BMW The Ultimate Driving Machine

For motorsport fans it has been a long wait but this weekend marks a welcome return of the Superbike World Championship, which kicks off at Phillip Island circuit in Australia – the same venue where BMW Motorrad Motorsport’s inaugural WSBK season began just 12 months ago.

 Having surprised everybody with such strong performances and 17 top ten finishes in their first year of competition with the S 1000 RR Superbike, BMW Motorrad Motorsport is confident of building on this and will be its first podium finish in its second season with top riders Troy Corser and Ruben Xaus.

It has been a busy few months for BMW Motorrad. Indeed, the successful press launch and subsequent arrival of the series production S 1000 RR in dealerships worldwide has meant that the hugely praised 193 hp Superbike has rarely been out of the headlines. Following January’s ‘shakedown’ tests in Portugal and Spain – where Corser and Xaus delivered almost 2,000 kilometres worth of riding feedback to their crews – the team has since arrived at Phillip Island and completed the final official pre-season tests in preparation for the first round of the championship on Sunday.

After two days of testing alongside all the other teams in a variety of weather conditions, both BMW riders completed plenty of laps, with Xaus setting his best time of 1:32.714 on the second session of the final day and finishing 11th fastest overall.

“I’m quite satisfied with today’s test – especially the lap times set in the afternoon make me confident,” said Ruben. “The rideability of the bike has improved a lot and I have the feeling that we made good progress over the course of the tests. My crew did a great job and I’m confident that we can score some good results during the race weekend.”

‘Local’ hero Troy Corser posted a fastest lap of 1:32.8 after completing 78 laps on Sunday and 56 laps during a rain-interrupted Monday test. His home circuit is one of his favourites and he is ready and raring to go this weekend.

"For me the weekend at Phillip Island is always something special and I think I can speak for the majority of the riders when I say that it is one of the best circuits around. I always hugely enjoy competing there – and not just because it's my home track. From a rider's point of view, the circuit flows very nicely, and safety levels are very high. Every year I look forward to the annual 'Corser weekend' at the track. My family and friends always come along to support me and the atmosphere's just great."

Sharp-eyed race fans will have noticed the prominent ‘3asy Ride’ logo on Troy and Ruben’s S 1000 RR race bikes, as well as on their leathers. This innovative, manufacturer-backed finance programme is currently being rolled out internationally and offers riders three easy options to get on a BMW and discover the many benefits of the brand. Watch this space for more details on this great new BMW product.

Meanwhile, back to Phillip Island and more good news for BMW fans. There will be a total of four BMW riders on the grid, as factory riders Troy and Ruben will be joined by Team Reitwagen BMW riders Andrew Pitt and Roland Resch, who will compete alongside the works squad and are determined to challenge the regular championship top-runners. This welcome new addition to the BMW family will definitely be worth watching throughout 2010, as will the BMW Motorrad Italia-supported team of Ayrton Badovini and Daniele Beretta, who are both competing in the FIM Superstock series that supports WSBK European rounds.

Those fans that aren’t lucky enough to make the journey to Australia to watch the World Superbike races live will be glad to know that a full race results service will be available in English and German on the www.bmw-motorrad.com website, including previews, qualifying and race reports. And those who want to receive all the news from the races via email, can simply subscribe to the BMW Motorrad Motorsport newsletter.