Munich. The action follows thick and fast in the FIM Superbike
World Championship (WorldSBK). Just one week after the races at
Donington Park (GBR), the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team and riders Tom
Sykes (GBR) and Markus Reiterberger (GER) head to the USA and Laguna
Seca. The circuit, in the US state of California, is the venue for
round nine of the 2019 WorldSBK season from 12th to
14th July.
Three weeks ago, the team celebrated the first WorldSBK podium for
the new BMW S 1000 RR at Misano (ITA). This was followed by a first
pole position and another second place at Donington Park. The goal for
the coming races is to continue to develop the race bike and establish
the team’s position within the top six in the world championship.
Quotes ahead of the races at Laguna Seca.
Marc Bongers, BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director: “We
showed at the recent rounds that we are making good progress with the
development of our new BMW S 1000 RR. We are gradually closing in on
the front-runners in terms of performance. We are now very excited
about Laguna Seca. We hope to be able to continue the trend we have
seen in recent weeks and to again have a say at the front of the
field. Obviously every circuit has its own characteristics, so we will
have to wait and see how the specific layout of the track at Laguna
Seca suits our RR. We are pleased to have Markus back on board and are
ready for the race weekend in California.”
Shaun Muir, Team Principal BMW Motorrad WorldSBK
Team: “It’s good to be back in the US. We want to build on
the momentum that we gained at Donington Park last week. Tom is full
of confidence. Despite the rules issue that we had at Donington Park
we nevertheless we came away with a lot of positives. We’re pleased
that Markus is fit and well to return at Laguna Seca. We hope he can
learn the circuit very quickly and pick up some good pace. Overall we
are confident of carrying some momentum; hopefully we can start the
weekend strongly and then we aim for some strong positions before we
enter the summer break.”
Tom Sykes: “I’m very much looking forward to the US
round of WorldSBK. Obviously just continuing on from previous rounds
it looks like the whole of the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team is gathering
good momentum now. It’s just unfortunate that some things went against
us at the Donington round which denied us another two strong podium
finishes, but we had the pole position and a strong second place on
the podium in race one there. Now we’re going to Laguna Seca, a
circuit with a great atmosphere and a circuit which I enjoy riding.
That coupled with the new BMW S 1000 RR really gives me motivation and
I would certainly like to finish before the summer break with a very
strong weekend.”
Markus Reiterberger: “I am really looking forward to
finally riding at Laguna Seca. This is my first time there and I am
already very excited about the circuit. I will give it everything
there and am looking for a good result. We will work hard to find a
few details on the bike that can help me to further improve and show
even more of my potential. I am looking forward to an exciting
adventure in the USA, to work with my team again, to good races and to
a great event.”