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CONCEPT C AND BMW MOTORRAD ITALIA AT MOTODAYS

18/03/2011

From 10 to 13 March, the Italian city of Rome was buzzing with the sound of even more motorcycles and scooters than usual, as the third edition of the Motodays bike show came to town, including a special visit from the only BMW Motorrad Concept C design study in existence.

Visitor numbers were up around 20 per cent on 2010, with around 108,000 fans making the journey to the Fiera di Roma to enjoy what has become the largest bike show in central-southern Italy.

The Motodays show in the Italian capital included all the main manufacturers, who filled the 40,000 square metres indoor exhibition area with all their latest models. BMW Motorrad Italia had a big 500 square metres display stand, which also included merchandising and World of BMW information areas.

Naturally, the full range of machines was on display for visitors and this was the first chance for many to see the new K 1600 GT and K 1600 GTL six-cylinder luxury tourers, the single-cylinder G 650 GS enduro machine, the R 1200 R naked boxer and even a limited-edition S 1000 RR.

BMW Motorrad’s Concept C design study continued its tour of European bike shows and made a special appearance at Motodays, where it had its own display area. This attracted thousands of passionate Italian scooter fans, all aware that the company will be launching two maxi-scooter models in the near future and all keen to see what a series production BMW scooter could look like. The Concept C has now made the journey to France, where it will be displayed at an exclusive nightclub and lifestyle department store.

As a nation fascinated with motorcycle sport, World Superbike riders from the past and present were part of the event programme, including BMW Motorrad Italia team riders James Toseland and Ayrton Badovini, who were kept busy signing autographs on the BMW stand.

“Motodays is a fantastic bike show and I'm happy to come back to Rome,” said the double WSBK champion, who was the show’s guest of honour for the second consecutive year. "It's going to be a great World Superbike season this year and I'm aiming to be closer to the front at the next round at Donington. We’ve got the right team and the right bike and I can't wait to get going again.”

Toseland’s team-mate Ayrton Badovini is of course famous in Italy, thanks to his heroic exploits during last year’s Superstock 1000 FIM Cup, which he dominated throughout 2010 on his S 1000 RR, winning all but one of the races. He has now made the progression up to the World Superbike Series, leaving 30 other riders from 12 nations to battle for championship glory in 2011, from the opening race in Assen in April to the season finale at Portimao in October. Eight of these 30 riders will be on BMW RR machinery, so expect the racing to be as exciting and close as ever.