Season openers for the BMW Motorrad Motorsport racers in championships on four continents – Podium honours for the BMW S 1000 RR in Spain.

Munich. The 2017 racing season is getting into full swing for
the BMW S 1000 RR riders and the BMW Motorrad Motorsport experts. At
the weekend, championships on four continents held their first races
of the year: in Europe, South America, North America and Asia. The
Spanish Championship (CEV) kicked off with several podium finishes
for the RR. In addition, the 2017 season has begun in the Italian
Superbike Championship (CIV), the SuperBike Series Brasil (BRSBK),
the MFJ Superbike All Japan Road Race Championship (MFJ) and the
MotoAmerica FIM/AMA North American Road Racing Championship (AMA).
In all championships, the BMW riders collected points for the 2017
BMW Motorrad Race Trophy.

 

 

Spanish Championship in Valencia, Spain.

 

The 2017 curtain raiser in the Spanish Championship (CEV) was held in
Valencia (ESP) at the weekend – and the season started with successful
for the BMW S 1000 RR racers. At the first round, two races were
competed in the Superstock 1000/Open 1000 category, and on both
occasions there were podium honours for the BMW Motorrad Motorsport
family. The two classes take to the track together.

 

Carmelo Morales (ESP) finished both races on the overall podium on
his Graphbikes easyRace SBK Team BMW S 1000 RR. He was second overall
and second of the Superstock class on both occasions. Pedro Rodriguez
(ESP / Castromaroto Racing) ended the races in seventh and fourth
positions (both overall and of the STK class) on his RR. Morales’
team-mate Vicente Kruger (CHI) was classified 12th and
14th overall and in the STK class.

 

Carmelo Morales: “I am satisfied with how the weekend
went. The only problem was that I had a scary moment during practice
and that cost me some confidence, especially in the first two laps of
race one. Overall, we had a good pace and I could not be more pleased
with the result of the first race. For the second heat, we made some
modifications, trying to further improve and to close the gap to the
front. Overall I am happy because I still have to adapt to the new
bike and the tyres. What matters is that I feel very good with the BMW
S 1000 RR and the team, and the work we have done with the electronics
has positive results.”

 

Vicente Kruger: “The weekend did not go too well,
although we were able to ride fast and to do good lap times in both
races. It is clear that I need to improve in qualifying as starting
from so far behind forces me to really push over the entire race
distance, and at the end of the race, the tyre loses performance. The
level of this championship is very high, but I think I am able to keep
up with the leading riders and I will fight for it. Now it is time to
prepare for the next race and to do our best.”

 

There were also podium honours for the BMW S 1000 RR racers in the
Open class. Roberto Blazquez (ESP) celebrated one second and one first
place in the class on his RR (17th and 16th
overall). In race one, Guillermo Llano (ESP / Graphbikes easyRace SBK
Team) was third (18th overall). In the second heat, Sergji
Grygorovych (UKR / MDR Cossacks Flygroup) took third place in class
(19th overall). Llano was also fighting for another top
position in the Open class but crashed when he was hit from behind.

 

 

Italian Superbike Championship in Imola, Italy.

 

Imola (ITA) was the venue for the 2017 season opener of the Italian
Superbike Championship (CIV). In both of the two races held, four BMW
S 1000 RR riders finished within the points. In the first heat, Matteo
Ferrari (ITA / DMR Racing) was the highest placed RR racer in seventh.
His team-mates Ivan Goi (ITA) and Denni Schiavoni (ITA) crossed the
line in ninth and tenth respectively. Lorenzo Lanzi (ITA / Tutapista
Corse) came home in 12th. In the second race, Goi claimed
sixth place. Ferrari was eighth on that occasion, while Schiavoni and
Lanzi finished tenth and 14th respectively.

 

 

SuperBike Series Brasil in São Paulo, Brazil.

 

Wheels are also turning again in South America: at the weekend, the
SuperBike Series Brasil (BRSBK) held its first race of the 2017 season
in São Paulo (BRA). BMW S 1000 RR rider Marco Solorza (ARG / JC Racing
Team) missed the podium by only one position, crossing the line in
fourth. His team-mate Davi Lara Costa (BRA) came home in eighth. Diego
Viveiros (BRA / Tecfil Racing Team) completed the top 10. Fellow
Tecfil Racing Team rider Danilo Lewis (BRA), 2016 championship
runner-up position, had to retire.

 

 

MFJ Superbike All Japan Road Race Championship in Suzuka, Japan.

 

The BMW S 1000 RR racers in the MFJ Superbike All Japan Road Race
Championship (MFJ) also kicked off their 2017 season at the weekend.
The venue of the first race of the year was Suzuka (JPN). As the event
was used for preparation for the prestigious 8 Hours of Suzuka, the
Japanese manufacturers were on site with several strong factory
squads. In the highly competitive field, BMW rider Daisaku Sakai (JPN)
claimed a top ten result: he crossed the line in 8th on his
Team BMW Motorrad 39 RR. Yuta Kodama and Shinya Takeishi (both JPN)
shared duties on the RR of team Tone RT Syncedge 4113. They were
classified 19th, followed by Koji Teramoto (JPN / Motorrad
Rennsport) in 20th and Sano Masato / Noriyuki Tsujimoto
(both JPN / Team Vital Spirit) in 21st.

 

 

MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship in
Austin, USA.

 

The MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship (AMA)
held its 2017 season opener as a support series at the Grand Prix of
the Americas in Austin (USA). In the Superbike class, two BMW S 1000
RR racers competed. Sylvain Barrier (FRA), new signing in the Scheibe
Racing/Hayes Brake team, finished the two races in 11th and
12th position. Mathew Orange (USA / Maximum Effort Racing)
retired in race one and was 19th in the second race.