PressClub Italia · Article.
Podium for BMW team Penz13.com at the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Mon Apr 23 17:11:18 CEST 2018 Comunicati Stampa
The weekend featured the first endurance highlight of the year, namely the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans (FRA). The FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC) classic ended with a podium for the BMW S 1000 RR. After 24 hours of racing, the #13 RR, run by the Wepol Racing by Penz13.com team, came home third.
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Author.
Andrea Frignani
BMW Group
Munich. The weekend featured the first endurance highlight of
the year, namely the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans (FRA). The FIM
Endurance World Championship (EWC) classic ended with a podium for
the BMW S 1000 RR. After 24 hours of racing, the #13 RR, run by the
Wepol Racing by Penz13.com team, came home third. The MOTUL FIM
Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) and the FIM Superstock 1000
European Championship (STK1000) were both at Assen, Netherlands.
Loris Baz (FRA) finished in the top eight in both WorldSBK races,
while Markus Reiterberger (GER) and Roberto Tamburini (ITA) claimed
the second BMW one-two in a week in the STK1000.
FIM Endurance World Championship at Le Mans, France.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans (FRA) marked round two of the
2017/18 FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC), which kicked off with
the Bol d’Or at Le Castellet (FRA) in September 2017 and ends at
Suzuka (JPN) in July 2018. In total, seven BMW teams took on what is
one of the toughest endurance races in the world in the EWC Superbike
and Superstock Cup classes. In the end, there was cause for
celebration: after finishing second at the Bol d’Or, the Wepol Racing
by Penz13.com team claimed another spot on the podium at Le Mans.
After 24 hours of racing, Michael Laverty (GBR) brought the #13 BMW S
1000 RR home in third place. However, it was far from plain sailing
for Laverty and his team-mates Christian Iddon (GBR) and Danny Webb
(GBR) – the trio dropped to the back of the field following an early
crash, which resulted in a damaged handlebar and an unscheduled stop
to replace it. This was followed by another crash during the night,
which saw Webb dislocate his shoulder. Despite that, he managed to
complete his stint, and the combination of fighting spirit and perfect
work in the pits allowed the team to finish in a podium position.
Another top-ten finish came courtesy of the Mercury Racing team
in ninth. The #21 BMW S 1000 RR was ridden by Karel Hanika, Jakub Smrz
(both CZE) and Sylvain Barrier (FRA). The #56 RR, run by the GERT56 by
RS speedbikes team came home 14th overall. The result was
good enough to give riders Horst Saiger (LIE), Julian Puffe and Rico
Löwe (both GER) fifth place in the Superstock class for the Endurance
World Cup.
The Tecmas BMW (#9) team, with Julien da Costa, Camille Hedelin
and David Perret (all FRA), and the NRT48 – BMW Motorrad (#48) team,
with Kenny Foray (FRA), Peter Hickman (GBR) and Lucy Glöckner (GER),
were also in contention for places on the overall podium, but were
forced to retire before the end of the race. Two rounds into the
season, Wepol Racing by Penz13.com is currently fourth in the EWC team
standings, with BMW second in the manufacturers’ competition.
Michael Laverty:
“First of all, I am sorry for
my crash in my first stint. However, I tried as hard as I could over
the course of the race to make up for my mistake. Considering we had
far from a problem-free race, this podium tastes even sweeter. To
stand up here at Le Mans is a special feeling.”
Christian Iddon:
“We had some issues and
problems, which made it harder for us all – especially when I headed
out for my first stint and the handlebar broke after Michael's crash.
The team did a very professional job and I am happy we could bring it
home on the podium.”
Danny Webb:
“I am over the moon. It was my
second 24-hour race and we have made it onto the podium twice in two
races. Not too bad for an Endurance rookie like me, huh? I am sorry I
had that little off during my night stint, but it didn’t cost us too
much. I am simply more than happy we are on the podium again.”
MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship at Assen, Netherlands.
The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK)
was at the iconic ‘TT Circuit’ in Assen (NED) at the weekend. Loris
Baz (FRA) of the Gulf Althea BMW team saw a significant improvement in
his fortunes. In Saturday’s race, the Frenchman finished seventh to
claim his best result of the season so far. Baz then backed this up
with eighth place in Sunday’s race.
FIM Superstock 1000 European Championship in Assen, Netherlands.
Markus Reiterberger (GER) and Roberto Tamburini (ITA)
claimed a fantastic one-two for the BMW S 1000 RR at the opening round
of this season’s FIM Superstock 1000 European Championship (STK1000)
at MotorLand Aragón (ESP) last week. Just seven days later, they were
at it again in round two at Assen (NED). Reiterberger dominated the
field on his RR, run by the alpha Racing-Van Zon-BMW team. He first
secured pole position with an advantage of half a second on Saturday,
before winning Sunday’s race with a lead of five seconds and setting a
new lap record in the process. Behind him, the crowd was treated to an
exciting battle for second place, with Tamburini (Berclaz Racing Team
SA) coming out on top. Alessandro Delbianco (ITA / Gulf Althea BMW)
and Jan Bühn (GER / alpha Racing-Van-Zon-BMW) also finished in the
top-ten in eighth and tenth place.
Markus Reiterberger:
“We had a very good race
pace and also the electronics were spot on, so a big credit to BMW
Motorrad Motorsport’s Marc Bongers for setting the electronics up
perfectly. I want to also thank the entire team that, despite the fact
that we were much faster than all the rest already in the practice
sessions, continued to work hard and came up with another chassis
solution that increased our advantage even more. In the race, we were
able to pursue our plan to pull away from the field from pole position
on the opening laps and to keep the gap over the entire distance.
Right at the beginning, I rode a new lap record, and afterwards I was
able to maintain my pace comfortably until the finish and to further
increase the gap. In the end I had an advantage of over five seconds.
Pole position, another win for us, another win at Assen, increased the
overall championship lead – I think we can call that a perfect
weekend. Everyone in the team did a 100 per cent perfect job, we made
not a single mistake and the atmosphere in the squad is just fantastic.”
MotoAmerica at Austin, USA.
The Superbike class
of the MotoAmerica (MA SBK) series held two races as part of the
MotoGP weekend at the “Circuit of the Americas” in Austin (USA). Danny
Eslick (USA) of the Scheibe Racing team finished eleventh and eighth.
Australian Superbike Championship at The Bend Motorsport Park,
Australia.
BMW racer Glenn Allerton (AUS) narrowly
missed out on a spot on the podium at the third event of this season’s
Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK), which took place at “The
Bend Motorsport Park” near Adelaide (AUS). He came home fourth in race
two of three on his BMW S 1000 RR, which was run by the NextGen
Motorsport team. Allerton was eighth and fifth in the other two races.
MFJ Superbike All Japan Road Race Championship at Suzuka,
Japan.
Round two of the 2018 MFJ Superbike All Japan
Road Race Championship (MFJ) took place at the weekend. This time, the
riders and teams were at Suzuka (JPN). For many, the focus was once
again on preparations for the eight-hour race, which will be held at
Suzuka in July. This time, no fewer than six BMW riders took to the
track. The best-placed of them was Atsumi Cocoro (JPN) of the Tone RT
Syncedge 4113 team, who ended the two races in 19th and
18th place. The weekend’s next-best BMW rider was Daisaku
Sakai (JPN / Motorrad 39) in 21st and 19th place.