Misano. Having achieved the first podium finish for the new
BMW S 1000 RR in the FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) on
Saturday at Misano (ITA), the next podium was within reach for the
BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team on Sunday. Tom Sykes (GBR) was running
third in the Superpole race until he was forced to retire shortly
before the finish. In the afternoon’s second race, the Englishman
finished sixth to claim another top-six result. Markus Reiterberger
(GER) came home 13th and eleventh on Sunday.
Sykes started the morning’s Superpole sprint from third place on the
grid. He initially dropped back in the battle at the front of the
field, however regained third place when two riders crashed in front
of him. He went into the final lap with the next podium in sight, but
was then forced to retire shortly before the finish when his engine
suffered a mechanical issue. After ten laps of racing, Reiterberger
crossed the finish line in 13th place.
The results of the Superpole race meant that Sykes started the
afternoon’s second race from eleventh place, ahead of Reiterberger in
14th. By the end of the second lap of the main race, the
two RR riders had both made progress through the field. Sykes was
eighth, while Reiterberger lay 12th. In the closing stages,
Sykes rejoined the group battling for the third spot on the podium. He
ultimately came home sixth, just 1.8 seconds outside the top three.
Reiterberger also had a flawless ride to finish eleventh.
Quotes after race two at Misano.
Marc Bongers, BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director: “On
the whole, we can be very happy with the Misano weekend. It is
obviously a shame that we were denied our next podium by a mechanical
issue this morning. However, you must not forget that this kind of
thing can always happen with a fledgling project like ours. We will
analyse what the cause was. That is part of the learning process. The
podium in Saturday’s race was the next important step with our new BMW
S 1000 RR. The sprint and main race on Sunday allowed us to
demonstrate the progress we have made with the development of the RR.
The performance was spot on. If Tom had started from further up the
grid in the afternoon, he could have challenged for a spot on the
podium again. In the end, he missed out by under two seconds. However,
his sixth place was another good result. The hard work also paid off
for Markus and his crew. They took a step forward and this is the
direction to go now. We now must continue this positive trend at
Donington Park.”
Shaun Muir, Team Principal BMW Motorrad WorldSBK
Team: “We are really gutted for Tom. He has put all his
effort in and got very little reward for it in the sprint race when,
with half a lap to go, he had a mechanical DNF when he could have been
on the podium. That would also have meant third on the grid for the
main race but he had to go from P11 on the grid and we all know that
it’s difficult to pass the Ducatis in a straight line. He came within
1.8 seconds of the podium from 11th on the grid and I think
that shows the talent and effort that he put in there. So, we
apologise to Tom for not giving him the tools today. However, I think
we can all see that there has been real progress and he is going to
come back strong for sure at Donington. Markus, on the other hand, is
still struggling to find his real form and we’re not yet where we want
to be. We will look at all the data, sit down, discuss the set-up for
Donington and hopefully cooler track temperatures will be very good
towards our tyre wear and he and Tom can come back and do a good job
at our home round.”
Tom Sykes: “It was a little bit unfortunate. I really
honestly feel that we had three podiums in reach. We were third in the
sprint race until the last lap. We had an issue which allowed Leon
Haslam to come close and then unfortunately we retired. That, was also
unfortunate, meaning that I started the last big race from the fourth
row which cost me some time in the first few laps. The whole BMW
Motorrad WorldSBK Team did a great job. We ran with our spare bike
with a few performance compromises and we still had great pace. I feel
if we had started from the front row we could have gone away, kept our
rhythm and I definitely feel that this would have allowed another
podium position. So a little bit of a shame but on the plus side we’ve
had a podium, we finished second this weekend with the all-new BMW S
1000 RR, we are showing its potential. Even in this last race we had
very good consistency. We will build on this.”
Markus Reiterberger: “Today was better than
yesterday, although my start was not so good in the Superpole race and
a mistake cost me valuable time. The result was that I had to settle
for 14th on the grid in race two. However, I made a good
start and was able to hold on to 12th and later
11th place for the whole race. I did my best, did not make
any mistakes, and brought the BMW S 1000 RR home safe and sound. The
track conditions were more difficult today. It was very hot and I have
never known there be so little grip. It was tough for everyone, but we
coped well. We have taken a small step forward, which gives us more
confidence. We will continue to work hard to improve. So a big thank
you to the whole team.”