Choose your new BMW at BMW Motorrad

BMW MOTORRAD MOTORSSPORT - WSBK - BRNO - RACES

11/07/2011

Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport completed the eighth round of the 2011 FIM Superbike World Championship at Brno (CZE) with two solid races. Factory rider, Leon Haslam (GBR), had a good points haul, finishing eighth and seventh respectively. With this Leon improved one position in the riders’ championship. His team mate, Troy Corser (AUS), did not compete this weekend due to his fractured left arm. Nevertheless he was with the team at Brno. Troy will be back in action at the next round in Silverstone (GBR).

In race one, Leon had a good start from 13th on the grid and improved to eighth during the first lap. At the halfway stage he fell back a few places, but during the final laps he was able fight to his way back up, crossing the line in eighth. At the start of the second race Leon improved to ninth. Then he had some good battles and was able to pass a couple of riders, and was seventh after eight laps. In the closing stages of the race, Leon had an intense battle with Joan Lascorz for this seventh position, with Leon coming out on top.

Leon is now fifth in the riders’ championship with 137 points, Troy lies in 15th (55 points). In the manufacturers’ standings BMW is fourth with 173 points. Ayrton Badovini (ITA) of the BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team finished both heats in sixth, while his team mate, Lorenzo Lanzi (ITA), was 17th and 13th respectively. The races were won by Marco Melandri and Max Biaggi.

In the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup race BMW riders where once more successful, with four BMW S 1000 RRs finishing in the top six. Sylvain Barrier (FRA) from the BMW Motorrad Italia Superstock Team celebrated his first victory in the series. His team mate, Lorenzo Zanetti (ITA), also stood on the podium, finishing third. Markus Reiterberger (GER) from the Garnier Alpha Racing Team scored his best ever result in the series. He finished fourth after starting from the front row for the first time. Fabio Massei (ITA) from Team Piellemoto completed the top six.

Leon Haslam:

Result Race 1: 8th / Gap to 1st: 00:21.399 min / Fastest Lap Race 1: 2:01.064 min

Result Race 2: 7th / Gap to 1st: 00:21.650 min / Fastest Lap Race 2: 2:00.941 min

“In today’s first race I had a good start. With new, grippy tyres I was struggling a little bit with my pace, so some other riders were able to pass me. But when the grip went away I did not go any slower - but they did, so I caught up again. That was a good battle and I passed three guys during the last few laps, which was exciting. In race two I was held up a little bit so Ayrton, who was in sixth, could get away. But then I had a really good battle with Lascorz in the last two laps. They were two pretty hard races for eighth and seventh. Of course this is not where we want to finish, but we kind of understand what the issue is and know what direction to take now. I am pretty happy with the progress we made and I hope we can make up the difference at my next home race at Silverstone.”

Rainer Bäumel (Head of Race Operations):

“We made the best out of our starting position. Actually, the results were even better than we expected from 13th on the grid. Leon had two solid races to improve in the riders’ championship by one position, so this was a satisfying end to this weekend. But, of course, we know that we still have work to do. We have a lot of ideas that, in any case, we will implement for the next race weekend at Silverstone. We want to congratulate Sylvain Barrier on his first victory on the BMW S 1000 RR in the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup.”