BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team completes two-day test with the BMW S 1000 RR in Le Castellet.

Le Castellet. The BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team is
preparing for their maiden season in the FIM Endurance World
Championship (FIM EWC). Ahead of the 2019/20 season opener, the team
took part in the official pre-test in Le Castellet (FRA) on Tuesday
and Wednesday with riders Kenny Foray (FRA), Julian Puffe (GER) and
Ilya Mikhalchik (UKR). The first race will take place in the same
location; the Bol d’Or on 21st/22nd September.

 

With the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team, BMW Motorrad Motorsport
is expanding their works involvement with the new BMW S 1000 RR to
include the FIM EWC. The team has developed an endurance version of
the RR, which is based on the Superbike that competes in the FIM World
Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK). At the two-day test in the
South of France, development of the endurance bike continued.

 

Quotes after the test at Le Castellet.

 

Werner Daemen, Team Manager BMW Motorrad World Endurance
Team:
“The test went very well. We had two minor falls on the
second day but these things can happen. Overall, we were able to test
a lot of things here at Le Castellet, and all riders were pretty fast.
We are happy and I think that we are well prepared for the race.”

 

Kenny Foray: “It was a really good test for us. The
bike was performing well from the word go. My team-mates and me
completed many, many laps with the two test bikes. We also tried many
different things and were able to find a good base set-up. I am very
happy with these two days of testing. I’m really looking forward to
the race at the Bol d’Or because I’m sure that we can do something
really good.”

 

Julian Puffe: “These two days of testing were really
good. It was the first encounter of the team, the bike and the tyres.
And I have to say: the team works perfectly together. At the
beginning, the bike was of course very different for me compared to
the bike I ride in the IDM but step by step I got used to everything.
There are for sure some things I still have to adapt but I’m really
happy with how the test went. Everything is still new but after this
positive first shakedown, I’m already looking forward to the race in
two weeks’ time.”

 

Ilya Mikhalchik: “It was a really positive test. We
have completed a lot of laps and tested everything. The two test bikes
had different set-ups we worked with to step by step increase the
confidence. We also did a race simulation during which I set my
fastest lap time on used tyres. This makes me confident for the race
in two weeks’ time. But overall we did not focus on lap times but more
on the race pace. They way the team works together is really great.
Everything went perfectly well and I think that we are ready for the
first race.”