Girl Power: BMW Motorrad supports first ever FIM Women’s RR Camp.

No less than 24 female riders went out on track with BMW S 1000 RRs at Albacete – BMW Motorrad collaborates with the International Motorcycle Federation.

Albacete/Munich, 10th October 2013. The Spanish circuit of Albacete was host of an historic event supported by BMW Motorrad: the first ever FIM Women’s Road Racing Training Camp. Promoting the presence of women in all motorcycling activities is one of the FIM’s (Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme) key objectives. This year, the focus is on road racing with a view to involving more women in the sport. Thus, the International Motorcycle Federation and its Women In Motorcycling Commission organised a professional training camp at Albacete to give female riders from all over the world the opportunity to train with high-spec motorcycles and professional coaches on a major racing circuit.

BMW Motorrad provided the bikes for this innovative event and the experts of BMW Motorrad HP RaceSupport took over the preparation of the BMW S 1000 RRs on site at the Albacete track. The event turned out to be a huge success. No less than 24 women from ten different countries took the chance to show their pace on the 1000 cc BMW bikes. They were coached by Ismael Bonilla (ESP), a former Grand Prix rider in the 250 cc class, and US racer Shelina Moreda. The participants got to grips with the BMW S 1000 RR soon and proved to race on a high level by doing impressive lap times.

“We knew that the girls are fast but we had no idea that they could do so extremely well. Ismael, who in 2010 was the first rider in the world to win an official race with a BMW S 1000 R at this very same track, highlighted that he really had to push hard to stay at the pace of the fastest riders”, said Nita Korhonen, FIM Women In Motorcycling Commission Director. “Now we know that we are on the right track in our efforts to bring more women into racing and that we can also fascinate spectators as these girls showed that they can really race and go fast. We want to say a big ‘Thank you’ to BMW Motorrad for supporting us. It was great to be provided with the powerful BMW S 1000 RRs. The girls were really excited by the bikes and how easy they were to handle despite their 1000 cc capacity. The commitment of BMW Motorrad contributed to making the whole event a big success.”

In addition to the training camp at Albacete, BMW Motorrad HP Race Support was also on duty at the Czech Automotodrom Brno last week. There, a BMW Engineering-Camp for BMW customers was held. The experts of HP RaceSupport offered workshops and electronic updates for owners of BMW S 1000 RR and BMW HP4 machinery. In direct support, the specialists advised the customers in many technical areas, especially how to handle the electronic DDC and DTC features of the bikes.