Leeson looking for wins in penultimate round of Championship

Midrand. Former national Supersport champion Chris Leeson has fully recovered from his crash in the previous round at Zwartkops Raceway in Gauteng and will be looking for race wins in the penultimate round of the South African Superbike Championship at Killarney in Cape Town on Saturday (October 5).

Leeson and BMW Motorrad Motorsport team-mate Ryan Ottens, riding the BMW HP4 in its first season, have made good progress with the all-new racing BMW and its advanced electronically-controlled suspension system since giving the bike its debut in round two at Killarney in March.

A promising third overall for the day for Leeson was followed by 12 more podiums and a maiden victory at the ultra-fast East London grand prix circuit in June.  Ottens, in his first full season with the factory team, has been a consistent top-four finisher and has three third-place finishes to his credit.

With just two rounds of the championship remaining and a maximum of 100 points on offer for the four races, any one of three riders can still take the title. Current leader and 2012 Supersport champion Clint Seller has 315 points, Nicholas Growler has 254 points and Leeson is third in the standings with 244 points.

“We probably should have been a lot closer to leading the championship at this stage,” admitted Chris. “I’ve been having trouble getting off the start line as quickly as I should and this has put me on the back foot in the early laps of the races.

“This was again the problem in the most recent round at Zwartkops Raceway in August. I was closing down the leaders when I lost control of my bike on the penultimate lap. I hurt my shoulder and ankle and was forced to sit out the second race, so it was a no-pointer for me that weekend.

“I’m back to full strength again and keen to complete the season with two good showings in Cape Town and at Kyalami in the finale in November. We’ve made a lot of progress with the HP4 since its debut in Cape Town in March and were right on the pace at Zwartkops.

“Now it’s up to me to get my starts right and we should be back in business.”

Ottens has thoroughly enjoyed his season with the HP4 and improved his pace with every outing.  “I even managed to get up to second in the first race after a great start,” he said. “I’m happy with my performance so far and my overall fourth place in the championship. My aim in the final two rounds is to see if I can improve on my best result to date of third.”

Ends

For more information on BMW Motorrad South Africa Motorsport, please contact:

Mr. Rob Holder

General Manager: BMW Motorrad South Africa

Email: Rob.Holder@bmw.co.za

Tel: +27-12-522-2286

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