Raffaele De Rosa takes the lead in the 2016 BMW Motorrad Race Trophy – Four wins, a total of 15 podium finishes and the championship leads in BSB, IDM and the IRRC for the BMW S 1000 RR.

With another podium in the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup, Raffaele de Rosa climbed to the top of the 2016 Race Trophy standings – Wins and podiums for the BMW S 1000 RR racers also in the British Superbike Championship, the Superbike IDM and the International Road Racing Championship.

Munich (DE), 4th May 2016. New standings and a new leader: Raffaele De Rosa (IT) climbed to the top of the 2016 BMW Motorrad Race Trophy. He was one of the BMW Motorrad Motorsport racers who claimed no less than four wins and a total of 15 podium finishes for the BMW S 1000 RR last weekend – in the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup (STK1000), the British Superbike Championship (BSB), the Superbike IDM / International German Championship (IDM) and the International Road Racing Championship (IRRC). The BMW racers where also in action in the South African SuperGP Champions Trophy (RSA SBK) and the Motoamerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Series (AMA).

2016 BMW Motorrad Race Trophy.

Change at the top of the 2016 BMW Motorrad Race Trophy. This week, the standings are led by Raffaele de Rosa (IT), who celebrated another podium finish on his Althea BMW Racing Team BMW S 1000 RR at the Imola (IT) round of the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup (STK1000). De Rosa leads with 125.25 Race Trophy points. Benjamin Colliaux (FR / FR EU) is now second with 101.54 Race Trophy points. Third place is shared by Dominik Vincon (DE) and Stefan Kerschbaumer (AT), who race together in the Superstock class of the FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC STK), with 100.95 points each (see full standings below).

So far, 103 BMW racers from all around the world have registered for the 2016 BMW Motorrad Race Trophy. They come from 21 different countries and race for 53 different teams in 23 different championship classes. Registration for this year’s BMW Motorrad Race Trophy is open until 30th June 2016. In 2016 the BMW Motorrad Race Trophy comprises of a total of 28 classes in 21 international and national championships.

FIM Superbike World Championship in Imola, Italy.

Jordi Torres (ES) claimed the best result of the season so far for the BMW S 1000 RR in the FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK). At the fifth round held in Imola (IT), the Althea BMW Racing Team rider finished fourth in race one. In the second race, Torres crossed the line in seventh. His team-mate Markus Reiterberger (DE) set impressive lap times during practice and qualifying, but struggled with some issues in the races. He came home in 13th and 12th respectively.

While Imola was the home round for the Althea BMW Racing Team, British newcomers Milwaukee BMW first had to get acquainted with the historic Italian circuit. Joshua Brookes (AU) was fastest in Sunday’s warm-up and ended the two races in 14th and 13th. His team-mate Karel Abraham (CZ) was 16th in race one but retired after a fall in race two.

FIM Superstock 1000 Cup in Imola, Italy.

Imola (IT) also hosted the third race of the 2016 FIM Superstock 1000 Cup. Raffaele De Rosa (IT) continued his streak of podium finishes on his Althea BMW S 1000 RR. After a third place at MotorLand Aragón (ES) and his dominant win at Assen (NL), De Rosa claimed another third at his home race. In the championship classification, De Rosa is second, equal on points with leader Leandro Mercado (AR). Luca Vitali (IT / Team 2R Racing) was sixth on his RR, while Matteo Ferrari (IT / DMR Racing Team) also finished within the top ten, crossing the line in tenth.

British Superbike Championship at Oulton Park, Great Britain.

The second round of the 2016 British Superbike Championship (BSB) was held on the national Bank Holiday this Monday at Oulton Park (GB) – and the spectators witnessed two more than thrilling races in the Superbike class (BSB SBK). On both occasions, the fight for the win went down to the wire in tricky mixed conditions. The summary: one victory and two second places for the BMW S 1000 RR.

In race one, Christian Iddon (GB) battled with former WorldSBK rider Leon Haslam (GB) up to the finish line. In the end, Tyco BMW rider Iddon finished second, just 0.1 seconds behind Haslam. In race two, Iddon again was a protagonist. This time, he was engaged in a thrilling duel with fellow BMW rider Richard Cooper (GB / Buildbase BMW Motorrad). On the final lap, the lead changed twice between them. It was then Cooper who celebrated his first ever BSB win, with an advantage of 0.1 seconds. Iddon again claimed second on the podium and took the overall lead in the championship classification.

Before winning race two, Cooper had finished ninth in the first heat. Michael Laverty (GB) claimed sixth and fifth respectively on his Tyco BMW S 1000 RR. Alastair Seeley (GB / Royal Air Force Regular & Reserve) was fifth in race one but failed to finish race two. Cooper’s Buildbase BMW Motorrad team-mate Lee Jackson (GB) collected points in both races, crossing the line in 14th and 13th respectively. Points also went to the two Smiths Racing BMW riders: Howie Mainwaring Smart (GB) and Jakub Smrz (CZ) ended the second race in 11th and 15th respectively.

