The 2017 British Superbike Championship kicks off with four podium finishes for the BMW S 1000 RR racers.

Munich. The members of the BMW Motorrad Motorsport family, the
riders, teams and engineers from Munich, have been in action in
Spain and Great Britain this weekend. Spanish MotorLand Aragón
hosted the third round of the 2017 MOTUL FIM Superbike World
Championship (WorldSBK) and the season opener of the new FIM
Superstock 1000 European Championship (STK1000). At Britain’s
Donington Park, the British Superbike Championship (BSB) 2017 season
started with four podium finishes and more great results for the BMW
S 1000 RR racers. In all three series, the 2017 BMW Motorrad Race
Trophy riders collected important points for the standings in this
unique competition.

 

 

MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship in Alcañiz, Spain.

 

After the overseas races in Australia and Thailand, the MOTUL FIM
Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) has returned to Europe. The
third round of the 2017 season was held at MotorLand Aragón near
Alcañiz in the north-east of Spain.

 

Althea BMW Racing Team rider Jordi Torres (ESP) qualified sixth on
the grid for Saturday’s race. He dropped a few positions at the start
but fought his way back towards the front and crossed the line in
sixth position. According to the new regulations, the result meant
third on the front row for Sunday’s race. In the turmoil of the start
– with the highest placed riders from race one pushing from behind –
the Spaniard lost positions. But repeating his feat of Saturday,
Torres overtook several opponents, finishing seventh in race two.

 

His Althea BMW Racing team-mate Markus Reiterberger (GER) had bad
luck in Saturday’s Superpole 1 when he crashed with only a few minutes
to go. He had qualified 13th on the grid, but his bike was
damaged. The last minute repairs in the short time available forced
him to start Saturday’s race from the back. The German made a great
come-back on his BMW S 1000 RR and came home in 12th
position. In Sunday’s race, Reiterberger was 16th.

 

Jordi Torres: “We finish this weekend with a good
feeling because this is a very difficult track. For me it was a
special weekend as we returned to Europe and it was my home round. We
all gave our best and also the support of the BMW Motorrad Motorsport
engineers was very helpful. Unfortunately the start in both races was
not the best and we were not too competitive in the first laps. But
lap by lap we found our rhythm and I was able to overtake a lot of
riders and to catch up again. That was good and important. The whole
team worked very well and we did not have any problems with our BMW S
1000 RR, so it was good.”

 

Markus Reiterberger: “The weekend was a bit difficult
for me. We started pretty well on Friday, were competitive and made
good steps in the right direction. Especially on Saturday morning, my
BMW S 1000 RR felt good. In Superpole 1, I was lying in third for most
of the time and went out for another fast lap to further improve my
time. In any case I would have had the pace for Superpole 2 but
unfortunately I fell – probably because of a cold front tyre. During
the outlap, several riders had tried to stay at my rear wheel in order
to achieve a decent lap time. I had to get rid of them all and also to
wait for a clear track. The other riders who also waited crashed in
the same corner as well. It was a pity that this prevented me from
qualifying for Superole 2 as I am convinced that a position in the top
10 on the grid would have been possible. Starting from the very back,
I still managed to improve to 12th in Saturday’s race,
which was okay. Sunday’s race was a bit more difficult. The wind was
much stronger and we opted for a different rear tyre. That turned out
to be the better choice for the opening laps but as the race went on,
I started to struggle a bit, could not turn the bike properly and
develop a feeling for the bike. Now we will do some testing and I hope
that we will find the way into the right direction.”

 

 

FIM Superstock 1000 European Championship in Alcañiz, Spain.

 

At MotorLand Aragon (ESP), the BMW teams and the engineers of BMW
Motorrad Motorsport kicked off the season in the new FIM Superstock
1000 European Championship (STK1000) that replaces the former FIM
Superstock 1000 Cup. No fewer than eight BMW S 1000 RR riders took to
the track in the first race of the season. The highest-placed among
them was Marco Faccani (ITA) of the Althea BMW Racing Team. He crossed
the line in fifth on his RR. Points also went to Sébastien Suchet (SUI
/ Berclaz Racing Team) and the young German Julian Puffe (MF84 Althea)
who finished the race in 13th and 14th
respectively. Another new member in the BMW family is former Grand
Prix and WorldSBK rider Federico Sandi (ITA), who competes for the
Berclaz Racing Team. After a successful test with his BMW S 1000 RR,
he aimed for a top result but bad luck prevented him from
demonstrating his skills and performance.

