FIM European Superstock 1000 Cup: Victory for Arnaud Friedrich
in the first race of the new series.
The Slovakia Ring near Bratislava (SVK) hosted the inaugural weekend
of the new FIM European Superstock 1000 Cup (EU STK). This is the
successor to the FIM Superstock 1000 European Championship and is held
on the same programme as the Alpe Adria International Motorcycle
Championship (AA). BMW riders made a successful start to the new
championship. On Saturday, Arnaud Friedrich (GER / Team LRP Poland)
won the very first race of the FIM European Stock 1000 Cup on his BMW
S 1000 RR. Dominik Juda (CZE / TME Racing) finished third to join him
on the podium. Team-mate Michal Šembera (CZE) came home ninth.
Friedrich was back on the podium on Sunday, finishing runner-up in
race two. Juda was fourth, Šembera ninth.
Alpe Adria International Motorcycle Championship: One-two for
Fany Gastro BMW Motorrad at season-opener.
The Alpe International Motorcycle Championship (AA) also started the
2019 season at the Slovakia Ring (SVK). BMW racers have traditionally
been very successful in this series, and showed exactly why with a
one-two in the opening race on Saturday. Karel Hanika (CZE / Fany
Gastro BMW Motorrad) dominated the race and took an emphatic victory
on his BMW S 1000 RR. Team-mate Ondřej Ježek (CZE) followed him home
in second place to complete the one-two. Christopher Kemmer (AUT /
Bertl K. Racing) finished ninth. Ježek demonstrated his consistency
with another second-place finish on his RR in race two. Kemmer crossed
the finish line in seventh place. Race one winner, Hanika, failed to finish.
Italian Superbike Championship: Season resumes at Mugello.
The 2019 season in the Italian Superbike Championship (CIV) resumed
at the weekend with round two at Mugello (ITA). In the first of the
two races, Roberto Tamburini (ITA) from the Cherry Box 24 Guandalini
Racing team was the highest-placed BMW rider, crossing the line in
fourth. Matteo Baiocco (ITA / DMR Racing) finished seventh, followed
by team-mate Luca Vitali (ITA) in eighth position. Top-ten finishes
were also claimed by Christian Gamarino (ITA / Tutapista Corse) in
ninth and Fabio Menghi (ITA / VFT Racing) in tenth. In the second
race, Baiocco was the best placed RR rider in sixth. Vitali and
Gamarino took the chequered flag in seventh and eighth respectively.
Italian National Trophy 1000: Podium finish for Luca Salvadori
at Mugello.
The Italian National Trophy 1000 (IT 1000) also held its second round
of the season at Mugello (ITA). The weekend saw another podium finish
for the BMW racing family. In an exciting race, Luca Salvadori (ITA /
Berclaz Racing Italia) rode to second place on the rostrum, only 0.216
seconds behind the winner. Michel Fabrizio (ITA) claimed fourth
position on his RR. Francesco Cocco (ITA) followed in fifth. Remo
Castellarin (ITA) in seventh and Alessio Velini (ITA) in tenth also
secured finishes within the top-ten.
Asia Road Race Championship: Round two of the season in Australia.
The Asia Road Race Championship (ARRC), new to the BMW Motorrad Race
Trophy this year, was at The Bend Motorsport Park in Australia at the
weekend, the venue for the second event of the season. The best-placed
BMW rider was Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman (MAS / Onexox TKKR SAG Team), who
finished the two races in fourth and fifth place. Team-mate Farid
Hisham (MAS) was tenth on both races.
Australian Superbike Championship: BMW racers in action at The
Bend Motorsports Park.
The Bend Motorsport Park (AUS) hosted round three of this season’s
Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK). The event consisted of three
races, however the weekend was over as early as Saturday for
three-time ASBK champion Glenn Allerton (AUS / NextGen Motorsports /
Maxima BMW Racing). In race one, he was unable to avoid colliding with
a crashed rider and broke his right wrist in the accident. Team-mate
Ted Collins (AUS) ended the race in 13th place however met
a similar fate to Allerton in race two. Whilst he was uninjured,
Collins was unable to line up for race three. Paul van der Heiden (RSA
/ Moto Adelaide) finished 20th twice and 19th in
the other race.