BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team kicks off the WorldSBK European season with the new BMW S 1000 RR.

Munich. After the two overseas rounds at Phillip Island, Australia and Buriram, Thailand, the brand-new BMW S 1000 RR is now making its European debut in the FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK). This weekend (5^th to 7^th April), the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team with riders Tom Sykes (GBR) and Markus Reiterberger (GER) will be competing in the third round of the season at Spanish MotorLand Aragón.

The BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team’s race weekend kicks off with two free practice sessions on Friday. Saturday features Superpole qualifying and race one, which gets underway at 14:00 local time. The ten-lap ‘Superpole Race’ starts at 11:00 on Sunday followed at 14:00 by race two.

Quotes ahead of the races at MotorLand Aragón.

Marc Bongers, BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director: “We’re looking forward to being back racing in Europe again. This is always a special moment after the opening overseas season rounds. It will also be exciting to see the team trucks and the hospitality in the new color scheme with the classic BMW Motorsport colours in the paddock. For Aragón, we will bring some new developments for the bike, aimed at getting another step closer to the competition.”

Shaun Muir, Team Principal BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team: “Ahead of the third round at Aragón we are looking forward to getting to Europe where we get some more equipment and are back with our race motorhomes, which makes logistics and life a little bit easier at the circuits. We are looking forward to some upgrades, regarding aerodynamics, which we worked on after the last race in Thailand. It was a lot of hard work by all the guys to get all the vehicles and equipment ready for the first European races. With some good weather we can hopefully start FP1 well and close that gap to the top four and we will see how the weekend develops. Both Tom and Markus have been training hard behind the scenes; they are looking forward to it and hopefully we can have a good run of results at these back-to-back weekends with Aragón and then Assen.”

Tom Sykes: “I am really looking forward to the coming races. We have two back-to-back weekends but obviously we are first focusing on Aragón. It’s a circuit where I have done well in the past, and I hope with the style and the layout of the circuit that we are able to be very competitive on the BMW S 1000 RR. On most of the track we certainly have the chassis to do what’s needed. The only question from the previous experiences is our performance down the very long back straight. It’s obviously still a bit of an unknown but I feel that the whole BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team is doing a great job considering we still have to do a lot of testing during the actual race weekends. My expectations are that we will be continuing this way, enjoy our racing and for sure the rest will come naturally in the not too distant future.”

Markus Reiterberger: “I am glad that we are back in Europe. Aragón is a great track that I like very much. Certainly it is a bit easier for me because I’ve raced there many times. Last year I got along really well and rode very fast times with the Superstock bike. With my qualifying time, I would have even been in the top eight for the Superbikes. I hope the weather is good and it is not too windy. I also hope that we can take another step forward in my set-up so that I get a better feeling for the front; then a good weekend is possible. My crew chief and the whole team have intensively analysed and worked through the findings from Buriram, and I know that BMW will bring some things to Spain. It is important to work well all weekend, to constantly improve, to give good feedback and to pull together. I hope we can make it into the top ten and that I can reward my team for the hard work.”