Dominance in Horiče: double top-six lockout for the BMW racers in the International Road Racing Championship.

Munich. The BMW S 1000 RR racers reigned on the Horiče street circuit in the Czech Republic; at the penultimate round of the 2017 International Road Racing Championship (IRRC), they celebrated a double top-six lockout. Marek Červený (CZE) won both races, with Sébastien Le Grelle (BEL), Didier Grams (GER) and Petr Bičiště (CZE) claiming podium positions. In the South African Motorcycle Road Racing Championship (RSA SBK), David McFadden (RSA) raced onto the rostrum. In addition, the BMW riders were in action in the US, in Brazil and in Australia at the weekend.

International Road Racing Championship at Horiče , Czech Republic.

The challenging street circuit of Horiče (CZE) hosted the penultimate round of the 2017 International Road Racing Championship (IRRC). After claiming a double top-four lockout the weekend before at Schleiz (GER), the BMW S 1000 RR racers topped this success and celebrated no less than a double top-six lockout.

Man of the meeting was local hero Marek Červený (CZE) who took the win in both races on his Wepol Safemetal Racing team BMW S 1000 RR. In the first race, that was red-flagged twice, he was joined on the podium by Didier Grams (GER / G&G Motorsport by Todoracing) in second and Sébastien Le Grelle (BEL / Herpigny Motors - BMW Motorrad Belux) in third. Kamil Holan (CZE / Mc Race), Petr Bičiště (CZE / Kimura Racing Team) and Erno Kostamo (FIN / Markka Racing) followed in fourth, fifth and sixth.

In race two, Le Grelle was second behind winner Červený, while Bičiště secured third on the podium. Holan was fourth again, Grams crossed the line in fifth with Kostamo in sixth. With two races to go and 50 more points available, Le Grelle continues to lead the championship standings with 217 points and an advantage of 30 points over Červený who improved to second place (187). Grams follows in third overall with 171 points. The final round will be held on 23^rd and 24^th September in Frohburg (GER).

South African Motorcycle Road Racing Championship at Phakisa, South Africa.

There was also a BMW podium finish in the South African Motorcycle Road Racing Championship (RSA SBK) at the weekend. The seventh and penultimate round of the 2017 season was held at Phakisa Freeway (RSA). David McFadden (RSA / RPM Center Sandton Auto/BMW Motorrad) secured third place on the rostrum in race two, after finishing fourth in the first encounter.

Lance Isaacs (RSA / Supabets Sandton BMW Motorrad) was also on course for a podium finish but experienced bad luck. In race one, he set the fastest lap time and was lying in second position until his bike was hit by a sudden strong gust of wind and he crashed as a result. In race two, he experienced some issues with the brakes and decided to return to the pits for safety reasons. Heinrich Rheeder (RSA / BMW Motorrad Rheeder Racing) was 12^th on both occasions.

David McFadden: “Finally we are back on the podium. Two steps away from where we want to be but a step in the right direction. A big thank you to all my sponsors and of course to my team RPM Center. After endless hours of work, it’s starting to pay off.”

Lance Isaacs: “A massive thank you goes to my race team. We made a lot of progress and the bike improves every race weekend. It was really unfortunate for us to walk away without any points this time but I will just take away the positives. Our pace was very, very good, we fought for the lead and set the fastest race lap. We will move on to the final round and try to get as many points as possible, both for the BMW Motorrad Race Trophy and the South African Championship.”

MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship in Pittsburgh, USA.

For the eighth round of the 2017 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship (AMA), the BMW teams travelled to Pittsburgh International Raceway (USA). Sylvain Barrier (FRA / Brixx Performance) finished the two Superbike class races in 11^th and eighth respectively. Jason DiSalvo (USA / Scheibe Racing / Hayes Brakes) crossed the line in 14^th and 12^th positions.

SuperBike Series Brasil in Londrina, Brazil.

The SuperBike Series Brasil (BRSBK) held its fifth race of the 2017 season in Londrina (BRA) at the weekend. Danilo Lewis (BRA / Tecfil Havoline Racing Team) was the highest placed BMW rider, crossing the line in sixth. Joelsu “Mitiko” (BRA / JC Racing Team) followed immediately behind in seventh place. His team-mate Davi Lara Costa (BRA) also claimed a top-ten result, finishing ninth.

Australian Superbike Championship at Morgan Park Raceway, Australia.

Morgan Park Raceway (AUS) was the venue for the fifth round of the 2017 Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK). 18-year old Troy Guenther (AUS) of the NextGen Motorsports team, making his series debut this season, was 14^th in race one but failed to finish in race two.

Troy Guenther: “It was a character building weekend here at Morgan Park. There were numerous things that didn’t go to plan, but sometimes that is the way of the sport. I’ve come away from this weekend more determined than ever, and will be working really hard in the next two weeks to fix myself as well as possible to be strong when I hop on the bike at Sydney Motorsport Park.”