BMW Motorrad HP RaceSupport celebrates 2013 Superstock 1000 title for BMW HP4.

The Munich specialists accompanied Sylvain Barrier on his way to his second win of the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup.

Munich, 8th October 2013. When Sylvain Barrier (FRA) crowned himself champion at the penultimate round of the 2013 FIM Superstock 1000 Cup at Magny-Cours (FRA), the experts of BMW Motorrad HP RaceSupport celebrated with him and his BMW Motorrad GoldBet STK Team. The Munich specialists played an important part in this success which was Sylvain’s second consecutive title and BMW Motorrad’s third championship win in the series. The FIM Superstock 1000 Cup replaced the European Superstock Championship in 2005 and is held at European rounds of the FIM Superbike World Championship. The BMW Motorrad GoldBet STK Team entered the series in 2010 and was crowned champions in 2010, 2012 and 2013.

While the first two titles were won with the BMW S 1000 RR, the team contested this season with the brand new BMW HP4. One of the special features of the bike is the electronic damping system DDC and the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup was the first international championship in which this innovative technology was successfully used. Thus, the BMW HP4 is the first ever bike equipped with an electronic damping system to win an international championship in the history of two wheel racing. One of the main tasks for BMW Motorrad HP RaceSupport this year was to adapt the newly developed BMW HP4 and DDC to the special requirements in racing – on the international stage and in numerous national series. The Munich specialists work very closely with the BMW Motorrad GoldBet STK Team and are on site at all races being a part of the squad.

The specialists and the team used the pre-season tests in winter to gain first impressions of what is required to make the BMW HP4 and the DDC a winning racing package. Back in Munich, the data were analysed and the preparation was continued. The work turned out to be impressively successful. Already at the season opener at Aragón (ESP) in April, the BMW HP4 was the bike to beat, with Sylvain being fastest in all sessions and claiming the first ever international race win of the bike and the innovative DDC. Over the course over the season, BMW Motorrad HP RaceSupport continuously developed in close collaboration with R&D in Munich further adaptions and helped the team to prepare the bike for every single rounds. This close co-operation led to continued success. Sylvain has won five of the nine races contested so far, some of them in a dominant manner. At the penultimate round last weekend at Magny-Cours, a fourth place finish was enough for Sylvain to secure the early title win. He leads the Riders’ classification with an advantage of 33 points meaning he can no longer be overtaken at the final round at Jerez (ESP).

“We are more than happy and proud to celebrate the early title win with Sylvain and the BMW Motorrad GoldBet STK Team”, commented Berthold Hauser, General Manager BMW Motorrad HP Race Support. “The 2013 FIM Superstock 1000 Cup was the first international championship in which the BMW HP4 was fielded and in which the newly developed DDC was used. This meant that before the season started, we had no references of how competitive our package is in comparison with our competitors. In addition, it is no easy task to adapt new bikes and technologies not only to the special requirements of racing in general, but also to the riding style of each rider and to the individual characteristics of each single race track. With no data available from the previous years, setting up the bike and the electronics is a new challenge at every round. But the very close co-operation of our specialists department, the racing team and the R&D department of BMW Motorrad Motorsport at Munich and the unwavering commitment of every single one involved in this project paved the way to success. Thanks to everybody who was part of this exciting experience which led to such a great result. The reward for this effort is winning the crown with one race to go – and we are delighted that we contributed our part to this success.”