The first two titles for the BMW racers in the 2017 season: Markus Reiterberger is champion in the IDM, Jordan Szoke in the CSBK.

The first two titles for the BMW racers in the 2017 season: Markus Reiterberger is champion in the IDM, Jordan Szoke in the CSBK.

• Successful weekend with titles, wins and podiums in several series.
• Lee Jackson and Peter Hickman claim double podium in the British Superbike Championship.
• Double top-four lockout for the BMW riders in the International Road Racing Championship.

Munich. The worldwide BMW Motorrad Motorsport community can celebrate its first two titles of the 2017 season: at the weekend, Markus Reiterberger (GER) and Jordan Szoke (CAN) were crowned champions in the International German Championship (IDM) and the Canadian Superbike Championship (CSBK) . In the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK), the home round for BMW was held at Lausitzring (GER), with strong performances from Jordi Torres (ESP) and Reiterberger who also started in WorldSBK with a wildcard. In the British Superbike Championship (BSB), team-mates Lee Jackson (GBR) and Peter Hickman (GBR) claimed a double podium, while in the International Road Racing Championship (IRRC), the BMW S 1000 RR racers celebrated a double top-four lockout.

MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship at the Lausitzring, Germany.

The ninth 2017 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) meeting, at the Lausitzring (GER), marked the home round for BMW. Alongside the Althea BMW Racing Team riders Jordi Torres (ESP) and Raffaele De Rosa (ITA), German Markus Reiterberger competed with a wildcard on his Van Zon-Remeha-BMW Superbike Team RR. Reiterberger had a busy weekend, as he also took part in the International German Championship (IDM) Lausitzring races – where he celebrated an early title win (see below).

In Saturday’s first race, Torres made an impressive comeback. Starting from fifth on the grid, the Spaniard dropped to 21^st position on the first lap and then worked his way back through the field, eventually crossing the line in ninth place. Wildcard starter Reiterberger was the highest placed BMW rider until eight laps to go. He was lying in a strong eighth position, but then dropped back after two small mistakes and crossed the line in 13^th place. De Rosa was lying in tenth until halfway through the race but crashed and failed to finish.

In race two on Sunday, both Torres and Reiterberger were battling with the factory riders in the chasing group. Torres finished eighth, immediately followed by Reiterberger who also secured a top-10 result with ninth place. De Rosa was classified 15^th.

Jordi Torres: “Superpole went well and I scored a good grid position. I made a good start in race one but at turn three I almost lost the rear, losing many positions as a result. I did what I could in the circumstances. Race two didn’t go too badly. The bike and I both had to give it our all. The pace was insane though. I had fun and can say I did my best anyway.”

Markus Reiterberger: “It was a busy Lausitzring weekend for us with starting in both the world championship and the IDM. I completed over 140 laps. The WorldSBK weekend began well on Friday. With seventh place in the combined practice results I qualified straight into Superpole 2. That was great. Race one was pretty okay until the 13^th or 14^th lap. I was in eighth place and did constant lap times. Unfortunately I made two small mistakes when changing gear. That meant a not so good end for a race that started well. Race two was great. I was held up a little bit on the opening lap but afterwards, I closed the gap to the group that was fighting for fourth place. A big thank you goes to the team. They did a great job with the bike. Looking back at the entire weekend in general, we now know that we can also do a good job in the world championship.”

FIM Superstock 1000 European Championship at the Lausitzring, Germany.

After a long summer-break, the 2017 season in the FIM Superstock 1000 European Championship (STK1000) resumed at the Lausitzring (GER). Fastest man of the weekend was Federico Sandi (ITA) on his Berclaz Racing Team BMW S 1000 RR. On Saturday, he secured pole position with a new track record. In Sunday’s race, Sandi was leading until the penultimate lap and set the fastest time in a new race lap record. Unfortunately, he then was pushed into the gravel by another rider. He finished the race in fifth position. His team-mate Sébastien Suchet (SUI) was eighth, with Julian Puffe (GER / Althea MF84) ninth.

Federico Sandi: “The weekend was positive for us because we dominated from the first practice on. In qualifying I was more than three-tenths of a second faster than the second placed rider. The bike was also fantastic in the race but maybe I pushed a bit too much in the opening laps and afterwards the tyres started to slide a little bit. I focused on my rhythm and kept a gap of two seconds, but in the final stages I made a mistake and my rivals caught up. I was confident that I could bring home the win but then I was pushed out of the corner and into the gravel. I was not happy because that manoeuvre was wrong. It would have been great to win at the BMW home round but that is racing. We will continue to push and we know that the victory will come.”

British Superbike Championship in Cadwell Park, Great Britain.

The British Superbike Championship (BSB) races at Cadwell Park (GBR) were nail-biting thrillers again – and they brought a double podium for the BMW riders. On both occasions, the fight at the very top was extremely close and intense. In race one, Peter Hickman (GBR) of Smiths Racing Team finished fourth, just 0.689 seconds behind the winner. His team-mate Lee Jackson (GBR) was sixth with a gap of just 1.224 seconds, also setting the fastest lap, which secured him pole position for race two.

