Sepang. Second race, second podium for the BMW Motorrad World
Endurance Team in the FIM Endurance World Championship (FIM EWC):
Ilya Mikhalchik (UKR) and Markus Reiterberger (GER) secured third
place at the “Sepang 8 Hours” (MAS) with the #37 BMW S 1000 RR.
Heavy rain forced Saturday’s race at the “Sepang International
Circuit” to be reduced from eight to three hours. The newly
established BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team is in second place in
the overall standings of the World Championship after two races of
the season.
Team manager Werner Daemen’s (BEL) team qualified in fifth for the
second round of the 2019/20 season of the FIM EWC. Mikhalchik and
Reiterberger took it in turns on the saddle of the #37 RR. Their
team-mate Kenny Foray (FRA) injured himself when he fell during a
practice session on Wednesday, and was unable to take part in the
remainder of the race weekend.
The race in Sepang turned into a test of patience for everyone
involved. The race was scheduled to start at 13:00 local time, but
hours of heavy rain made it impossible to stick to the published
schedule. The race started later than planned and behind the safety
car, but was red-flagged after just a few laps. The conditions only
improved at around 18:00 local time, enabling the race to be completed
with a reduced duration of around three hours.
Mikhalchik and Reiterberger initially rode in fifth place, but a
flawless performance saw them move up into third place during the
course of the race. The BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team maintained
this podium position down to the finish line.
Privateer team BMW Sepang Racing finished in eighth place. Azlan Shah
Kamarazuman (MAS), Adam Norrodin (MAS) and Julien Da Costa (FRA) took
it in turns on the saddle of the #48 BMW S 1000 RR. Two BMW teams
secured spots on the podium in the Superstock class. Second place went
to GERT56 by GS YUASA with Stefan Kerschbaumer (AUT), Lucy Glöckner
(GER) and Pepijn Bijsterbosch (NED). The #56 RR finished in 14th place
in the overall rankings. Hoshino Tomoya, Kokoro Atsumi and Takeshi
Ishizuka (all JPN) finished third in the Superstock class on the #80
RR of TONE RT SYNCEDGE 4413 BMW (15th overall).
The third round of the FIM EWC 2019/20 is scheduled for 18th/19th
April 2020: the 24 Hours of Le Mans (FRA).
Quotes after the “Sepang 8 Hours”.
Marc Bongers, BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director: “The
second podium in our second race in the FIM EWC – this is a fantastic
result for our new BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team. We couldn’t have
necessarily expected this as newcomers in this highly competitive
World Championship. The team and our riders Ilya and Markus weren’t
distracted by the adverse conditions. They did yet another fantastic,
flawless job on the track and in the pit. On this occasion, I also
want to send a get well soon message to Kenny, who surely will be back
with us soon. Of course, we would have liked to get more riding in to
gain more experience in race conditions with our RR, but it wasn’t
possible in this weather. Now we will keep focussing on preparing for
the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Congratulations go to our BMW customer teams
as well, who also got strong results with their RR.”
Werner Daemen, Team Manager BMW Motorrad World Endurance
Team: “I’m a very proud team manager today. It’s a shame that
Kenny wasn’t able to take part, but Ilya and Markus did a really great
job as a duo. The conditions on the wet track were very treacherous,
and the day wasn’t easy overall. But the whole team did a really great
job. And the pit stops were world class. Now we’re hoping for a
similarly strong result in the next race in Le Mans.”
Ilya Mikhalchik: “First of all I want to say get well
soon to our third rider Kenny, who unfortunately got injured in
practice, and I hope that we will be back together soon, because it’s
a team sport and it’s important to have the entire team together.
Overall I’m, of course, really happy with the race. We have been
strong in all conditions. At the beginning of the race, there was a
lot of water on the track and I think that everyone was a bit scared
of that. But everyone adapted and, while it was difficult in the early
stages, it became better with every lap. Also the grip was there then.
We did not quite have the pace of the winners, but we were very
constant on every lap and this was important. I could have pushed
more, but it was risky and it was our strategy to ride more
consistently. This paid off, this was our target and we did our job.
We are very happy to be on the podium and thanks a lot to my team. We
did this together.”
Markus Reiterberger: “I am really happy to be back in
endurance racing. It was a pity that Kenny was injured and I wish him
a speedy recovery. We had to do today’s race with two riders. In the
end it was only three hours. We decided that Ilya would ride at the
start and he did a really good job. I’m really happy with how
qualifying and the race went. I still had to adapt to the Dunlop tyres
that were new for me, but the team did a really good job and I felt
very comfortable on the bike. My race pace was not quite as fast as I
had hoped for, but in the end it was more important not to crash and
to bring home the result. Ilya did a great last stint, we secured
third place and I think this is a really good team achievement.”