Munich. The BMW Motorrad Motorsport racers continue to pick up
titles on a weekly basis. Tyco BMW rider Keith Farmer (GBR) was
crowned champion of the British Superbike Championship Superstock
class (BSB STK) at the weekend. This is the ninth title overall for
the BMW Motorrad Motorsport community this season. In the Superbike
class (BSB SBK), Peter Hickman (GBR) in fifth place overall was the
best BMW rider. The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship
(WorldSBK) made its first appearance in Argentina this weekend and
in the Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK), BMW rider Ted
Collins (AUS) ended the season as “Rookie of the Year”.
British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch, Great Britain.
The finale of the 2018 British Superbike Championship (BSB) ended
with a title win for the BMW S 1000 RR. In the Superstock class (BSB
STK), Tyco BMW rider Keith Farmer (GBR) was crowned champion without
even finishing the final race of the year having retired in wet,
difficult conditions. He had started the final race as championship
leader with an advantage of 10.5 points, which was ultimately enough
to claim the title, as his closest rival Billy McConnell also retired.
Farmer took a total of four wins this season.
Although the new champion didn’t see the chequered flag, his fellow
BMW riders brought home a one-two-three result at the finale. Taylor
MacKenzie (GBR) was victorious on the Bathams Racing RR, Alex Olsen
(GBR / ASTRO – JJR Racing) finished second, and Michael Rutter (GBR /
Bathams Racing) secured the third spot on the podium.
Keith Farmer: “It’s been emotional . . . when we got
the board to say that Billy was out, I lost all concentration and went
into the second turn 40mph too fast probably and lost the front! We
came to win the championship and that’s what we have done. It’s nice
to be able to reward the hard-working Tyco BMW team with a fourth
British Championship win. It’s also my fourth British Championship
title; they don’t get any less meaningful by any means, but the one I
want next is the Superbike title – so that’s the goal next year. Thank
you to the whole Tyco BMW team and sponsors for their continued hard
work and support, along with my personal sponsors, without whom I
would not be where I am today.”
Three Superbike class (BSB SBK) races were scheduled for the final
weekend, one on Saturday and two on Sunday. Peter Hickman (GBR /
Smiths Racing) crossed the finish line in fifth, sixth and ninth place
respectively. In the championship standings, Hickman, in fifth place
overall, is the best-placed BMW rider. Christian Iddon (GBR / Tyco
BMW) clinched a fifth and a fourth place in the wet races on Sunday
but had retired in Saturday’s heat. His team-mate Michael Laverty
(GBR) recorded a tenth place on Saturday but did not finish Sunday’s races.
MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship at San Juan, Argentina.
The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) broke new
ground at the weekend when the world championship made its first
appearance in Argentina. The brand new “Circuito San Juan Villicum” in
the west of the country hosted the penultimate event of the 2018
season. The new track was inaugurated with the WorldSBK races.
Loris Baz (FRA), of the Gulf Althea BMW Team, finished the first of
the two Argentinian races in ninth place. In race two on Sunday, the
Frenchman crossed the finish line in eleventh place.
Australian Superbike Championship at Phillip Island, Australia.
The 2018 season finale of the Australian Superbike Championship
(ASBK) took place at the famous “Phillip Island Circuit” to the
south-east of Melbourne (AUS). In the first of the two races on
Sunday, NextGen Motorsports team’s Glenn Allerton (AUS), back in
action on the BMW S 1000 RR after an injury break, finished in fourth
place. His young team-mate, rookie Ted Collins (AUS), finished
seventh. In race two, 19-year-old Collins recorded his best ASBK
result to date, crossing the finish line in fourth place. Allerton
retired from the race. Collins ended the season with an award, being
crowned “Rookie of the Year.”