Munich. The first winner of the BMW Motorrad Race Trophy in
its debut year in 2014 was Markus Reiterberger. And this season the
young German repeated this success, and in doing so clinched another
first. Reiterberger was the first ever Race Trophy participant to
pick up the maximum of 500 points. This saw him crowned the best BMW
Motorrad privateer in the world once again in 2017. This time, the
23-year-old was dominant in a field of a total of 159 Race Trophy
participants from 26 different nations.
Reiterberger started the 2017 season in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World
Championship (WorldSBK), in which he has been a regular rider since
2016. But he didn’t have the start to the season he had hoped for in
the elite class. So Reiterberger made a decision: He quit the world
championship to join his previous Van Zon-Remeha-BMW Superbike team
and contest the German International Motorcycle Championship (IDM)
instead. In team principal Werner Daemen’s squad he found his former
strength, dominated the season and clinched his third IDM championship
title with four races to go.
And he enjoyed other successes: At the race weekend at the
Lausitzring (GER) he returned to the world championship with a
wildcard and finished in ninth place. In the FIM Endurance World
Championship (EWC) he finished in second place on the podium at the
legendary 24-hour race Bol d’Or in France, in action for BMW Motorrad
Penz13.com. He also made a guest appearance in the FIM Superstock 1000
European Championship (STK1000) at the season finale in Jerez (ESP) –
and dominated with pole position, a new lap record and race victory.
Next season Reiterberger will contest the STK1000 as a regular starter
for Van Zon-Remeha-BMW.
In an interview, the young German talks about his second BMW Motorrad
Race Trophy win, his 2017 season and his goals for next year.
Markus, congratulations. In its debut year in 2014 you won the
BMW Motorrad Race Trophy, and now you’ve won it again – this time
with the maximum number of points possible. What does this mean to you?
Markus Reiterberger: “It means a great deal to me. It was fantastic
to be the first Race Trophy winner in 2014. I’m over the moon that now
I am the first to get the maximum number of points. At the start of
the season I didn’t think things would go so well. I am more than
satisfied. As every year, it was great to be at the awards ceremony.
This time we were given a tour of the BMW Motorrad factory in Berlin.
It was really interesting to see how the series vehicles and the new
HP4 Race are manufactured. It was also great to meet up with the other
BMW racers from around the world again. I hope that I will be able to
attend again next year.”
The season didn’t get off to an ideal start for you, then you
decided to return to the IDM. With hindsight, did this prove to be
the right decision?
Reiterberger: “It was a really difficult time. Naturally, it is every
racer’s dream to contest the world championship. It took me a long
time to get there. It wasn’t easy to then risk taking a step back. But
now it’s fair to say that it was the only real solution. We won the
championship title in the IDM, finished on the podium in second place
in the world endurance championship, finished in the top 10 in a World
Superbike Championship race and won on our guest appearance in the FIM
Superstock 1000 European Championship- The season really turned out
positive. I am as good as before, if not better, and I hope that we
will get the opportunity to compete at a higher level.”
Your motto is “Only teamwork makes the dream work”. How is
that reflected in your team?
Reiterberger: “Yes, I had this motto printed on my pit wall in
spring. I had always appreciated what I had with Werner Daemen’s team,
but it only really became clear to me this season. It is not only the
team, but everyone around me that has helped me. The team, sponsors,
family, friends – everyone supported me. Which is how together we made
it back to where we belong.”
Next season you will contest the FIM Superstock 1000 European
Championship. What is your objective?
Reiterberger: “After the fantastic guest appearance in Jerez this
autumn, naturally our aim is to be up there at the front and battling
for the title. We might even have the opportunity to contest the world
championship with a wildcard again. And we will give it our all with
the hope of being promoted to the world championship in 2019.”