Successful yield from the BMW S 1000 RR racers: Wins and podiums at the 24 hours of Le Mans, in the British Superbike Championship, the Sidecar World Championship and the Superbike Series Brasil.

Munich (DE), 13th April 2016. It was a busy weekend for the
international BMW racers and the experts from BMW Motorrad Motorsport.
At Le Mans (FR), the famous 24-hour race marked the curtain raiser for
the 2016 FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC). The FIM Sidecar World
Championship (SWC) also held its first race of the year at Le Mans.
The British Superbike Championship 2016 (BSB) kicked off at
Silverstone. The BMW S 1000 RR was also in action in America: in the
Superbike Series Brasil (BRSBK) at Sao Paulo (BR) and the Motoamerica
FIM/AMA North American Road Racing Series (AMA) at Austin (US). It was
also another successful weekend, with wins and podiums for the BMW
racers in five different championship classes.

 

 

FIM Endurance World Championship at Le Mans, France.

 

Last weekend saw the first endurance race of the year for the BMW S
1000 RR: the FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC) kicked off its
2016 season with the prestigious 24 hours of Le Mans (FR). Seven BMW
teams tackled this classic race in the Superbike (EWC SBK) and
Superstock classes (EWC STK).

 

When the lights went out on Saturday afternoon, it was a BMW S 1000
RR starting from the front of the grid. The Penz13.com BMW Motorrad
Team, which is contesting its second season in the highest category,
the EWC SBK, had secured pole position in Friday’s qualifying. During
the first seven and a half race hours, riders Kenny Foray (FR),
Mathieu Gines (FR) and Lukáš Pešek (CZ) were constantly fighting at
the front with their number 13 RR. Unfortunately, the team had to
retire during the night for safety reasons as damage led to the risk
of dropping oil on the track.

 

The number 48 BMW S 1000 RR of Völpker NRT48 by Schubert Motors
finished the race in a strong seventh overall. In addition, riders
Bastien Mackels (BE), Dominik Vincon (DE) and Stefan Kerschbaumer (AT)
secured third on the podium in the Superstock class EWC STK. Also the
remaining BMW teams successfully completed the 24-hour distance: the
Tecmas Racing Team – BMW (18th overall), GERT56 HMT by RS Speedbikes
(31st overall), 24Racing – Piste Libre – Epsilon (36th overall), LRP
Poland (43rd) and the IVR BMW Motorrad CSEU team (45th). On the IVR
BMW Motorrad CSEU BMW S 1000 RR, Roland Resch (AT) and Martin Choy
(BG) shared duties between them, after their teammate Janez Prosenik
(SI) was seriously injured in a crash at the beginning of the race.
The whole BMW Motorrad Motorsport community wishes Janez a speedy recovery.

 

British Superbike Championship at Silverstone, Great Britain.

 

It was a great season opener in the British Superbike Championship
(BSB) for the BMW S 1000 RR, with a win and two further podium
finishes in the Superbike class (BSB SBK) and a 1-2-3-4-5 in the
Superstock class (BSB STK).

 

The first of the two Superbike races held at Silverstone (GB) was
dominated by Tyco BMW rider Michael Laverty (GB). He took an early
lead and stayed up at the front until the finish line. Winner Laverty
was joined on the podium by his Tyco BMW teammate Christian Iddon (GB)
in third place. In race two, Iddon again crossed the line in third,
celebrating his first ever double podium in the series. Laverty came
home sixth. In the championship classification, Laverty and Iddon are
ranked second and third respectively after the first round.

 

Four other BMW S 1000 RR racers also collected championship points at
Silverstone. Lee Jackson (GB / Buildbase BMW Motorrad) claimed two
top-eight finishes, crossing the line in eighth and seventh
respectively. His teammate Richard Cooper (GB) ended the races in 12th
and 11th. Former WorldSBK racer Jakub Smrz (CZ) is competing in the
BSB this year on a Smiths Racing BMW team RR. He finished both races
in 15th. Alastair Seeley (GB / Royal Air Force Regular Reserves)
was 14th in race two, but retired in race one.

 

The race for the Superstock class (BSB STK) saw a brilliant 1-2-3-4-5
for the BMW S 1000 RR. Victory went to Taylor MacKenzie (GB /
Buildbase BMW Motorrad), who was joined on the podium by the Tyco BMW
pairing of Josh Elliott (GB) and Ian Hutchinson (GB). Hudson Kennaugh
(ZA / Trikmoto Bahnstormer BMW) crossed the line in fourth, while
Michael Rutter (GB / Bathams SMT) was fifth on his RR. Points were
also collected by BMW riders Leon Jeacock (GB / GEO E Davies Racing)
in 12th, Chrissy Rouse (GB / CECS Mission Racing) in 13th and Rob
McNealy (GB / McNealy Brown Ltd) in 14th.

 

 

FIM Sidecar World Championship at Le Mans, France.

 

The FIM Sidecar World Championship (SWC) also met at Le Mans (FR) for
its season opener. However, the first race of the year was held in the
most tricky conditions due to heavy rain. It even had to be
red-flagged and re-started when too much water on the track made it
too risky to continue. The Finnish BMW duo of Pekka Päivärinta / Kirsi
Kainulainen finished second on the podium. Mike Roscher / Anna Burkard
(DE) decided to return to the pits prematurely due to the dangerous conditions.

 

 

Superbike Series Brasil at Sao Paulo, Brazil.

 

The Superbike Series Brasil (BRSBK) is a new addition to the 2016 BMW
Motorrad Race Trophy. The season kicked off last weekend at Interlagos
in Sao Paulo (BR) – with a win and a podium for the BMW S 1000 RR. In
total, three BMW racers crossed the line within the top-four. Victory
went to Danilo Lewis (BR) on the Tecfil Racing Team’s RR. As a new
member of the BMW Motorrad Alex Barros Racing team, Sebastiano Zerbo
(BR) raced to third on the podium. The top-four were completed by BMW
rider Diego Petrel (BR).

 

 

Motoamerica FIM/AMA North American Road Racing Series at
Austin, US.

 

Curtain raiser also for the 2016 Motoamerica FIM/AMA North American
Road Racing Series (AMA): The first two races of the year were held
during the MotoGP weekend at Austin (US). BMW Motorrad Motorsport was
once more represented by Steve Rapp (US). He finished the races in
11th and 13th overall. With these results, he claimed seventh and
eighth in the Superstock class (AMA STK).