Munich. Last week and at the weekend, BMW racers were in
action on the Isle of Man, in Spain and France. On the Isle of Man,
Rob Hodson (GBR) won the opening race in the Southern 100. The
Spanish Championship (RFME CEV) headed to MotorLand Aragón (ESP),
where Carmelo Morales (ESP) clinched his third win of the season.
Pau (FRA) played host to the French Superbike Championship (FSBK)
and the French European Bikes Championship (FR EU). FSBK champion
Kenny Foray (FRA) and FR-EU reigning champion Florian
Brunet-Lugardon (FRA) both finished in second place in their races.
Southern 100 on the Isle of Man.
One month after the Tourist Trophy, road racers reunited on the Isle
of Man for the Southern 100. A total of five races were on the
schedule for the BMW S 1000 RR racers: the two Corlett’s Trophies
races on Tuesday, the Ellan Vanin Fuels Senior Race on Wednesday, and
the Island Aggregates Superbike Race and the Hunts Motorcycles Solo
Championship Race on Thursday. The Southern 100 is part of the BMW
Combined Road Race Challenge (BMW RRC), meaning that the results will
be classified for the BMW Motorrad Race Trophy.
The very first race saw BMW racers secure a win and another podium.
Rob Hodson (GBR) won the Corlett’s Trophies Race 1A while Michael
Evans (GBR) finished in third place. In the following Corlett’s
Trophies Race 1B, Dennis Booth (GBR) finished on the podium in third
place. Also finishing in the top eight, Eric Wilson (GBR) crossed the
finish line in sixth place with Jean-Pierre Polet (BEL) in eighth.
In the Ellan Vanin Fuels Senior Race, Hodson was the best BMW
finisher in sixth place. He was followed by Ryan Kneen (GBR) and Mark
Parrett (GBR) in seventh and eighth places. Hodson was also the best
RR rider in the Island Aggregates Superbike Race, this time finishing
fourth. Evans crossed the finish line in fifth place, while Sam West
(GBR) and Kneen finished in seventh and eighth place. In the last of
the 1000cc races, the Hunts Motorcycles Solo Championship Race, Evans,
in fifth, was the best-placed BMW rider. This time, Kneen finished in
sixth and West was eighth.
The Southern 100 was overshadowed by a tragic death: Britain’s James
Cowton was fatally injured in a serious accident in the 600cc
Challenge Race. The BMW Motorrad Motorsport Community would like to
extend their heartfelt condolences to his family, friends and team.
Spanish Championship at Alcañiz, Spain.
MotorLand Aragón near Alcañiz (ESP) hosted the fourth round of the
2018 Spanish Championship (RFME CEV) – and was the setting for
reigning champion Carmelo Morales’ (ESP) third win of the season. Two
races in the 1000cc class were held at the modern racetrack in
northern Spain at the weekend.
In the thrilling first race on Saturday, Morales was first to cross
the finish line on his Graphenano EasyRace SBK Team BMW S 1000 RR.
Fourth place went to Pedro Rodriguez (ESP / Castromaroto Racing). In
race two on Sunday, Morales finished in fourth place and Rodriguez was
sixth. Julian Miralles (ESP / Graphenano EasyRace SBK Team) secured
first and second place in the Open class (twelfth and tenth place in
the overall standings). Morales maintains his lead in the championship standings.
Carmelo Morales: “I was very pleased with the win on
Saturday as we had issues in the practice session which set us back in
terms of tuning. Fortunately, everything was ok after that and we won
the first race. The bike was perfect, and the tyres performed
perfectly throughout the race. Race two was clinched at the end, and
my rivals on soft tyres were faster which is why I wasn’t able to
fight for the win, but fourth place is important for the championship.
Overall, we are positive since we got a win and maintained the lead in
the championship.”
French Superbike Championship at Pau, France.
The French Superbike Championship (FSBK) stopped off at Pau (FRA) for
the fifth round of the 2018 season at the weekend. The two races on
Sunday turned out to be real thrillers. Reigning champion Kenny Foray
(FRA), of the Tecmas Racing Team, finished in second place on the
podium in both races. In race one, he was just 0.257 seconds behind
winner Jeremy Guarnoni (FRA), while in the second race it was 0.862
seconds. Foray is currently second in the championship standings.
His team-mate Maxime Bonnot (FRA) finished in second and third place
in the Superbike Challenger class (SBK Ch). This saw Bonnot claim
tenth and eleventh place in the overall standings.
Kenny Foray: “We had another good weekend. In
qualifying, we secured second place on the grid for race one and third
for race two. Then, in the races we got two second-places. It was
difficult to overtake here, and the pace of the races was extremely
fast. I gave it my all, but it wasn’t enough to get the win, but I am
happy, because it wasn’t possible to do better. We will keep fighting
and are now fully focussed on round six of the season in Carole.”
French European Bikes Championship in Pau, France.
As part of the FSBK weekend in Pau (FRA), the French European Bikes
Championship (FR EU) also held their fifth round of the season and BMW
riders secured a total of four podiums. Reigning champion Florian
Brunet-Lugardon (FRA / Gers Moto Vitesse Ordannaise) finished second
in both races. In the first race on Saturday, Jonathan Germany (FRA)
also finished on the podium, in third place, followed by Alexandre
Leleu, Léo Challamel and Hernani Teixeira (all FRA) in fourth to sixth
place. In the race on Sunday, Challamel finished third behind
Brunet-Lugardon. Julien Brun (FRA) finished in fifth place, Teixeira
was seventh. Brunet-Lugardon still leads the championship standings.
He has a lead of 34 points over his nearest challenger, with four
races to go.