Munich. The first 1000cc race of this year’s Isle of Man
Tourist Trophy is completed and it ended with a 1-2 victory for the
BMW Motorrad Motorsport racers. In an exciting race, Ian Hutchinson
(GBR) took the win and Peter Hickman (GBR) finished second. The BMW
S 1000 RR riders have also been in action in the USA at the weekend,
and claimed a top-8 result in the MotoAmerica FIM/AMA North American
Road Racing Championship (AMA).
Isle of Man Tourist Trophy.
The 2017 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy has kicked off with a fantastic
result for the BMW Motorrad Motorsport riders: a 1-2 success in the
opening Superbike race. Bad weather causes massive delays in the
schedule; practice sessions had to be canceled and the six-lap
Superbike race had to be postponed from Saturday to Sunday.
When the 1000cc racers finally took to the Mountain Course, they
offered the countless fans along the roads an exciting battle for the
win. Ian Hutchinson (GBR) took the lead with his Tyco BMW S 1000 RR at
the end of lap three and extended it to 11 seconds. However, he then
lost time due to traffic and yellow flags, allowing his rivals, among
them Peter Hickmann (GBR) on the Smiths Racing RR, to close the gap
again. An ultra-quick pit stop of his Tyco BMW crew and Hutchinson’s
speed and experience were the key to victory: Hutchinson took the win
with an advantage of five seconds over second placed Hickman. It was
“Hutchy’s” 15th TT victory, while Hickman celebrated his
maiden TT podium.
Local hero Dan Kneen (GBR / Team Penz13.com BMW Motorrad Motorsport)
crossed the line in fifth, closely followed by Michael Rutter (GBR /
Bathmans SMT) in sixth. Martin Jessopp (GBR / Riders Motorcycles BMW)
completed the top ten in tenth.
Ian Hutchinson: “We had been practicing our pit stops
throughout the week when it wasn’t raining and again in the morning
before the race which has definitely paid off. There was a lot of
traffic through the race with back markers – but I have learnt through
the years not to panic about them and just do your best and get past
them as safely and as smoothly as you can – it’s part of a typical six
lap TT race. A massive thanks to the whole Tyco BMW team that has
delivered everything that I have asked for, and trusting what I
thought would work. The team has deserved the big bike win – they put
so much work and effort into all the bikes and they always look
impeccable when you walk up to them – it makes you want to win on it.”
Peter Hickman: “I’m delighted with my first ever TT
podium. Although I was a bit steady at the beginning of the race, I
gradually got into it. The lack of practice has affected us all and
we’re not lapping as quickly as we were last year and although I got
to within two seconds of Hutchy, I knew how strong he’d be over the
Mountain. P2 was a great start to the week.”
Dan Kneen: “It’s been a very good race and I am more
than happy with this fifth in a big bike’s race. Its not only my best
result in the Superbike and Senior races, but also for the whole
Penz13 team and I am delighted to see everyone so happy.”
The bad weather continues to cause delays in the race week schedule.
All racing planed for Tuesday was cancelled. This also affected the
Superstock race that had been already postponed from Monday to Tuesday
and will now be held later in the week.
As the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy is part of the BMW Combined Road
Race Challenge (BMW RRC), the results are counted towards the BMW
Motorrad Race Trophy.
MotoAmerica FIM/AMA North American Road Racing Championship at
Road America, USA.
The BMW road racers were not the only ones in action at the weekend –
the BMW S 1000 RR riders were also racing in the MotoAmerica FIM/AMA
North American Road Racing Championship (AMA). They competed in the
fourth round of the season at Road America (USA). The highest placed
BMW racer was Larry Pegram (USA) on the BMW S 1000 RR of team Scheibe
Racing / Hayes Brake. In race one, he was 11th while in
race two, he secured a top-8 finish, crossing the line in a strong seventh.