Estoril. Second race and a second podium finish for the BMW
Motorrad World Endurance Team and the new #37 BMW M 1000 RR in the
FIM Endurance World Championship 2021 (FIM EWC). In the, at times,
dramatic 12-hour race at Estoril (POR), Xavi Forés (ESP), Markus
Reiterberger (GER) and Kenny Foray (FRA) secured third place on the
podium as at the Le Mans (FRA) season opener. Once again they
battled their way back up the field impressively after a fall in the
opening stage forced the team right down the field to start with.
The podium finish was a fitting present for Team Manager Werner
Daemen’s 50th birthday.
Everything was going perfectly for the BMW Motorrad World Endurance
Team to begin with. Starting from second on the grid, Forés took the
lead after just a few minutes. The #37 M RR dropped back into second
place briefly after about 50 minutes, but was soon back in front.
Reiterberger then extended the lead but after almost two and a half
hours of racing Foray skidded while in the lead and fell. He returned
the #37 M RR to the pits and after a repair break lasting four and a
half minutes it was back to the race. The BMW Motorrad World Endurance
Team was temporarily in 20th place and trailing by four laps, but from
there the only way was up.
The rest of the race was turbulent at times, with various race
leaders dropping right down the field after falls or issues, but went
without a hitch for Forés, Reiterberger and Foray and they made up
place after place with fast lap times. Forés held the fastest lap time
of the whole field for quite some time. After five hours of racing
they had worked their way into the top ten. The trio was in sixth
place after seven hours, and moved up into fourth place soon after,
when two motorbikes in the leading pack collided. That was when the
BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team set about reducing the margin to the
top three.
In the final stage the race became something of a real sprint
thriller. Ninety minutes before the end the team leading at that time
developed a problem which put the podium within realistic reach of the
#37 M RR. When all the teams had completed their final pit stops 30
minutes before the chequered flag, Reiterberger, the closing rider,
was just ten seconds off the podium. He really went for it and set the
team’s fastest race lap in the final stint (just six-thousandths of a
second behind the fastest lap overall). Reiterberger closed the gap to
two seconds – and just a few minutes before the end of the race, the
rider in third place ended up in the gravel. That cleared the path to
third place and the second podium finish in a row. After 416 laps,
Reiterberger crossed the finish line in third place with the #37 M RR,
just 0.976 seconds behind second place.
The privateer BMW squad Team LRP Poland finished in 16th place. The
riders of the #90 BMW S 1000 RR were Nigel Walraven (NED), Stefan
Kerschbaumer (AUT) and Thomas Gradinger (AUT).
Quotes after the ‘12 Hours of Estoril’.
Marc Bongers, BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director:
“Congratulations to the whole team on another fantastic
performance. It was a real thriller and history repeated itself. It
was similar to Le Mans: leading shortly after the start, then a
setback, then moving up the field to finish on the podium. We weren’t
quite able to race at our pace in the first stint with the cool track
temperatures. Things went really well from the second stint and our
pace was definitely good enough to win. Unfortunately, Kenny fell and
we dropped down to P20. Everyone did a magnificent job in the ensuing
race to catch up. Our pace was really good down to the wire, but
realistically we wouldn’t have done better than P4 or P5. But the
other teams also experienced a few dramas, so the battle for P2 to P4
was really close in the end. We had to change the brakes, which was
planned, but the final two stints from Xavi and Markus were incredibly
strong so we really piled the pressure on the rider in third place. To
end up finishing in P3 less than one second behind second place –
after the fall at the beginning – we have to be pleased with that
result. We saw that we had the pace required to win. Now we are in a
very good starting position for the rest of the season, and our motto
for the Bol d’Or in September is ‘full attack’. After all, we are
still in with a chance of winning the world championship. We still
have some work to do, but have a very good team, a very good bike, and
the potential to become even better. I’d like to thank the team, they
did a fantastic job, were great in the pit stops, and I’m happy that
we could mark Werner Daemen’s 50th birthday by gifting him this podium.”
Werner Daemen, Team Manager BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team:
“What a big day. It was a very exciting day, to be honest.
I’m really enjoying my present now. It also was a very difficult day
with the crash and some small issues but in the end we got the podium
and I am really, really happy. I think the team again did a great job
and except for the crash, everything was perfect and we showed again
that we are among the top runners in the World Championship. I am sure
that soon we can reach the highest step of the podium.”
Markus Reiterberger: “Xavi did a great opening stint.
I took over being in the lead, was able to extend the gap again and
hand over the bike in the lead, too. Unfortunately, Kenny then fell.
Initially, that was a setback for us all but we kept our focus and
always said that we try to get the best out of it. 12 hours is not as
long as 24 hours but we still can achieve something. Xavi did really
strong lap times and I then was able, especially in my last stint, to
give my everything. The bike worked perfectly for me in cooler
conditions. I really pushed and if the race had lasted one lap more,
even second place would have been possible. But we made it to the
podium and that is the main thing. We are still in the mix in the
World Championship.”
Xavi Forés: “It was a very tough race. Honestly,
after the crash we could not expect to finish on the podium. But we
had a really good pace, the bike was working really well, so credit to
all the team that worked amazingly to fix the bike in a way that I
could get 1:39 times in all my stints. I am really happy with the
performance we had all weekend. We have shown that we are really
strong and as soon as we can complete the race with no mistakes or
issues we will be on the top step. Thank you to the entire team and to
Markus and Kenny; they did an amazing job. Now roll on Le Castellet in September.”
Kenny Foray: “First of all I want to apologise for my
crash. It was a small mistake but it what it is. I am very
disappointed about it because I think today it was possible to easily
win. The bike was perfect, the tyre, too, and the riders were strong.
Especially my team-mates were incredible. I love endurance for that;
you never give up and that we could make it to the podium was
fantastic. A big thank you to the team, thank you to Xavi and Markus,
because it was an incredible effort today.”