The second encounter was another exciting affair. Jackson finished second on the podium, crossing the line just 0.696 seconds behind the winner. It was Jackson’s first podium in the BSB Superbike class (BSB SBK). Hickman was third and completed the first double podium for Smiths Racing in BSB. Christian Iddon (GBR) from the Tyco BMW Motorrad team finished the races in eighth and fifth positions respectively. After eight rounds of the 2017 season, Hickman has consolidated his third place in the championship standings. After nine race weekends, the top six in the standings will enter the “showdown” for the BSB title.

Lee Jackson: “It’s been fantastic to get my debut BSB podium. In the first race, I was only a second off the race win and definitely had the pace, which showed with the fastest lap. To start the second race from pole gave me an even better chance. I got passed by James Ellison but we fought for the win all the way to the end so it’s a fantastic result for me. Hopefully we can maintain this form at the final four rounds so a huge thanks to the team for giving me a great bike.”

Peter Hickman: “The first race was tough. When Shakey Byrne almost crashed at Mansfield, I had to take to the grass. I lost a load of places, so coming from a long way back wasn’t easy, but I was as fast as anyone and the Smiths BMW was working really well, so fourth was a good end result. In race two, Lee set a really strong pace at the beginning and I was in the mix so I was delighted to pick up another podium. I’m really happy for Lee and the whole team which has done a brilliant job once more so roll on the next round.” 

In the Superstock class (BSB STK) race, four BMW riders were classified within the top-eight. Michael Rutter (GBR / Bathams SMT Racing) was fourth, followed by Josh Elliott (GBR / Tyco BMW Motorrad) in fifth and Adam Jenkinson (GBR / Northern Escalator Installations) in sixth. Dean Hipwell (GBR / CDH Racing) completed the top-eight.

International German Championship at the Lausitzring, Germany.

In addition to his successful wildcard appearance in WorldSBK, Markus Reiterberger (GER) enthused the fans at the Lausitzring (GER) with another dominant performance in the International German Championship (IDM) – and an early title win. The Van Zon-Remeha-BMW Superbike Team rider was once more in a league of his own. He won both races again and was crowned champion with two rounds to go. Reiterberger now leads the championship standings with an advantage of 120 points. It is his third title win in the IDM together with Van Zon-Remeha-BMW. His team-mate Jan Bühn (GER) is currently third in the championship standings. Bühn secured one podium finish at the Lausitzring, claiming third place in race one.

Markus Reiterberger: “The IDM weekend was just fantastic. To secure pole position, to win both races and to claim the early title win at the Lausitzring in front of this crowd – you can’t ask for more. I am super happy and want to thank the entire team. Our motto is ‘teamwork makes the dream work’ – and this was proven. Now I am looking forward to two great last rounds of the season in IDM.”

International Road Racing Championship in Schleiz, Germany.

The International Road Racing Championship (IRRC) was also in action in Germany at the weekend. The fourth round of the 2017 season was held at the famous “Schleizer Dreieck” – and once again the BMW S 1000 RR riders dominated the action. They celebrated top-four lockouts in both Superbike class races.

In race one, Didier Grams (GER / G&G Motorsport by Todoracing) secured the win, followed by championship leader Sébastien Le Grelle (BEL / Herpigny Motors - BMW Motorrad Belux) in second place and Marek Červený (CZE / Wepol Safemetal Racing) in third. Fourth place went to Petr Bičiště (CZE / Kimura Racing Team).

In race two, Le Grelle claimed his fifth win of the season. Červený was second this time out, while Erno Kostamo (FIN / Markka Racing) also stepped onto the podium in third. Grams completed the top-four lockout.

Canadian Superbike Championship in Bowmanville, Canada.

He did it again: Canadian record champion Jordan Szoke celebrated his next title win in the Canadian Superbike Championship (CSBK). The 2017 season finale was held at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Bowmanville (CAN). Szoke claimed another double win on his Mopar Express Lane BMW Superbike Team BMW S 1000 RR and secured his 12^th CSBK title after Saturday’s race.

This time however, Szoke had to fight hard for his wins. In race one he had an impressive battle with fellow BMW rider Samuel Trépanier (CAN / Blysk Racing) who was in the lead for most of the distance and also set the fastest race lap. Only two laps before the end, Szoke was able to pass and to win with an advantage of 0.251 seconds over Trépanier who claimed his first ever CSBK podium. Ben Young (GBR / Ben Young Racing) was fourth, missing a rostrum place just by two-tenths of a second.

Race two was even closer. Szoke crossed the line 0.097 seconds ahead of rival Kenny Riedmann (CAN), securing his 65^th CSBK win. Trépanier again set the fastest lap and was third on the podium that time. Young was fourth and Michael Leon (CAN / Royal Distributing Racing Team) claimed fifth place.

Jordan Szoke: “I’m so pumped to win the championship like this and it was fantastic to be crowned champion here at CTMP. It is just a great crowd and riding around on the cool down lap is really something. I’ve been racing 20 years now and I’d love to keep going 40 more.”

MFJ Superbike All Japan Road Race Championship in Motegi, Japan.

The BMW S 1000 RR racers in the MFJ Superbike All Japan Road Race Championship (MFJ) took to the track at Motegi (JPN). Daisaku Sakai (JPN / BMW Motorrad 39) finished the race in 11^th, while Yuta Kodama (JPN / Tone RT Syncedge 4113) was 21^st.