In the Superstock class (BSB STK) race, BMW riders occupied second to fifth places. Taylor MacKenzie (GB / Buildbase BMW Motorrad) secured second and set the fastest race lap. With this result, MacKenzie extended his championship lead. He was joined on the podium by Ian Hutchinson (GB / Tyco BMW) in third. Hudson Kennaugh (ZA / Trikmotot Bahnstormer BMW) was fourth and Joshua Elliott came home fifth on the other Tyco BMW S 1000 RR.

Superbike IDM / International German Championship at Lausitzring, Germany.

The 2016 season in the Superbike IDM / International German Championship (IDM) kicked off at the Lausitzring (DE). It was nearly a perfect weekend for BMW racer Mathieu Gines (FR / Van Zon-Remeha-BMW). He was fastest in all practice and qualifying sessions. Starting from pole-position, Gines was second in race one and took the win in race two. In addition, he set the fastest race lap on both occasions. The Frenchman left the Lausitzring as the overall championship leader.

His team-mate Marco Nekvasil (AT) finished both races in eighth overall and third on the Superstock class (IDM STK) podium. Two more riders compete for the Van Zon-Remeha-BMW team: Jan Bühn (DE) and Pepijn Bijsterbosch (NL). Bühn was 11th on both occasions, Bijsterbosch claimed 13th and 14th respectively. Dominik Vincon (DE / BMW Stilgenbauer) also ended both races in the points with 14th and 13th places.

International Road Racing Championship in Hengelo, the Netherlands.

The International Road Racing Championship (IRRC) is a new addition to the BMW Motorrad Race Trophy. The first races of the 2016 season were held in Hengelo (NL) last weekend – with no less than 12 BMW S 1000 RR racers competing. They claimed five out of the six podium places.

The man to beat was Vincent Lonbois (BE) on the Herpigny Motors BMW Motorrad Belux RR. He celebrated a double win and set the fastest race lap on both occasions. This also made him the championship leader. In race one he was joined on the podium by Didier Grams (DE / G&G Motorsport) in third. Lonbois’ team-mate Sébastien Le Grelle (BE) was fourth. In race two the trio claimed a one-two-three for the BMW S 1000 RR, with Lonbois winning, Le Grelle in second and Grams in third.

South African SuperGP Champions Trophy in Zwartkops, South Africa.

The third round of the 2016 South African SuperGP Champions Trophy (RSA SBK) was held in Zwartkops (ZA) last weekend. In the strong field of 25 competitors, three BMW racers claimed top ten finishes. Lance Isaacs (ZA / Lance Isaacs Racing) was seventh and tenth respectively. Daryn Upton (ZA / TSE/ RSA Racing Paroumont BMW) crossed the line in tenth and eighth. Garrick Vlok (ZA) was ninth in race one, but failed to finish race two. Points also went to Isaacs’ team-mate Justin Gillesen (ZA) for 12th and 14th, to Hein McMohan (ZA / 14th and 13th) and to Ricky Lee Weare (ZA), who was 15th in race one.

Motoamerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Series at New Jersey Motorsports Park, USA.

The Superbike racers of the Motoamerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Series (AMA) met at New Jersey Motorsports Park (US) last weekend to contest their third round of the 2016 season. Two BMW S 1000 RR riders were in action. Steve Rapp (US / Scheibe Racing) was 12th in race one but crashed in race two. Jeremy Cook (US / Dead Presidents Racing) finished in 22nd and 21st respectively.

