Munich. At the weekend, the BMW Motorrad Motorsport racers and
the BMW experts have been in action in Great Britain, Croatia and
Italy. At Britain’s Snetterton, the BMW riders in the British
Superbike Championship (BSB) took to the track with success. The
weekend saw important results for Peter Hickman (GBR) in the
Superbike class and a podium finish for Michael Rutter (GBR) in the
Superstock class. In Grobnik in Croatia, David Božič (SLO) and
Michal Prášek (CZE) stepped onto the Alpe Adria Road Racing
Championship (AARR) rostrum. In addition, the third round of the
Italian Superbike Championship (CIV) was held at Mugello (ITA) at
the weekend.
British Superbike Championship in Snetterton, Great Britian.
Snetterton Circuit (GBR) in Norfolk was the venue for the fifth round
of the 2017 British Superbike Championship (BSB) at the weekend. The
BMW riders once more claimed important results both in the Superbike
and the Superstock classes. Peter Hickman (GBR) finished the two races
in the Superbike class (BSB SBK) in seventh and sixth position. With
these results, the Smiths Racing rider was promoted into the
all-important top-6 of the overall riders’ standings who will take
part in the “Showdown” for the title at the end of the season. His
team-mate Lee Jackson (GBR) finished both races in 13th.
Jakub Smrz (CZE / Lloyd Jones PR Racing BMW) also scored points,
being 12th in race two.
Peter Hickman: “It hasn’t been a bad weekend and if
you forget the race positions, one of the major things to come out of
the weekend is that we’ve made major improvements to the bike and have
learnt an awful lot which should stand us in good stead in the
forthcoming rounds. The bike felt a lot more planted and I was really
hopeful of a better showing in race two so it was a shame I got duffed
up a bit. I made a good start but got pushed wide twice and lost my
rhythm which made it tough but I kept pushing until the end and to be
back in the top six is pleasing. The team has done a mega job all
weekend and we’re looking forward now to pushing on even further.”
In the Tyco BMW team, two young riders gave their BSB Superbike debut
at Snetterton: Andy Reid (GBR) and Josh Elliott (GBR). Rookie Reid is
a new signing in the team and joins Christian Iddon (GBR) in the
Superbike class. Elliott usually races for the squad in the Superstock
class (BSB STK). Iddon, however, is still recovering from an arm
injury suffered at the previous round in Knockhill (GBR) and beginning
of the weekend, he and the team decided that he would sit out the
races in order to give healing a little more time. So Elliott stepped
up at short notice to the Superbike class where he stood in for Iddon.
In race one, Elliott crossed the line in 15th, scoring his
first BSB SBK point however he failed to finish race two. Reid was
17th and 18th respectively.
Joshua Elliott: “I came to Snetterton expecting to
ride the Superstock bike, then the team offered me a last minute
opportunity to deputise for Christian on the Superbike. I’m really
happy how the weekend went and to come away having scored points on my
debut is quite satisfying. I am very thankful to the whole Tyco BMW
team for all their help this weekend and for this opportunity.”
In the Superstock class (BSB STK) race, Michael Rutter (GBR / Bathams
SMT Racing) stepped back onto the podium again. The BMW S 1000 RR
rider secured third place in the highly contested race. It was his
third podium finish in the series this season. Chrissy Rouse (GBR /
Mission Racing) crossed the line in fifth, immediately followed by
Adam Jenkinson (GBR / Northern Escalator Installations) in sixth.
Alpe Adria Road Racing Championship in Grobnik, Croatia.
The Superstock class BMW teams and riders in the Alpe Adria Road
Racing Championship (AARR STK) had travelled to Grobnik in Croatia at
the weekend. They claimed two more podium finishes for the BMW S 1000
RR. In race one, David Božič (SLO / CARMAN MOTOSPORT) crossed the line
in third. Michal Prášek (CZE / Rohac and Fejty motoracing Team) and
Michal Fojtik (CZE / Exteria Racing Team) were fifth and ninth
respectively. In the second heat, Prášek secured second place, while
Božič and Fojtik finished in sixth and tenth places.
Italian Superbike Championship in Mugello, Italy.
The Tuscany hills formed the backdrop for the third round of the 2017
Italian Superbike Championship (CIV) at the weekend. Two races were
held at the Mugello Circuit (ITA). In the first heat, four BMW S 1000
RR riders crossed the line in the top-10. Ivan Goi (ITA /DMR Racing)
was sixth, followed by his team-mate Denni Schiavoni (ITA) in seventh.
Matteo Ferrari (ITA), also in action for DMR Racing, finished eighth
and Lorenzo Lanzi (ITA / Tutapista Corse) was tenth. In race two,
Schiavoni was the highest placed BMW rider in eighth, Ferrari and
Lanzi took the chequered flag behind him in ninth and tenth.