Munich/Stephanskirchen. In the FIM Superbike World Championship, the final chequered flag of the 2011 season will be shown this coming weekend. Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport will be in Portimão (POR) for the season finale from 14th to 16th October. The team from Munich and Stephanskirchen is hungry to follow on from the successful race weekend in Magny-Cours (FRA), where works rider Leon Haslam (GBR) claimed another podium finish and a fourth place. Furthermore, Leon and team-mate Troy Corser (AUS) scored a total of 43 points for the team in France more than ever before on a race weekend in the FIM Superbike World Championship. Ahead of the finale of the 2011 season, Leon is currently fifth in the Riders’ Championship on 216 points with Troy fifteenth on 85 points. Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport already has 301 points to its name this season 100 points more than at the same point of last season. In the Constructors’ Championship, for which only the manufacturer’s best result in each race is taken into consideration, BMW lies in fourth place on 261 points. After the final race weekend of the season, the Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport will remain in Portimão for a day of testing in preparation for next year. A further-developed version of the BMW S 1000 RR will be used for this test session. Leon Haslam: “We are looking forward to the season finale. The last few races we have been getting the most out of our RR, which gives me confidence. Sure, we still have some small issues, but we will work on them. It is the last round of the year and we are still pushing for the first win. The track is very up and down, and there are a lot of gradients in the circuit. This is sometimes difficult, as the bike tends to wheelie on these parts of the track. As such, it is a challenge to find the right set-up for these characteristics. Last season I had two second places, so it is a circuit that I enjoy. The weather looks very good for the weekend, so we are optimistic that we can have another good race.” Troy Corser: “I like the Portimão track. It has lots of elevation changes and I think that the track will suit our RR, because it is quite fast and flowing. However, there are a few crests over the hills where these strong bikes could pull wheelies. This might be our biggest struggle this weekend. I am really optimistic. To go fast in Portimão you need a bike that is steering well, and this is the case with our RR. It is an area that we improved with the chassis set-up and I was quite happy with the settings at Magny-Cours. We are aiming to find a similar set-up and the same feeling at Portimão. We will also try to improve the tyre life over the race distance. Then we should be well prepared.” Bernhard Gobmeier, BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director: “We will travel to the Algarve with the momentum gained on Sunday in Magny-Cours, which was a successful day. We showed in France that we can have a significant say in the fight for the places on the podium. Our lap times were up there with the leaders. Obviously, we are now looking to convert this into top results again at the last weekend of the season. We are hoping for two more exciting races in Portugal, and that our RR is right up there in the leading group. We have no time to catch our breath after the finale. As soon as the 2011 season is over, we will dive straight into preparations for next year. We are staying in Portimão to test our further-developed and, in many areas, optimised 2012 bike on Tuesday.” Background: Portimão is located in the south of Portugal, in the western Algarve, about 200 kilometres south of the capital Lisbon. With a population of 50,000, the city is a popular tourist destination thanks to its plentiful beaches, impressive cliffs and many leisure activities. Motorsport also found a new home here a few years ago. In October 2008, the ultra-modern “Autódromo Internacional do Algarve” was completed in the hilly countryside to the north of Portimão. It was officially opened on 2nd November 2008 with the season finale of the FIM Superbike World Championship. Since then, the FIM Superbike World Championship has returned to Portimão every year, with this season marking the fourth occasion. This season, the circuit in the Algarve will host the season finale for the third time, having previously played this role in 2008 and 2009. In the meantime, Portimão has become a regular destination for many other motorcycle and automobile championships. Many teams and race series use the circuit for testing, due to its demanding layout. The racetrack is part of the “Algarve Motor Park”, which is also home to a modern karting track, a technology park, a racing driver school, and a five-star hotel. The racetrack has a very unique character. It blends into the hilly landscape with a number of uphill and downhill sections, whilst also featuring changes in direction and gradient, a lot of long bends, and a winding infield. The teams are faced with the challenge of finding the right set-up for all these characteristics. In particular, the bike must lie perfectly when accelerating out of corners. The key to a good lap time is the final corner: here, it is important to take enough speed into the start-finish straight, which is almost a kilometre long. British BMW factory rider Leon Haslam has good memories of Portugal: last year he stood on the podium as runner-up after both races in Portimão. His Australian team-mate Troy Corser also claimed a podium finish in 2008, when the FIM Superbike World Championship made its debut in the Algarve.