Munich (DE), 16th March 2016. Racing on two different continents:
Last weekend, the international BMW Motorrad Motorsport racing family
was in action in Thailand and in South Africa. The races for the FIM
Superbike World Championship (WSBK) in Buriram (TH) and the South
African SuperGP Champions Trophy (RSA SBK) in Phakisa (ZA) brought
more successes for the BMW S 1000 RR.
FIM Superbike World Championship in Buriram, Thailand.
For round two of the 2016 FIM Superbike World Championship (WSBK),
the BMW teams and riders and the experts from BMW Motorrad Motorsport
travelled to Asia. The Thai round of the elite class was held at
“Chang International Circuit” near Buriram (TH) last weekend. The two
BMW customer teams in the WSBK, the Althea BMW Racing Team and
Milwaukee BMW, were greeted by hot conditions with ambient
temperatures rising up to 36 degrees Celsius and track temperatures in
the mid-40ies. This did not prevent the BMW riders from once more
being the best privateers in the field.
The 22-year old BMW racer Markus Reiterberger (DE) especially
received a lot of attention: The Althea BMW Racing Team rider, who is
only contesting his first full season in the WSBK, impressed with
another strong performance. In the first race on Saturday, he claimed
a stunning fifth place amid the strong field of factory riders. In
Sunday’s second race, Reiterberger was again the best privateer rider,
crossing the line in seventh. His team-mate Jordi Torres (ES)
contributed to the strong team result by Althea BMW. The Spaniard set
the third-fastest time overall in Friday’s practices and finished both
races in eighth position.
For Milwaukee BMW, Buriram marked the second racing event on the
world stage. The team worked on further fine-tuning the set-up to the
needs of riders Karel Abraham (CZ) and Josh Brookes (AU). One of the
targets for the weekend was to qualify for the deciding Superpole 2.
This was achieved by Abraham, who set the fastest time in Superpole 1.
Brookes also nearly qualified for the final qualifying session, but
missed it by two thousandths of a second. In race one, Abraham was
fighting for 11th position when he crashed on the final lap. Brookes
collected a point by finishing 15th. In race two, Abraham was 15th,
directly followed by Brookes in 16th.
The WSBK now returns to Europe, with the third round of the 2016
season being held at MotorLand Aragón (ES) from 1st to 3rd April.
South African SuperGP Champions Trophy in Phakisa, South Africa.
The success story of the BMW S 1000 RR in South Africa continues with
another double podium. The second round of the 2016 South African
SuperGP Champions Trophy was held at Phakisa (ZA) last weekend. A
strong contingent of no less than 11 BMW privateers lined-up on the grid.
The BMW array was spearheaded by Lance Isaacs (ZA): The experienced
South African BMW S 1000 RR rider claimed third on the podium in both
races. In race one two other BMW racers also finished within the
top-ten: Nicolas Grobler (ZA) was seventh, Daryn Upton (ZA) came home
tenth. The second race saw four RRs crossing the line in the first ten
positions. Upton followed closely behind third-placed Isaacs in
fourth, Garick Vlok (ZA) was ninth and Grobler tenth.
You can find all the information on BMW Motorrad Motorsport online at
the BMW Motorrad Motorsport website:
www.bmw-motorrad-motorsport.com