Munich. BMW racers have extended their 2018 success by four
wins and a total of 13 podium finishes at the weekend. In the
British Superbike Championship (BSB) Superstock race at Oulton Park
(GBR), Keith Farmer (GBR) celebrated his first win of the season,
Chrissy Rouse (GBR) was third. At the International Road Racing
Championship (IRRC) season-opener at Dutch Hengelo, Danny Webb
(GBR), Didier Grams (GER) and Erno Kostamo (FIN) raced onto the
rostrum. The 2018 season in the Alpe Adria Road Racing Championship
(AARR) kicked off with a double win for Michal Filla (CZE) and
podium finishes for Arnaud Friedrich (GER) and Karel Hanika (CZE) at
the Slovakiaring (SVK). Luca Salvadori (ITA) raced onto the podium
in the Italian National Trophy 1000 (INT). In the MotoAmerica,
Travis Wyman (USA) enjoyed a perfect weekend at the VIRginia
International Raceway (USA).
British Superbike Championship at Oulton Park, Great Britain.
The first Monday in May is a public holiday in Great Britain – and
thus the ideal day for Oulton Park (GBR) to host the British Superbike
Championship (BSB). Race one of the Superbike class (BSB SBK) was
dominated by a number of crashes. Unfortunately, BMW riders Michael
Laverty (GBR / Tyco BMW Motorrad) and Peter Hickman (GBR / Smiths
Racing) were among those to crash out. The best-placed BMW rider was
Jakub Smrz (CZE) from the Lloyd Jones Bowker Motorrad team.
In race two, Hickman was the best BMW rider, finishing
11th. Laverty fought his way up to 13th after
starting from 27th on the grid and secured important
championship points. Laverty’s teammate, Christian Iddon (GBR), was
unable to take part in the races following a big crash in practice, in
which he fractured his hand in several places.
Peter Hickman: “The bike’s good and we’ve got good
pace in practice and qualifying but when it comes to race day, nothing
seems to be coming together at the same time. I’ve had two crashes
this weekend, which isn’t like me, and neither were my fault, but
they’ve obviously knocked my confidence. It was affecting me in the
second race and I had a few slides which saw me drop back but I kept
plugging away and put in my fastest lap towards the end to at least
salvage a result from the weekend.”
In the Superstock (BSB STK) race, Tyco BMW Motorrad rider Keith
Farmer claimed his first win of the season. He had started from pole
position and emerged victorious from a thrilling three-way battle to
take the top spot on the podium. Chrissy Rouse (GBR /
Quinnstheprinters.com BMW) came home third, just 0.9 seconds behind
Farmer. Alex Olsen (GBR / ASTRO – JJR Racing) was fourth.
Keith Farmer: “It was great to get pole position in
qualifying but after a small mistake on the start we dropped back a
bit, but I had a good pace and was enjoying riding the bike. I managed
to get to the front and take our first race win of the season.
Hopefully we can fire off more wins. A massive thank you to the whole
Tyco BMW team – from the mechanics to the hospitality. I’m mega happy
with the whole weekend.”
International Road Racing Championship at Hengelo, Netherlands.
The International Road Racing Championship (IRRC) kicked off the 2018
season at Hengelo, in the Netherlands. Over the course of the two
races, the BMW riders claimed a total of four podium finishes and
twelve top-ten results. Danny Webb (GBR) finished runner-up in both
races on his BMW S 1000 RR, run by the Wepol Racing by Penz 13 team.
As the two victories went to guest starter Nigel Walraven (NED), who
is not competing in the championship, Webb picked up the maximum 25
points towards the overall standings both times.
Didier Grams (GER / GG Motorsport by BMW Motorrad) finished
third in race one to join Webb on the podium. Marek Červený (CZE /
Wepol Racing by Penz 13) came home fourth, ahead of Erno Kostamo (FIN
/ Markka Racing) in fifth. They were followed home in seventh and
eighth place by Jamie Coward (GBR / Wepol Racing by Penz 13) and Kamil
Holan (CZE / Mc Race). In race two, Kostamo took third place with
Červený once again just outside the podium positions in fourth. Coward
was sixth this time, while Holan finished eighth and Grams tenth.
Alpe Adria Road Racing Championship at the Slovakiaring, Slovakia.
The Slovakiaring near Bratislava (SVK) hosted the opening round of
the 2018 Alpe Adria Road Racing Championship (AARR). The Superbike
class (AARR SBK) produced one podium finish for the BMW S 1000 RR:
Karel Hanika (CZE) from the Mercury Racing team finished runner-up in
race two. He also set the fastest race lap. The Czech rider had
previously finished fourth in the opening race. The next-best BMW
racer in the Superbike class was Christopher Kemmer (AUT / Bertl K.
Racing Team), who came home sixth and fifth. Hanika’s team-mate Matej
Smrz (CZE) was eighth in both races.
In the Superstock class (AARR STK), BMW rider Michal Filla (CZE / BMW
Sikora Motorsport) and Arnaud Friedrich (GER / Team LRP Poland) twice
made it a BMW one-two. Filla won both races, setting the fastest lap
time in each. Friedrich, who is contesting his first season in the
AARR, twice finished as runner-up. Defending champion Michal Prášek
(CZE / Rohac and Fejta Motoracing Team) came home fourth in both races.
Italian Superbike Championship at Mugello, Italy.
The Italian Superbike Championship (CIV) was at Mugello (ITA), in
Tuscany, at the weekend. The best-placed BMW rider was Luca Vitali
(ITA / DMR Racing), who finished both races in fifth place. His
team-mate Axel Bassani (ITA) was eighth and sixth. Christian Gamarino
(ITA / Tutapista Corse) twice finished seventh.
Italian National Trophy 1000 at Mugello, Italy.
Mugello (ITA) also hosted round two of the 2018 Italian National
Trophy 1000 (INT). After a one-two on the opening weekend, the BMW S
1000 RR was back on the podium in third place, courtesy of Luca
Salvadori (ITA). Federico D’Annunzio (ITA) who finished fourth, just
0.187 seconds outside the podium places.
MotoAmerica at the VIRginia International Raceway, USA.
BMW rider Travis Wyman (USA / Weir Everywhere Racing) claimed his
second Superstock win of the season in race two of this season’s
MotoAmerica series (MA STK). Wyman enjoyed a perfect weekend at the
VIRginia International Raceway (USA) by securing pole position,
setting the fastest lap time, and winning the race with a lead of over
ten seconds. Timothy Bermisderfer (USA / Big’un Motorsports) finished sixth.
Two Superbike races (MA SBK) were held at the weekend, with BMW rider
Danny Eslick (USA / Scheibe Racing) finishing eighth and seventh.