Victories and records in international championships for BMW riders.

Munich. In the FIM Superstock 1000 European Championship (STK1000), leader Markus Reiterberger (GER) broke one record after another and claimed his fourth win of the season at Misano (ITA). In the British Superbike Championship (BSB STK) at Knockhill (GBR), Keith Farmer (GBR) won both Superstock class races with a new lap record to take the championship lead. In the International Road Racing Championship (IRRC), Danny Webb (GBR) took a big step towards winning the title with another brace of wins in Imatra (FIN). Zolder (BEL) hosted the International German Championship (IDM), with Ilya Mikhalchik (UKR) and Bastien Mackels (BEL) both taking one victory each.

MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship at Misano, Italy.

Round nine of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) was held at Misano, Italy. Loris Baz (FRA) of the Gulf Althea BMW team secured sixth place on the second row of the grid in Superpole 2 on Saturday. In the opening race, however, he was forced to swerve to avoid another rider and crashed in the process. Baz was initially able to continue, but his bike was so severely damaged that he had no choice but to retire after two laps. The Frenchman finished ninth in Sunday’s second race.

FIM Superstock 1000 European Championship at Misano, Italy.

The FIM Superstock 1000 European Championship (STK1000) held its sixth race of the season as part of the WorldSBK weekend at Misano (ITA). There was simply no beating Markus Reiterberger (GER / alpha Racing-Van-Zon-BMW). He was over half a second faster than the rest of the field on his BMW S 1000 RR in free practice on Friday. He then set a new lap record to claim his fifth pole position of the season in Saturday’s qualifying. Reiterberger smashed the lap record again in Sunday’s race, before going on to claim his fourth win of the season with a lead of two seconds and extended his advantage in the championship. With two races remaining, Reiterberger now leads by 14 points.

Roberto Tamburini (ITA / Berclaz Racing Team) finished fourth in the Misano race. Guest starter Alex Bassani (ITA / DMR Racing) came home sixth.

Markus Reiterberger: “After failing to fulfil our potential in the race at Brno, we found the right mix again here at Misano. The track was extremely slippery, but it was the same for everybody. I was surprised by how fast Maximilian Scheib was. He really put me under some pressure. Pole record, pole position, new lap record and the race win – it doesn’t get any better than that. My team once again gave me the perfect motorbike. I am very grateful for that and am looking forward to Portimão and Le Mans.”

British Superbike Championship at Knockhill, Great Britain.

The British Superbike Championship (BSB) was at Knockhill, Scotland, at the weekend. In the Superbike races (BSB SBK), Michael Laverty (GBR / Tyco BMW Motorrad) was the best-placed BMW rider in sixth and fifth place. He was followed over the line each time by his team-mate Christian Iddon (GBR) in seventh and sixth. Peter Hickman (GBR / Smiths Racing) came home tenth in both races.

In the Superstock class (BSB STK), Tyco BMW Motorrad team’s Keith Farmer (GBR) enjoyed a perfect weekend. Two races were held and Farmer was victorious with a new lap record both times. This latest success also propelled him to the top of the Superstock championship, twelve points ahead of his closest rival.

Alex Olsen (GBR / ASTRO – JJR Racing) finished fifth in both races. Matthew Paulo (GBR / Newman Racing) also claimed two top-ten finishes, coming home ninth and tenth.

Keith Farmer: “We could not have done anymore this weekend, with two race wins, two pole positions and a lap record!  We started the weekend fast with really strong race pace, so were quietly confident heading into both races after securing pole position. In both races we had a similar situation; once we got into the lead I set my own pace, concentrated on my own lines and markers, then managed to pull a gap and control the race. Thank you to the whole Tyco BMW team, they have done a mega job and the BMW S 1000 RR has just worked fantastically all weekend.” 

International Road Racing Championship in Imatra, Finland.

The Finnish town of Imatra hosted the third race weekend of the 2018 International Road Racing Championship 2018 (IRRC) – and, for the third time, it was Danny Webb (GBR) on a BMW S 1000 RR run by the Wepol Racing by Penz13 team who scored maximum points. The Briton won both races again in Finland to extend his lead in the championship to 45 points.

As at the opening two race weekends in Hengelo (NED) and Terlicko (CZE), the podium was monopolised by BMW riders. In race one, the BMW racers actually achieved a top-six lock-out, with positions one to three in BMW hands in race two. Erno Kostamo (FIN / Markka Racing) was runner-up behind winner Webb in both races. Third place went once to Didier Grams (GER / G&G Motorsport by BMW Motorrad) and once to Marek Červený (CZE / Wepol Racing by Penz13). In the opening race, Červený in fourth place, Martin Jessopp (GBR / Penz13 BMW Motorrad) in fifth and Jamie Coward (GBR / Wepol Racing by Penz13) in sixth completed the top-six lock-out for the BMW S 1000 RR.

International German Championship at Zolder, Belgium.

The was another one-two-three for BMW riders in the International German Championship (IDM). The series was at Zolder, Belgium, for what was a home outing for the alpha-Racing-Van-Zon-BMW team and Bastien Mackels (BEL / Wilbers BMW Racing).

The first of the two races was won by championship leader Ilya Mikhalchik (UKR / alpha-Racing-Van-Zon-BMW). Mackels was runner-up, and Mikhalchik’s team-mate Julian Puffe (GER) completed the all-BMW podium in third place. Mackels was triumphant in race two, with Mikhalchik fourth and Puffe fifth.