BMW riders Markus Reiterberger and Carmelo Morales continue with winning ways.

Munich. Three wins and a total of five podium finishes sums up the weekend in numbers for the BMW riders. In the FIM Superstock 1000 European Championship (STK1000), Italian Federico Sandi raced onto the rostrum at Magny-Cours (FRA). Champion Markus Reiterberger (GER) concluded the 2017 season in the International German Championship (IDM) in style, by claiming another double win at Hockenheim (GER). There was also reason to celebrate in the Spanish Championship (CEV), as Carmelo Morales (ESP) took the win at the Albacete round (ESP) and extended his overall lead. But these were not the only series where the BMW racers were in action in at the weekend; they also took to the track in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK), the British Superbike Championship (BSB) and the MFJ Superbike All Japan Road Race Championship (MFJ).

MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship at Magny-Cours, France.

At the 11^th round of the 2017 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK), held at Magny-Cours (FRA), the weather played a major role. Rain caused tricky conditions, especially on Saturday. Superpole 1 was held in fully wet conditions and Jordi Torres (ESP) crashed. His team-mate Raffaele De Rosa (ITA) also struggled in the conditions, and in the end both Althea BMW Racing Team riders had to settle for positions at the back of the grid. At the start of Saturday’s first race, the rain had stopped but the track was still wet, drying slowly. De Rosa crossed the line in 13^th position and Torres followed behind in 14^th.

Sunday’s second race was held in dry conditions and both Althea BMW Racing Team riders regained their confidence. Again starting from the back of the grid, they put in strong catch-up charges. Both finished the race within the top-ten with Torres in eighth and De Rosa in tenth.

FIM Superstock 1000 European Championship at Magny-Cours, France.

Magny-Cours (FRA) also hosted the 2017 FIM Superstock 1000 European Championship (STK1000) – and the weekend saw BMW rider Federico Sandi (Berclaz Racing Team) step onto the podium. The Italian was part of the closely fought leading group and finished third, less than 0.7 seconds behind the winner. It was Sandi’s first podium finish of the season. His team-mate Sébastien Suchet (SUI) crossed the line in seventh.

Federico Sandi: “Finally we made it onto the podium. I am very happy. We did a very good job and we have been in the top positions over the entire weekend. On the other hand I am a bit disappointed as maybe the win was possible but the fight at the top was very close. Anyway – it was amazing for us to be on the podium. Thanks to my team, to BMW, to all the partners and all who believe in me.”

British Superbike Championship at Assen, Netherlands.

For its penultimate round of the 2017 season, the British Superbike Championship (BSB) travelled to the Netherlands’ “Cathedral of Speed” at Assen. It was a difficult weekend with unpredictable weather and treacherous conditions. Peter Hickman (GBR / Smiths Racing) was the highest placed BMW rider in both races. Starting from 19^th on the grid, he finished race one in seventh position. In race two, “Hicky” came home in sixth. Christian Iddon (GBR / Tyco BMW Motorrad) crashed in the first race but then was eighth in race two.

International German Championship at Hockenheim, Germany.

It was a champion’s performance to wrap up the season: at the finale of the International German Championship (IDM) at Hockenheim (GER), Markus Reiterberger (GER) again secured both pole positions, won both races and set both fastest race laps. The Van Zon-Remeha-BMW Superbike Team rider had already won the title in August, at the fifth of seven rounds.

In race one at Hockenheim, apart from the winning Reiterberger, three more BMW S 1000 RR riders finished within the top-ten. His team-mates Danny De Boer (NED) and Jan Bühn (GER) were fourth and fifth, while Vincent Lonbois (BEL / Herpigny Motors – BMW Motorrad Belux) crossed the line in seventh. Bühn then stepped onto the podium in race two, securing third place. De Boer and Lonbois followed in fourth and fifth. Dominik Vincon (GER / BMW Stilgenbauer by WDV Motorsport) came home in eighth.

The Van Zon-Remeha-BMW Superbike Team was the dominating squad of the season, securing all pole positions and race wins. Champion Reiterberger ended the season with 13 wins and 345 points to his tally. Bühn finished third in the overall standings with 181 points.

Markus Reiterberger: “I had a wheelie at the start of the first race and then I made a mistake when braking into turn two. This allowed Florian Alt to pass me. I studied him riding in front of me and felt that I could go faster than him. In the end, I overtook him and then I could go full speed ahead. It was a nice race. In the second race, I had a decent start and I managed to build a small gap. I soon realised that it was not enough and that I would have to push a bit more - Alt applied a lot of pressure. We experienced some minor problems this weekend but despite that, we secured the double win. It proved that we succeed together even if things are not running perfectly. Thanks to all for a fantastic season.”

Spanish Championship at Albacete, Spain.

After a long summer break, the Spanish Championship (CEV) resumed with the penultimate round at Albacete (ESP) at the weekend. Carmelo Morales (ESP) continued where he had left off before the break - on the top step of the podium. The Graphbikes easyRace SBK Team BMW rider secured pole position and then celebrated his second win of the season. In doing so, he extended his overall lead. With two more races to be contested at the final round in Jerez (ESP), Morales now has an advantage of 42 points over his closest rival. Pedro Rodriguez (ESP/ Castromaroto Racing) was fourth, missing the podium by only 0.022 seconds.

Carmelo Morales: “It was a very good weekend for the entire team as we were able to collect a lot of valuable points. But we are taking nothing for granted yet and we have to keep working hard. We are closer now to our goal of being champions and I hope we can finish the season in Jerez by achieving that goal. I want to thank the team, BMW and all our partners for all their work.”

MFJ Superbike All Japan Road Race Championship at Okayama, Japan.

The penultimate round of the 2017 MFJ Superbike All Japan Road Race Championship (MFJ) was held at Okayama (JPN). BMW rider Yuta Kodama (JPN / Tone RT Syncedge 4113) was 24^th, while Daisaku Sakai (JPN / BMW Motorrad 39) failed to finish the race.