Munich. The BMW road racers enjoyed another successful outing
at the Ulster Grand Prix in Northern Ireland. In the four races held
for 1000 cc bikes, Peter Hickman (GBR) claimed two wins and one
second place on his Smiths Racing BMW S 1000 RR, while Dan Kneen
(GBR / Tyco BMW Motorrad) also stepped onto the podium. The
International German Championship (IDM) was in action at Assen
(NED). Championship leader Markus Reiterberger (GER / Van Zon Remeha
BMW) had another perfect weekend, celebrating another double win.
His team-mate Danny De Boer (NED) secured second place on the
podium. The
MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship
(AMA) raced at the Sonoma Raceway (USA) where Sylvain Barrier (FRA)
claimed a top 6 result.
Ulster Grand Prix at the Dundrod Circuit, Northern Ireland.
The Ulster Grand Prix lived up to its reputation of being the
“World’s Fastest Road Race”. The 2017 running of the iconic event in
Northern Ireland saw new world records, one of them set by Peter
Hickman (GBR) on his Smiths Racing BMW S 1000 RR. Just a few days
after his first win of the season in the British Superbike
Championship (BSB), Hickman successfully switched to road racing. He
secured all pole positions and started the race action with a
brilliant performance in Thursday’s Dundrod 150 Superbike Race. He
took the win and, with an average speed of 134.210 mph, broke the
world record set last year by BMW road racer Ian Hutchinson (GBR).
This earned Hickman the title “World’s Fastest Road Racer” and a place
in the record books, but during the course of the race week the mark
was bettered by others (including Manxman Dan Kneen) and stands now at
134.614 mph. Kneen, who was in action for Tyco BMW Motorrad for the
first time, finished Thursday’s race in a strong fourth place.
Next on the schedule was the Superstock race on Saturday. Hickman
again secured the win and also set the fastest race lap. Kneen joined
him on the podium in third, while David Johnson (AUS / Fleetwood Grab
Services) was fourth. The first of the two Superbike races held on
Saturday saw a thrilling fight for the win. This time, Hickman was
second, only 0.272 seconds behind winner Bruce Anstey (GBR). Kneen
crossed the line in fourth. The second Superbike race on Saturday
evening rounded off this year’s Ulster Grand Prix. Hickman again was
in the lead, but unfortunately had to retire due to a technical issue.
In a fantastic battle, Kneen was fighting for the win to the very end.
He came home in second, just 0.106 seconds behind Dean Harrison (GBR).
In addition to his two wins in the 1000 cc categories, Hickman was
also victorious in the two 600 cc Supersport races. This success was
awarded with the trophy for the “Man of the Meeting” of this year’s
Ulster Grand Prix. As the Ulster GP is part of the BMW Combined Road
Race Challenge (BMW RRC), the results are counted towards the BMW
Motorrad Race Trophy.
Peter Hickman: “It’s been awesome and a massive
thanks to the team as everything’s been spot on throughout. I’m
obviously over the moon with the wins in what were extremely tough,
close races as is always the case at the Ulster GP. To win a race
here, you know you’ll have to fight all the way to the end and getting
a break is near impossible. I tried my best to make a getaway in all
of the races but it only really came off in the Superstock race when
there were a few damp patches. I led most of the laps in most of the
races and although we had a problem in the final race, we can’t be
disappointed at all.”
Dan Kneen: “In the first Superbike race on Saturday I
was confident I could run with Peter and I felt strong enough to do
so, but I ended up in an exchange with Dean Harrison and was happy
enough in the end despite losing out on a podium. The second Superbike
race was a bit different and I was challenging Peter when he retired,
and then it was nip-and-tuck with Dean on that last lap. All-in-all
I’m happy with how I performed on the Tyco BMW machinery this week and
I’d like to thank Hector and Philip Neill for the opportunity and the
boys in the team for a big effort.”
International German Championship at Assen, The Netherlands.
For its fourth round of the 2017 season, the International German
Championship (IDM) travelled to the iconic “TT Circuit” in Assen
(NED). On this track, also known as the “Cathedral of Speed”, Markus
Reiterberger (GER) continued his winning streak. The Van
Zon-Remeha-BMW team rider was fastest in all sessions and claimed
another commanding double win, crossing the line with advantages of 24
and ten seconds respectively.
In race one, two other BMW S 1000 RR riders claimed top ten results:
Jan Bühn (GER / Van Zon-Remeha-BMW) was fourth and Dominik Vincon (GER
/ BMW Stilgenbauer) tenth. In the second race, four RRs were within
the top five; Reiterberger’s team-mate and local hero Danny De Boer
(NED) was second on the podium, Vincent Lonbois (BEL / Herpigny Motors
– BMW Motorrad Belux) was fourth and Bühn fifth. In the championship
standings, Reiterberger extended his lead. His team-mates De Boer and
Bühn sit in second and third places of the standings. The next round
will be held this coming weekend in the support programme of the MOTUL
FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) at the Lausitzring (GER).
Reiterberger will compete in both series: with a wildcard in WorldSBK
and in the IDM.
Markus Reiterberger: “It was a great weekend with the
double win and 50 more points for the championship. I had a good start
in both races. In the first heat, I was of course happy with the
result. I was able to build a relatively big gap. I was, however, not
completely satisfied with my performance. I had quite a lot of
wheelspin. This improved a lot in race two as we made a significant
improvement with the set-up. I think we are well prepared for
Lausitzring next weekend. It won’t be easy with the double start in
WorldSBK and in the IDM, but I am really looking forward to it.”
MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship at
the Sonoma Raceway, USA.
The seventh round of the 2017 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road
Racing Championship (AMA) saw the BMW teams and the experts of BMW
Motorrad Motorsport in action at Sonoma Raceway (USA) in California at
the weekend. Sylvain Barrier claimed a top six result on his team
Brixx Performance BMW S 1000 RR. The Frenchman was sixth in race one.
In the second heat, Barrier crossed the line in eighth. Jason DiSalvo
(USA / Scheibe Racing / Hayes Brakes) finished the two races in tenth
and 11th respectively.