2016 BMW Motorrad Race Trophy – Current Standings.

Status: 4th May 2016

16. David Bouvier (FR/FR EU/52.96), 17. Ian Hutchinson (GB/BSB STK/52.00), 18. Michael Laverty (GB/BSB SBK/50.80), 19. Joshua Elliott (GB/BSB STK/50.55), 20. Danilo Lewis (BR/BRSBK/50.00), 21. Mathieu Gines (FR/IDM SBK/47.14), 22. Luca Vitali (IT/STK1000/45.50), 23. Nicolas Grobler (ZA/RSA SBK/44.00), 24. Hudson Kennaugh (ZA/BSB STK/43.27), 25. Maximilian Scheib (CI/CEV/43.00), 26. Madjid Idres (FR/FR EU/42.46), 27. Joshua Brookes (AU/WorldSBK/39.80), 28. Bertrand Boyer (FR/FR EU/39.38), 29. Richard Cooper (GB/BSB SBK/38.80), 30. Florian Brunet-Lugardon (FR/FR EU/38.77), 31. Cyril Brunet-Lugardon (FR/FR EU/36.31), 32. Michael Rutter (GB/BSB STK/36.00), 33. Pekka Päivärinta/Kirsi Kainulainen (FI/SWC/35.36), 34. Santiago Barragán (ES/CEV/32.89), 35. Manu Dagault (FR/FR EU/32.00), 36. Garrick Vlok (ZA/RSA SBK/29.14), 37. Steve Rapp (US/AMA STK/28.80), 38. Jan Bühn (DE/IDM STK/27.14), 39. Karel Abraham (CZ/WorldSBK/27.00), 40. Camille Hedelin (FR/EWC SBK/26.26), 40. Clive Rambure (FR/EWC SBK/26.26), 40. Nicolas Senechal (FR/EWC SBK/26.26), 43. Lee Jackson (GB/BSB SBK/23.60), 44. Julien Brun (FR/FR EU/20.92), 45. Adrián Bonastre (ES/CEV/19.00), 46. Justin Gillesen (ZA/RSA SBK/18.86), 46. Ronald Slamet (ZA/RSA SBK/18.86), 48. Eric Vionnet (CH/STK1000/17.25), 49. Pepijn Bijsterbosch (NL/IDM STK/17.14), 50. Matteo Ferrari (IT/CIV/15.75), 51. Ricky Lee Weare (ZA/RSA SBK/14.57), 52. Janez Prosenik (SI/EWC SBK/13.62), 53. Léon Benichou (FR/FR EU/13.54), 54. Alastair Seeley (GB/BSB SBK/13.40), 55. Etienne Nelson (ZA/RSA SBK/13.14), 55. Evert Stoffberg (ZA/RSA SBK/13.14), 57. Maxime Bonnot (FR/FSBK SBK/12.92), 58. Pedro Rodriguez (ES/CEV/12.60), 59. David Datzer (DE/IRRC/11.27), 60. Jeremy Cook (US/AMA STK/10.67), 61. Matthieu Lussiana (FR/WorldSBK/9.20), 62. Federico D’Annunzio (IT/STK1000/7.50), 63. Pierre Bezuidenhout (ZA/RSA SBK/6.57), 64. Gauthier Duwelz (BE/STK1000/5.75), 64. Thomas Toffel (CH/STK1000/5.75), 66. Howie Mainwaring Smart (GB/BSB SBK/5.60), 67. Pascal Meslet (FR/FR/FR EU/4.92), 68. Roberto Blazquez (ES/CEV/4.60), 69. Jakub Smrz (CZ/BSB SBK/3.20), 70. Sam West (GB/BSB STK/2.91), 71. John Krieger (ZA/RSA SBK/2.29), 71. Björn Stuppi (DE/IDM STK/2.29), 73. Eric Dagault (FR/FR EU/1.23), 74. Elwyn Steenkamp (ZA/RSA SBK/1.14), 75. Michal Bidas (CZ/AARR STK/0.00), 75. Jacques Brits (ZA/RSA SBK/0.00), 75. Colin Butler (CA/MSC SBK/0.00), 75. Dominic Chang (SG/MSC STK/0.00), 75. Daniel Cooper (GB/BMW RRC/0.00), 75. Stefan Dolipski (DE/AMA STK/0.00), 75. Michael Dunlop (GB/BMW RRC/0.00), 75. Ryan Farquhar (GB/BMW RRC/0.00), 75. Michal Fojtik (CZ/AARR STK/0.00), 75. Dominic Herbertson (GB/BMW RRC/0.00), 75. Sabine Holbrook (DE/AARR SBK/0.00), 75. Davo Johnson (AU/BSB STK/0.00), 75. Lee Johnston (GB/BMW RRC/0.00), 75. Nasarudin Mat Yusop (MY/MSC STK/0.00), 75. Valter Patronen (FI/CEV/0.00), 75. Dominique Platet (FR/EWC SBK/0.00), 75. Michal Prášek (CZ/AARR STK/0.00), 75. Heinrich Rheeder (ZA/RSA SBK/0.00), 75. Mike Roscher/Anna Burkard (DE/SWC/0.00), 75. Joan Sardanyons (ES/CEV/0.00), 75. Denni Schiavoni (IT/CIV/0.00), 75. Michal Šembera (CZ/AARR SBK/0.00), 75. Paul Shoesmith (GB/BMW RRC/0.00), 75. Rene Skalicky (CZ/AARR STK/0.00), 75. Tomas Svitok (SK/AARR STK/0.00), 75. Jordan Szoke (CA/CSBK/0.00), 75. Martin Tritscher (AT/AARR STK/0.00), 75. Jacques van Wyngaardt (ZA/RSASBK/0.00), 75. Ben Young (GB/CSBK/0.00)