Munich. The 2018 season of the International German
Championship (IDM) opened with a double one-two for BMW S 1000 RR
riders. At Oschersleben (GER), it was all about Bastien Mackels
(BEL) and Ilya Mikhalchik (UKR). Nogaro in southern France hosted
the second round of the season in the French Superbike Championship
(FBSK) and the French European Bikes Championship (FR EU) – which
saw BMW S 1000 RR riders pick up a win and a total of five podiums.
The SuperBike Series Brasil (BRSBK) held its first race of the
season in São Paulo (BRA), in which veteran Alex Barros (BRA)
finished on the podium.
International German Championship at Oschersleben, Germany.
The teams and riders in the International German Championship (IDM)
got together at Oschersleben (GER) for their first race weekend of the
year. It was a perfect start for the BMW Motorrad Motorsport family –
with pole position, a double one-two finish and the fastest race lap
in both races. On Saturday, Ilya Mikhalchik (UKR), of the
alpha-Racing-Van-Zon-BMW team, secured pole position followed by
Bastien Mackels (BEL / Wilbers BMW Racing) alongside in second on the grid.
In both races on Sunday, the two riders staged a thrilling duel for
the win. In race one, it was Mackels who prevailed, with a lead of 0.4
seconds over Mikhalchik in second place. In the second race, the same
riders took the one-two finish in reverse order: this time it was
Mikhalchik who was victorious, finishing 0.2 seconds ahead of Mackels.
Julian Puffe (GER / alpha Racing-Van-Zon-BMW) finished both races in
fourth place.
Bastien Mackels: “Victory in the first race and
second place in the second race – what a terrific start to the season
for me and the whole team. They did a fantastic job throughout the
entire weekend. Thanks guys!”
Ilya Mikhalchik: “Team work makes the dream work!
Second place in the first race and then the win in race two. What a
great start to the season. Big thanks go to my team.”
French Superbike Championship at Nogaro, France.
The French Superbike Championship (FBSK) headed to Nogaro in southern
France for its second event of the 2018 season. As at the opener four
weeks ago, Kenny Foray (FRA) finished second on the podium with his
BMW S 1000 RR of Tecmas Racing Team in both races. Matthieu Lussiana
(FRA / Team ASPI) crossed the finish line in fifth and eighth places.
Maxime Bonnot (FRA / Tecmas Racing Team) finished on the podium in
third and second place in the Challenger class (FSBK Ch)
(15th and 12th overall).
Kenny Foray: “It was a good weekend for us, and we
finished second twice. We had really good pace in the free practice
session, and we were fast in the qualifying sessions as well, but not
fast enough to get pole position. Both races were held on a drying
track, which is why there was only one dry line that you had to
follow. It wasn’t easy. I got off to a bad start in the first race. It
was better in race two, but then I made a mistake on the first lap and
lost contact with the leader. I pushed, but I couldn’t do better than
second place. Now, I will do everything to get the win in the next
races in a month’s time.”
French European Bikes Championship at Nogaro, France.
The French European Bikes Championship (FR EU) were also at Nogaro in
southern France at the weekend. Nogaro is the home track of brothers
Florian and Cyril Brunet-Lugardon (FRA), and the family had reason to
celebrate in the first of the two races. In the race on Saturday,
Florian Brunet-Lugardon got the home win and the fastest race lap.
Jonathan Germany (FRA), who celebrated a double win at the opener four
weeks ago, also finished on the podium, in second place. The second
race on Sunday was held in treacherous conditions. Germany finished on
the podium again, in third place, and also bagged the fastest race lap.
SuperBike Series Brasil in São Paulo, Brazil.
The SuperBike Series Brasil (BRSBK) kicked off its 2018 season in São
Paulo (BRA). In the first race of the year, there was a podium finish
for the BMW S 1000 RR. Veteran Alex Barros (BRA) from the Alex Barros
Racing team finished a fiercely contested race in second place.