PressClub New Zealand · Article.
FIM EWC: Markus Reiterberger in Sepang with the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team.
12.11.2019 Press Release
Markus Reiterberger (GER) will join the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team as the third rider for round two of the 2019/20 FIM Endurance World Championship (FIM EWC) at Sepang (MAS). The 25-year-old will alternate in the #37 BMW S 1000 RR saddle with Kenny Foray (FRA) and Ilya Mikhalchik (UKR). The 8-hour race at Sepang takes place on 14th December.
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Leanne Blanckenberg
BMW Group
Munich. Markus Reiterberger (GER) will join the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team as the third rider for round two of the 2019/20 FIM Endurance World Championship (FIM EWC) at Sepang (MAS). The 25-year-old will alternate in the #37 BMW S 1000 RR saddle with Kenny Foray (FRA) and Ilya Mikhalchik (UKR). The 8-hour race at Sepang takes place on 14th December.
The BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team is contesting its debut season in the FIM EWC with the newly-developed endurance version of the BMW S 1000 RR. Foray, Mikhalchik and Julian Puffe (GER) finished an impressive third in the opening race of the season, the Bol d’Or at Le Castellet (FRA) in September.
Reiterberger knows the Sepang circuit, is very familiar with the RR, and has plenty of experience in endurance racing, having raced for BMW teams in the FIM EWC on numerous occasions in recent years. He caught the eye at Oschersleben (GER) in 2014, when he took pole position on the Penz13.com team run Superstock RR. That was the first time a Superstock had ever started an FIM EWC race from first place on the grid. Reiterberger finished runner-up at the Bol d’Or with the same team in 2017.
“We are pleased to have Markus on board with the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team at Sepang,” said BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director Marc Bongers. “We are confident that, in collaboration with his team-mates Kenny and Ilya, Markus will be able to use his wealth of experience in terms of the RR and endurance racing, as well as his knowledge of the circuit, to help us to achieve good results at Sepang. Then there is the fact that he knows Werner Daemen’s team very well, which will be another advantage. The race at Sepang has a very strong field, as it acts as qualifying for the 8-hour race in Suzuka. We are well positioned with this fast and experienced trio.”
“I am very happy that Markus will be riding for us at Sepang,” said Team Manager Werner Daemen. “With his experience gained in the Superbike World Championship and his talent, he will support Kenny and Ilya superbly. Markus was incredibly fast in Sepang in 2016. Back then, he almost finished on the podium in the Superbike World Championship. Maybe he might make the difference for us. We used the final round of the Spanish Superbike Championship at Jerez de la Frontera to prepare for the next outing in the Endurance World Championship, with regard to the set-up of the bike and the Dunlop tyres. I am confident that we will be able to be strong with our bike. Perhaps luck will play a role again, as it did at Le Castellet.”
“I would like to thank Werner and the team for the opportunity to race at Sepang,” said Reiterberger. “I am already really looking forward to Sepang. It is an excellent circuit and I was on for my best result in the Superbike World Championship there in 2016. I was running a safe fourth until shortly before the finish, when I had to retire due to a technical issue. With that in mind, I have fond memories of Sepang. The track offers plenty of grip and I think we are well-placed to do well with our bike. I have two strong team-mates and together we will do everything we can to get a top result.”
The team will continue its preparations with another test in Sepang in the week before the 8-hour race.