BMW S 1000 RR: Final spurt in the fight for the world championship title. Team BMW Motorrad France 99 travels to season finale in Doha with a chance of securing the FIM Endurance World Championship title. Munich/Doha, 07 November 2011. BMW Motorrad is looking forward with excitement to the season finale of the 2011 FIM Endurance World Championship in Doha (QAT), where Team BMW Motorrad France 99 has a chance of securing the first world title for the BMW S 1000 RR produced by the Bavarian manufacturer. In the 8 Hours of Doha event in Qatar, the team consisting of riders Sébastien Gimbert (FRA), Erwan Nigon (FRA) and Damian Cudlin (AUS) is the favourite for both victory and the world title. The eight-hour race will be on Saturday, 12th November, at the Losail International Circuit. Ahead of the season finale Team BMW Motorrad France 99 lies second in the championship, just nine points adrift of the leader, SERT. With the winner receiving 30 points, BMW’s team has a strong chance of securing the title. Team BMW Motorrad France 99 is contesting its first full FIM Endurance World Championship season in 2011 with the support of Munich, and has impressed from the start. The season opener, the famous “Bol d’Or” round in Magny-Cours (FRA), saw the team celebrate its first podium finish. In Albacete (ESP) the BMW team claimed its first victory, and after that managed an impressive fourth against numerous full works teams in the tightly-contested 8-Hour Race in Suzuka (JPN) to hold a provisional lead in the championship. The achievement marked the first lead of a world championship by the BMW S 1000 RR. “We are extremely proud of our achievements this season. We travel to Doha with confidence, and will do whatever it takes to win the race and title,” said Marcel Driessen, Director BMW Motorrad France. “We are optimistic as we managed to beat our opponents on numerous occasions this year. We aim to do that again. Simultaneously we are realistic, and know the competition will not be easy to beat in the final. We will simply concentrate on our own efforts. Should it not work out, then second overall in the championship is still a massive achievement for our young team. Still, we will do our best to be on top by the end!” “The Losail International Circuit in Qatar is one of my favourite tracks, and one where I enjoyed good results in the past,” explained Gimbert. “My teammates, Erwan and Damian, have also been quite successful here, so we head to the final race of the season with confidence. I want the Endurance World Championship title; SERT will be hard to beat, but that won’t stop us trying in Qatar. To win would be just reward for the team, for BMW and for Michelin, all of whom have worked so hard this season.” “Since the 24 Hours of Le Mans I have been testing with Michelin, which has allowed me to keep up to speed ahead of the next race in Qatar,” added Nigon. “I have also ridden a lot of motocross to stay fit, so I will be heading to the Middle East in good shape. In Qatar we need to win the race if we are to take the championship, so that will be our goal and we will take the risks necessary to achieve it. We have had a good season, with a race win at Albacete and a podium at the Bol d’Or, so I am pretty confident we can come away from Qatar with another good result.” “We do not go into this weekend as firm favourites to win the championship, but this is endurance racing, so anything can happen,” commented Cudlin. “Our only focus is winning the race; the rest we cannot influence. It’s a good mentality to have, and certainly takes the pressure off us and puts it squarely on SERT’s shoulders. We have all worked so hard to get into this position, and now it’s time to make the most of it. We are going to give it everything we have in Doha, and see what happens. Keep your fingers crossed!” “Together with Team BMW Motorrad France 99 we face a thrilling finale to the Endurance World Championship season; after all, there is a world title at stake,” said Berthold Hauser, head of the specialist BMW Motorrad HP Race Support department. “Naturally from our side HP Race Support will provide all necessary support required to land the big coup with the team and BMW Motorrad France. From our current position it is absolutely possible to take the title. However, it will be a tough race, and the competition cannot be underestimated, although our team has beaten them in the past. We are prepared, and now need only a bit of racing luck and all the BMW fans crossing their fingers.” More, from a press release issued by BMW Motorrad France 99: TEAM BMW MOTORRAD FRANCE READY FOR DOHA DESERT SHOWDOWN Team BMW Motorrad France head into this weekend’s 8 Hours of Qatar, the final round of the 2011 Endurance World Championship, as one of the two favourites to be crowned as world champions at the end of the weekend. A win at the 8 Hours of Albacete, a podium at the Bol d’Or and an impressive fourth place against the Japanese factory teams at Suzuka, means that Team BMW Motorrad France go into the season finale just nine points adrift of current championship leaders, SERT. Team BMW Motorrad France’s trio of riders, Sébastien Gimbert, Erwan Nigon and Damian Cudlin, know that only a win – and the 30 points that go with it – will do this weekend if they are to achieve their dream of being crowned world champions. But while their goal this weekend is clear, Gimbert, Nigon and Cudlin are under no illusions as to how tough a challenge they face, taking on one of the most experienced and successful teams in endurance racing in only Team BMW Motorrad France’s first full season in the championship. The 8 Hours of Qatar takes place at the Losail International Circuit, which is located in the desert just 20km from the capital city of Doha. The weekend gets underway on Thursday 10th November with free practice and the first qualifying session, while the race will start at 13.00 on Saturday 12th November and finish at 21.00. Erwan Nigon: “Since the 24 Hours of Le Mans I have been doing some testing with Michelin, which has allowed me to keep up to speed ahead of the next race in Qatar. I’ve also ridden a lot of motocross to stay fit, so I will be heading to the Middle East in good shape. In Qatar we have to win the race if we are to take the championship, so that will be our only goal and we will take the risks necessary to achieve it. We have had a good season, with a race win at Albacete and podium at the Bol d’Or, so I’m pretty confident we can come away with another good result in Qatar.” Sébastien Gimbert: “The Losail International Circuit in Qatar is one of my favourite tracks, and one where I’ve had some good results in the past. My teammates, Erwan and Damian, have also been quite successful at this track in the past, so we head into the final race of the season with some confidence. Since Le Mans I’ve been keeping fit with some Enduro Motocross in Auvergne, so I’m ready to race. I want the Endurance World Championship title; SERT will be hard to beat, but that won’t stop us trying in Qatar. To win would be just reward for the team, for BMW and for Michelin, all of whom have worked so hard this season.” Damian Cudlin: “While SERT will go into this weekend in Qatar as the firm favourites to win the championship this is endurance racing, so anything could happen. Our only focus is on winning the race, the rest we cannot influence. It’s a good mentality to have and it certainly takes the pressure from us and puts it squarely on SERT’s shoulders. We’ve all worked so hard to get into this position and now it’s time to make the most of it. We’re going to give it everything we’ve got in Doha and see what happens. Keep your fingers crossed!”