Munich. Oschersleben (GER), Brno (CZE) and Grand Bend (CAN) –
where BMW racers competed successfully in all three locations at the
weekend. The “German Speedweek” took place at Oschersleben, with the
FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC) 8-hour race and two races in
the International German Championship (IDM). The NRT48 – BMW
Motorrad team was the best-placed BMW team in the EWC with fourth
place. In the IDM, BMW riders claimed a top-three lock-out. Ilya
Mikhalchik (UKR) topped the podium both times. The MOTUL FIM
Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) and the FIM Superstock 1000
European Championship (STK1000) both visited the Czech city of Brno.
Alessandro Delbianco (ITA) celebrated his first podium finish of the
season there in the STK1000. BMW riders secured a top-four lock-out
at the second race of the Canadian Superbike Championship 2018
(CSBK) at Grand Bend, led by record champion Jordan Szoke (CAN).
FIM Endurance World Championship at Oschersleben, Germany.
The fourth race of the 2017/18 season in the FIM Endurance World
Championship (EWC) took place as part of the “German Speedweek” at
Oschersleben (GER). A total of five BMW teams took part in the
eight-hour race. The NRT48 – BMW Motorrad (#48) team of Kenny Foray
(FRA), Stefan Kerschbaumer (AUT) and Lucy Glöckner (GER) missed out on
the podium by just one place. The team gave a strong performance to
claim fourth place in their home race. The #21 BMW S 1000 RR of
Mercury Racing, ridden by Karel Hanika, Jakub Smrz (both CZE) and
Sylvain Barrier (FRA) crossed the line in 14th position. Filip
Altendorfer and Rico Löwe (both GER) attempted a major feat on the
E.INFRA GERT56 by RS Speedbikes team#56 RR: after their team-mate
Christof Höfer was injured in a qualifying crash, the two riders
shared duties between them, despite soaring temperatures. However, an
incident in the final hour of the race saw them forced to retire.
MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship at Brno, Czech Republic.
The appearance of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship in the
Czech city of Brno began promisingly for Loris Baz (FRA) and the Gulf
Althea BMW Team. The French rider completed Friday’s first practice
session in second place, despite the wet conditions. Baz was in good
form when the weather dried up as well, qualifying straight into
Superpole 2. He then started Saturday’s first race from eighth place.
However, a crash on the twelfth lap saw his hopes of a good result
evaporate. Baz was able to continue but had to be content with 18th
position. He then secured eleventh place in Sunday’s race.
FIM Superstock 1000 European Championship at Brno, Czech Republic.
The fifth race of the FIM Superstock 1000 European Championship
(STK1000) season took place as part of the WorldSBK weekend in Brno
(CZE). Markus Reiterberger (GER / alpha Racing-Van-Zon-BMW) had
dominated Friday’s practice session and secured pole position with a
new lap record in qualifying on Saturday. It was a wet-weather race on
Sunday – and this time, another BMW rider was celebrating. Alessandro
Delbianco (ITA) from the Gulf Althea BMW Team claimed second place,
his first podium finish of the season. Reiterberger crossed the line
in fourth position. The top ten also included Roberto Tamburini (ITA /
Berclaz Racing Team), who finished in eighth place. Reiterberger still
tops the championship standings, nine points ahead of second-placed
Maximilian Scheib (CHI). Tamburini is third.
Alessandro Delbianco: “The race went really well.
We’d have completed a solid race in dry conditions too I think, but
the wet definitely helped us today. I’m really pleased with the result
and thank the team for all their great work this weekend. I’m very
happy and hope we can continue like this.”
Markus Reiterberger: “I slid quite badly in the
second turn and nearly fell. I was just able to catch it and then I
was in second or third for most of the race. I closed the gap to the
leaders at the halfway point, but I had some problems towards the end.
Fourth place in the rain is OK though, and now we know how to set the
bike up for rain to make sure it works better for me. All in all, it
was a positive weekend and I am happy with the work we put in. It’s
just a shame we weren’t rewarded as well as we’d have liked.”
International German Championship at Oschersleben, Germany.
The second race weekend of the season for the SBK1000 class in the
International German Championship (IDM) took place at Oschersleben
(GER) as part of the “German Speedweek”. The BMW drivers celebrated a
top-three lock-out on Saturday. The dominant man of the weekend was
Ilya Mikhalchik (UKR) from the alpha-Racing-Van-Zon-BMW team. He
secured pole position, won both races and grabbed the lead in the championship.
In Saturday’s first race, Bastien Mackels (BEL / Wilbers BMW Racing)
finished second and Mikhalchiks team-mate Julian Puffe (GER) finished
third to complete a BMW podium. Mackels then finished third to claim
another podium in Sunday’s second race.
Canadian Superbike Championship at Grand Bend, Canada.
The BMW S 1000 RR remains the bike to beat in the Canadian Superbike
Championship (CSBK). BMW riders had celebrated a top-three lock-out at
the season-opener – now they have gone one better, recording a
top-four lock-out at the second race of the season at Grand Bend (CAN).
Out in front, record champion Jordan Szoke (CAN / Mopar Express Lane
BMW Superbike Team) and BMW brand team-mate Ben Young (CAN / Ben Young
Racing) put on a thrilling battle for the win. Young moved into the
lead during the final phase of the race, but Szoke made the most of
his extensive experience. In the final turn, a brave manoeuvre saw him
overtake Young and claim his next CSBK victory. Behind Szoke and
Young, third place went to BMW rider Samuel Trépanier (CAN / Blysk
Racing), while Michael Leon (CAN / Royal Distributing Racing Team)
completed the top-four lock-out for BMW.