BMW secures IDM title with races to spare.

BMW opens up an unassailable lead at the top of the Manufacturers’ Standings in the International German Motorcycle Championship in Schleiz.

Munich/Schleiz, 6th August 2012. BMW has successfully defended its title in the International German Motorcycle Championship (IDM) with races to spare. Following the races at the Schleizer Dreieck (GER), BMW now leads the Manufacturers’ Championship in the fiercely competitive IDM Superbike category by 304 points, meaning it can no longer be overtaken, regardless of the results at the remaining two race weekends of the 2012 season. The BMW S 1000 RR has proven to be the bike to beat this year. Right from the first race weekend, the BMW teams supported directly by BMW Motorrad HP RaceSupport have contested the top positions among themselves. The sixth round of the season in Schleiz also produced a fine yield of points, despite treacherous weather conditions.

In the first race, which had to be restarted three times following a crash and the onset of rain, Troy Herfoss (AUS) of Team RAC Racing BMW finished third on his BMW S 1000 RR behind Matej Smrz (CZE / Yamaha) and Karl Muggeridge (AUS / Honda). Herfoss’s result was enough to secure the Manufacturers’ title with races remaining. Behind the Australian, five further BMW riders finished in the top ten. A thrilling second race saw BMW riders occupy places two to eight. Gareth Jones (AUS) of Team Wilbers – BMW racing lost out to Muggeridge by just 0.011 seconds, thus finishing runner-up to secure his spot on the podium, where he was joined by team-mate Jörg Teuchert (GER), who finished third. They were followed by another five BMW riders, including young Lucy Glöckner (GER), who is contesting her first full season in the IDM Superbike category on an RR for the Wilbers-Team, and produced another strong showing to finish eighth.

In the IDM Superbike Manufacturers’ Championship, BMW now leads with 481 points and an unassailable lead of 304 points over second-placed Honda (177). The top four places in the Riders’ Championship are occupied by BMW riders. At the top of the standings is Michael Ranseder (AUT) of Team Technogym Racing Austria – Fritze Tuning on 189 points, ahead of Erwan Nigon (FRA / 157 points) of Team Van Zon – alpha Technik BMW. Third and fourth places are held by the two Wilbers riders Teuchert (166 points) and Jones (146 points).

“We are absolutely delighted to have successfully defended our title in the Manufacturers’ Championship. It is great that we are able to celebrate this title now, with races to spare. Thank you and congratulations to our RR teams who, thanks also to the fine cooperation with HP RaceSupport, have made it possible to achieve part one of the success we set our sights on this season,” says Berthold Hauser, Head of BMW Motorrad HP RaceSupport.  “The change to the rules regarding the camshaft release, which came into effect this season, was a big challenge for us. However, we managed to master this challenge internally and in fantastic cooperation with the teams. That is shown by the dominance the BMW S 1000 RR has enjoyed since its first outing with this kit. We are now working towards the second of our goals for the season – securing the Riders’ title for one of the RR riders.”