International German Championship: Top-four lock-out for BMW
racers at Zolder.
The International German Championship (IDM) held its third event of
the season at Zolder, Belgium – and the BMW S 1000 RR riders dominated
proceedings with a top-four lock-out. The Zolder race weekend was the
alpha Racing-Van-Zon-BMW team home event, and it was their two riders,
Ilya Mikhalchik (UKR) and Julian Puffe (GER), who spearheaded BMW’s
dominance. Mikhalchik secured pole position in qualifying on Saturday
with an advantage of just 0.023 seconds over his team-mate Puffe. They
were the main players again in Sunday’s opening race when the two were
embroiled in a hard-fought battle for the lead, with Mikhalchik
ultimately emerging triumphant to take his third win of the season.
Puffe finished runner-up, just over a second behind. The third spot on
the podium went to guest starter Dominik Vincon (GER / EGS Moto
Racing). Pepjin Bijsterbosch (NED) completed the top-four lock-out of
BMW riders. Jan Mohr (AUT) and Marc Neumann (GER) came home eighth and
ninth. Sunday’s second race was cancelled due to oil on the track.
Mikhalchik now leads the championship with 95 points, just one point
ahead of Puffe in second.
French Superbike Championship: Kenny Foray claims his third
win of the season.
It was another successful outing for the Tecmas Racing team at round
four of this season’s French Superbike Championship (FSBK) at Pau
(FRA). Reigning champion Kenny Foray (FRA) was in contention on his
BMW S 1000 RR in race one, but narrowly missed out on the race win by
just 0.246 seconds, crossing the line in second place. Team-mate
Mathieu Gines (FRA) took the third spot on the podium. As race winner
Xavier Simeon (BEL) did not receive any points as a wildcard starter,
Foray and Gines picked up the points on offer for first and second
place. In race two, Foray had the upper hand in the battle with Simeon
and claimed his third win of the season. Gines endured a difficult
race and eventually came home 18th. The two Tecmas riders lead the
championship; Gines is still top of the overall standings (150 points)
ahead of Foray (142 points) in second.
French European Bikes Championship: Podium for Jonathan Germany.
The French European Bikes Championship (FR EU) was also at Pau (FRA)
for its fourth race weekend of the season. BMW racer Jonathan Germany
(FRA / Team MDS) claimed a spot on the podium in race two, crossing
the finish line in second place. Germany had previously finished fifth
in race one. Alexandre Leleu (FRA) also ended both races in the top
five, finishing fourth and fifth. Léo Challamel (FRA / TCP Racing)
came home ninth and fourth, while Jeremy Herault (FRA) was eighth in
both races.
Canadian Superbike Championship: Ben Young on the podium.
St. Eustache in Canada hosted round three of this season’s Canadian
Superbike Championship (CSBK) at the weekend. The race developed into
a real thriller. After 22 laps, BMW racer Ben Young (CAN / Ben Young
Racing) finished second – just 0.150 seconds behind the winner – to
claim a spot on the podium. Samuel Trepanier (CAN / Blysk Racing) was
fourth. Michael Leon (CAN) came home sixth, ahead of Jeff Williams
(CAN) in eighth place. Three races into the season, Young has two wins
and a second place to his name and leads the championship with 157
points and a margin of 18 points.
BMW Motorrad BoxerCup: Arie Vos wins at Zolder.
Round two of the new BMW Motorrad BoxerCup promoted by Wilbers took
place at Zolder, Belgium, as part of the support programme for the
IDM. 16 riders started on identical BoxerCup bikes. As in the IDM, it
was only possible to run one of the two scheduled races due to the
dirty track. Victory went to the Netherlands’ Arie Vos, ahead of Bram
Lambrecht (BEL). Chris Höfer (GER) from the Wunderlich Motorsport team
completed the podium. The next round of the BMW Motorrad BoxerCup
takes place from 26th to 28th July at Schleiz (GER).