New S 1000 RR win in 2019 North West 200 Superstock race.

Find out the full race details below.

The all-new BMW S 1000 RR dominated the opening Superstock race of the International North West 200 on Thursday evening. Peter Hickman took the bike’s first victory – achieving the first international win for the 2019 BMW S 1000 RR with Michael Dunlop finishing third in the six-lap race.

With teams receiving their bikes just a few weeks ago, and riders having their first experience of the Superstock-spec machines earlier this week, the S 1000 RR showed its huge potential as the near-standard bike took two podium finishes. Following the BMW’s dominance in yesterday’s opening Superstock race, its potential is clear to see as development continues through the racing season.

Race Summary.

Hickman started the race from pole position, and despite an early challenge from Glenn Irwin, the Smiths BMW rider regained first place at University on the opening lap. He managed to stretch out a lead of almost three-seconds during the middle-stages of the race, as the slipstreaming pack struggled to match Hickman’s pace.

Michael Dunlop opened his 2019 road racing account with a hard-fought third placed finish on the MD Racing Superstock S 1000 RR. Starting from 4^th on the grid, Dunlop was locked in a battle for the top-five with Ian Hutchinson, James Hillier and fellow BMW rider Lee Johnston. With Dean Harrison sliding off at University on the penultimate lap, Johnston and Dunlop battled for the final podium position as Dunlop finally prevailed, to the delight of the local crowd.

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"

The bike hadn't turned a wheel before Tuesday, so I've had no time on the bike, so to take a win first time out is full credit to BMW and the Smiths Racing team. The boys tried to keep me at bay initially, but I soon got to the front and from that moment on, I just put my head down and tried to get away. I felt really strong along the coast road and once I'd managed to break away, I managed the race from there. "

Peter Hickman

"

We were steady away from the start but had a great battle to come through for the podium on the final lap, to finish third with such little seat time on a brand-new bike is a credit to the team and the boys, the new bike has a lot of potential and we’re looking forward to Saturday’s races. "

Michael Dunlop

Two Podium Finishes.

Scott Grimsdall, BMW Motorrad: “From early in the planning process we knew the arrival of the brand-new S 1000 RR wouldn’t leave the teams with a much preparation time. Given that the Tyco BMW and Smiths BMW teams only received their bikes a few short weeks ago, it is a huge testament to their engineering skills that they were able to get the new RR to the start line. An enormous amount of effort and commitment from the teams and our colleagues at BMW Motorrad Motorsports, has provided the new S 1000 RR with two fantastic podium finishes in its first road race.”

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