 

Marco Faccani: “I can be pleased with today’s result,
we came home in fifth and have scored some points, which was important
considering I still have some shoulder pain after a previous injury.
I’ve got to know the bike better and think we’ve done a good job,
improving session by session. In the race, we perhaps didn’t have the
pace that we had in practice but I’m nevertheless pleased with fifth,
and will be doing my best to improve on this during the next rounds.”

 

Julian Puffe: “My start wasn’t bad but another rider
cut my line at the first corner and I lost a lot of places. I then
found it hard to build up a rhythm and made a few mistakes but lap by
lap things improved and in the end, I finished fourteenth. For my
first race that’s OK but I’m sure we can do much better, as the team
and bike are working well. We will work to improve and get faster step
by step, starting from Assen…”

 

Federico Sandi: “I was pretty happy with the set-up
solution we found during the warm-up. Unfortunately I had a small
problem at the start, when the bike stopped briefly after 50 or 60
metres. This cost me a few positions but I was able to pass several
riders and after three laps I was behind the guys that eventually
finished in the top positions. But then all of a sudden my rear wheel
locked and I crashed. We still have to analyse why this happened. For
sure I am a disappointed because the potential for me and the team is
very, very high. We can fight at the very front but this time we go
home empty handed. It is a pity, but I am sure that in Assen we can
improve with another step forward with the electronics and also with
the engine. I will do my best there and push to fight at the front. I
like the BMW S 1000 RR a lot. It is fast but we still have some work
to do. The weekend did not finish well but we will try with a clean
sheet in Assen.”

 

 

British Superbike Championship in Donington, Great Britain.

 

The long winter has also come to an end in the British Superbike
Championship (BSB). For the 2017 curtain raiser, the BMW teams and BMW
Motorrad Motorsport experts travelled to Donington Park (GBR) – and
kicked off the season with two podium finishes for the BMW S 1000 RR.

 

In the first of the two races in the Superbike class (BSB SBK), Tyco
BMW rider Christian Iddon (GBR) finished third on the rostrum with his
RR. He was immediately followed by Peter Hickman (GBR / Smiths Racing)
in fourth. Davide Giugliano (ITA) finished his first race on the Tyco
BMW S 1000 RR in 13th and Jakub Smrz (CZE / Lloyd
Jones PR Racing) also collected points, crossing the line in
14th. In race two, Iddon missed out the podium by just a
few tenths of a second, coming home in fourth. Hickman and Giugliano
were eighth and ninth respectively. Smrz completed the points
positions in 15th.

 

Christian Iddon: “It’s a good solid start to the
season for us and a great reward for the team and the boys in the
garage as I’ve given them a tough few weeks. I’m pleased to start the
season with a podium finish for Tyco BMW and give all our sponsors a
good showing. We still have work to do to bridge that gap to the front
guys, but it’s very achievable and I can leave round one with a lot of confidence.”

 

Davide Giugliano: “Some of the racing was a bit of a
surprise and a few of the guys got very close, but that is okay. I’ve
learned a lot about the championship today and also the Tyco BMW, so
we can go to the next round and show a little bit more of my own style
and I will also not be afraid to make some good passes on my Tyco BMW
S 1000 RR.”

 

In the Superstock class (BSB STK) all three races this weekend saw a
BMW S 1000 RR rider on the podium as well as several BMW racers in the
top 8.

 

Race one and two on Saturday were combined to an “endurance race”. In
both legs, 18 laps were completed and half points were awarded on both
occasions. After race one, the teams had ten minutes in the pit lane
to change tyres, refuel and prepare the bikes for the second part.
Michael Rutter (GBR / Bathams SMT) rode his RR to third on the first
podium, with Chrissy Rouse (GBR / Mission Racing) following in fourth.
Tom Tunstall (GBR / Integro) was sixth. In race two, Rutter and Rouse
again finished third and fourth. Ian Hutchinson (GBR) raced to fifth
on his Tyco BMW S 1000 RR after starting from 30th on the
back of the grid. Ashley Beech (GBR / Jones Dorling Racing) was seventh.

 

Sunday’s third race was to the usual format and this time it was
Hutchinson’s turn to step onto the podium in third. In this nail
biting thriller, he crossed the line only 0.5 seconds behind the
winner. Rutter and Rouse followed on their RRs in fourth and fifth
place. Adam Jenkinson (GBR / Northern Escalator Instrallations) was seventh.

 

Ian Hutchinson: “Not a perfect weekend by any means
but I probably passed more riders in that race on Saturday than I have
done in the best part of a season before. In Sunday’s race we grabbed
a podium, which is always my goal for a weekend, but we want to be
winning races and pushing hard with a championship challenge. The Tyco
BMW S 1000 RR has plenty of potential again this year and I’m looking
forward to the next few rounds before the road racing season starts.”