North West 200: Hickman claims first international victory for
the new RR.
This weekend’s North West 200 in the Northern Irish town of Coleraine
represented the first major event of the 2019 international road
racing season. It promptly produced a landmark victory for BMW racers
when Peter Hickman (GBR) won Thursday evening’s Superstock race on the
Smiths Racing team’s new BMW S 1000 RR. It was an historic success,
being the first international victory for the new RR. Michael Dunlop
(GBR / MD Racing) finished third to claim another podium for the BMW S
1000 RR. “BMW and the Smiths Racing team have made it possible to win
with the new bike on its first outing,” said Hickman. “I was soon able
to take the lead. From then on, I just gave it everything and tried to
pull away. I felt really strong in the section on the coastal road
and, as soon as I had pulled clear, I was able to control the race.”
A further three races in the 1000cc categories were scheduled for
Saturday, but poor weather and heavy rain made for difficult and
dangerous conditions. A number of riders decided not to take the risk
in these tricky road conditions and opted not to start, or soon
returned to the pit lane, including Hickman and Dunlop. This time, it
was Davey Todd (GBR) from the Penz13.com team who claimed a spot on
the podium on his RR. Todd ended Saturday’s race in the Superstock
category in third place. Bruce Birnie (GBR / Carnegie Fuels) was the
best-placed BMW rider in the first Superbike race in twelfth place.
Race control cancelled the afternoon’s feature Superbike race for
safety reasons.
International German Championship: alpha Racing-Van-Zon-BMW
dominates season-opener with the new RR.
The championship-winning team from the past two years, alpha
Racing-Van-Zon-BMW, now running the new BMW S 1000 RR, dominated the
opening round of the 2019 International German Championship (IDM) at
the Lausitzring (GER). Team principal Werner Daemen’s crew claimed an
excellent one-two in race one, which was red-flagged and reduced to
nine laps. Reigning champion Ilya Mikhalchik (UKR) crossed the finish
line first on his new RR, followed by team-mate Julian Puffe (GER) in
second place. Mikhalchik was leading again in race two, until a
technical issue forced him to retire. Puffe inherited the lead and
went on to take his maiden IDM Superbike victory with a lead of six
seconds. “You could see immediately how competitive our new bike is,”
said Puffe. “The first race was a bit eventful. After the
interruption, I was on Ilya’s heels. However, I then missed a gear
change and could do nothing more than look after second place after
that. In race two, the luck was really on my side. Ilya was really
unlucky. I feel very sorry for him. I would like to thank my team for
working so hard to get us back up at the front again.” Dutchman Pepijn
Bijsterbosch finished eighth and sixth in the two races. Jan Mohr
(AUT) also had a top-ten result, finishing ninth in race two.
Canadian Superbike Championship: Ben Young wins first race of
the season.
The 2019 season in the Canadian Superbike Championship (CSBK) also
began with a win for a BMW racer. There was no beating Ben Young (CAN
/ Ben Young Racing) at the opening round at Shannonville (CAN). He
secured pole position on his BMW S 1000 RR and then went on to take a
lights-to-flag victory in the race. “It feels fantastic,” said Young.
“I had a very good start, but I knew all race that the chasing pack
were behind me, so I really had to push. It is great for BMW to
continue its winning run in this championship this season. I feel
honoured to be a part of it. We are now all looking forward to the
second race in a few weeks.” Samuel Trepanier (CAN / Blysk Racing)
ended the race in fifth place. Jeff Williams (CAN) and Ivan Babic
(CAN) finished seventh and eighth.
BMW Motorrad BoxerCup: Successful debut at the Lausitzring.
The new BMW Motorrad BoxerCup promoted by Wilbers made a successful
debut on the support programme for the IDM weekend at the Lausitzring
(GER). The riders scrapped hard for every hundredth of a second on
their identical BoxerCup bikes in practice. This continued in the
qualifying sessions, while the races featured some thrilling battles
for position. The two Wunderlich Motorsport team riders were in
unbeatable form. Chris Höfer (GER) bagged a brace of victories in the
Lausitz region of Germany. Team-mate Nate Kern (USA) was second in
both races. The third spot on the podium in both races went to Marvin
Jürgens (GER / Team Motorsport Burgdorf). The next round of the BMW
Motorrad BoxerCup will take place in five weeks (21st to
23rd June) at Zolder, Belgium.