Circuit de Catalunya” near Barcelona (ESP). Reigning
champion Carmelo Morales (ESP), of the Graphenano EasyRace SBK Team,
picked up more important points for ‘Mission Defend Title’. After his
win at the opening race, BMW rider Morales finished in second place on
the podium this time around.

 

 

Canadian Superbike Championship at Shannonville, Canada.

 

The 2018 season started in the Canadian Superbike Championship (CSBK)
with the top three positions going to BMW riders. The field was led by
record champion and defending champion Jordan Szoke (CAN), who
continued his run of success and set the pace at the first race
weekend of the new year at Shannonville (CAN). Szoke secured pole
position on his BMW S 1000 RR in action for the Mopar Express Lane BMW
Superbike team and won the race with a clear lead of 5.73 seconds.
Second place on the podium went to BMW rider Ben Young (CAN / Ben
Young Racing), and Matt McBride (CAN) rounded off the one-two-three
finish in third place.