Rain-hit WSBK round at Assen – Endurance test at the legendary “Bol d’Or” – Double podium for the BMW S 1000 RR in South Africa.

Privateer BMW Motorrad teams have been in action on several continents over the last two weekends - Lance Isaacs celebrated his first podiums of the season in the South African Motorcycle Championship.

Munich, 30th April 2014. It’s busy times for BMW Motorrad Motorsport: For 2014, the German manufacturer has extended its international customer sport programme and the season is already in full swing in several international and national championships world-wide. Also over the last two weekends, privateer BMW Motorrad Teams have been in action on several continents, supported by the experts from BMW Motorrad Motorsport. Last weekend, BMW Motorrad Motorsport customers raced in the FIM World Superbike Championship (WSBK) and the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup (WSTK) at Assen (NL) and in the legendary 24-hour race “Bol d’Or” at Magny-Cours (FR), which marked the curtain raiser for the 2014 FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC). They were also in action in the South African Motorcycle Championship (SAM) and the Japanese Road Race Championship (MFJ). On the weekend before, BMW Motorrad Motorsport was on track with its customers at the first round of the British Superbike Championship (BSB) at Brands Hatch (UK).

During the WSBK round at Assen, BMW Motorrad Motorsport presented the BMW Motorrad Race Trophy. From 2014 on, the German manufacturer is running its own competition for privateer BMW Motorrad race riders who compete in different international and national championships and events around the globe. According to the results they achieve in their races, they collect points towards the BMW Motorrad Race Trophy classification. By the end of the year, the best privateer BMW Motorrad rider world-wide will be crowned.

FIM World Superbike Championship at Assen.

The third round of the 2014 FIM World Superbike Championship was held at Assen last weekend. The iconic TT Circuit welcomed the teams with typical unpredictable weather. On Saturday, a rain shower during the Superpole qualifying mixed things up, and on Sunday afternoon bad weather conditions had a major effect on race two. Due to heavy rain, the start was massively delayed and the race was shortened from 21 to ten laps. Race one, which was held on Sunday morning, had to be red-flagged after 16 laps due to oil on the track.

Leon Camier (UK), who had celebrated a win in the EVO-class on the BMW S 1000 RR at the previous round at Motorland Aragón (ES), was again the substitute for the injured Frenchman Sylvain Barrier at the BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team. On Saturday, Camier only narrowly missed the Superpole 2 for the 12 fastest riders, qualifying 13th on the grid as second best rider of the EVO-class. In the red-flagged race one, he was classified 13th overall and fourth of the EVO-class. In race two, Camier had to retire after he crashed in the difficult and wet conditions.

BMW Team Toth fields two BMW S 1000 RRs: one WSBK version, ridden by Imre Toth (HU) and one EVO version for Peter Sebestyen (HU). Toth finished 20th and 16th respectively, while Sebestyen retired in race one and did not start in race two.

FIM Superstock 1000 Cup at Assen.

After the World Superbike races, the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup race was held on Sunday afternoon. Conditions were still wet and tricky. Federico D’Annunzio (IT) from the FDA Racing Team finished 14th on his BMW S 1000 RR, Riccardo Cecchini (IT / H-Moto Team) was 17th. His team-mate Robert Muresan (RO), as well as Remo Castellarin (IT), who races a BMW HP4 entered by Team Motoxracing, both retired.

EWC: “Bol d’Or” at Magny Cours.

Once again, the legendary 24-hour race marked the season opener of the FIM Endurance World Championship. BMW Motorrad Motorsport was on site to support the Penz13.com Franks Autowelt Racing Team. The #13 BMW S 1000 RR was ridden by Jason Pridmore (US), Pedro Vallcaneras (ES) and Bastien Mackels (BE). They had to deal with one of the toughest races in the history of the team. The 24-hour race started in pouring rain and the first hour of racing saw many riders fall off their bikes.

But for the first 16 hours all went smoothly for the BMW Motorrad customer team. After eight hours, they were leading the Superstock class. With the new points scoring system, they scored bonus points for being in P1 at this point in time. They collected more bonus points after 16 hours of racing, when they were second in their class. The morning brought an end to their luck. Two crashes resulted in damage to the bike and the team lost over an hour for repairs. In the end, the #13 RR finished the legendary race in a solid sixth spot in the Superstock class and 14th overall in the rankings.

South African Motorcycle Championship at Redstar Raceway.

The second round of the national South African championship was held this weekend at the Redstar Raceway in the province of Mpumalanga. BMW Motorrad customers started in the Super GP and the Super M classes. It was time to celebrate for privateer BMW Motorrad rider Lance Isaacs (ZA): the former WSBK rider finished both Super GP races on the podium. In the first of Sunday’s races, Isaacs finished third with his BMW S 1000 RR entered by Team Black Swan Energy. He even bettered that in race two, when he crossed the line in second and set the fastest lap of the race.

In the Super M class, three privateer BMW Motorrad riders competed with their RRs. Janine Davies (ZA) was fifth in race one, but retired in race two. Konrad Viljoen (ZA) finished sixth and eighth respectively and Evert Stoffberg (ZA) was tenth in race one. He also retired in race two.

Japanese Road Race Championship at Autopolis.

The teams and riders of the Japanese Road Race Championship met at the Autopolis circuit (JP) this weekend to contest their second round of the season. Two privateer BMW Motorrad riders competed in the JSB1000 category, the class for 1000 cc Superbikes. Kohji Teramoto (JP) of Team Tras 135HP finished the race in 13th on his BMW S 1000 RR, while Daisaku Sakai (JP / Flex D.R.E. Motorrad 39) had a DNF. In the first race of the season, held two weeks ago at Suzuka (JP), Teramoto and Sakai were 12th and tenth respectively.

British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch.

The BSB held its 2014 season opener on Easter Monday (21st April) at Brands Hatch. BMW Motorrad Motorsport was on track to support its customer teams and riders. Ryuichi Kiyonari (JP) narrowly missed the podium in race two, finishing fourth on his BMW S 1000 RR entered by Buildbase BMW Motorrad. In race one, the former WSBK rider was classified 16th. Buildbase BMW Motorrad currently fields three RRs in the Superbike class of the BSB, for Kiyonari, James Westmoreland (UK) and TT legend Michael Dunlop (UK). Westmoreland finished the races at Brands Hatch in tenth and seventh respectively, Dunlop was 24th in race one and retired in race two. Michael Rutter (UK / Bathams Prize Winning Ales) finished 12th and 17th respectively. His Swiss team-mate Patrick Muff was 14th in both races. Martin Jessop (UK) competes on an RR entered by RidersMotorcycles.com BMW. He was 13th and 12th respectively.

In the highly competitive Superstock class of the BSB, three privateer BMW Motorrad riders qualified for the main event, which was contested by a total of 35 riders. Lee Jackson (UK) of Buildbase BMW Motorrad finished the main race in sixth on his BMW S 1000 RR. Hudson Kennaugh (UK / Linxcel Trik Moto Racing) was ninth, and Rob McNealy (UK / McNealy Brown Ltd) crossed the line in 20th.

BMW Motorrad Motorsport website:

www.bmw-motorrad.com/motorsport