Fifth place for McGuinness at Qatar Morecambe’s John McGuinness completed his World Endurance Championship season on Saturday with a fine fifth place at the final round in Qatar. Riding this time with Glen Richards and Keith Amor, the Honda TT Legends team were on the pace throughout and, after qualifying in ninth place, they were able to advance significantly forward in the 8-hour race to secure their third fifth place finish of the year. After a solid start in first practice, all three riders improved their times in the second and final qualifying session with each getting thirty minutes of track time around the 3.43-mile Doha circuit. The team’s overall combined time of 2m03.381s was good enough to qualify them in ninth place overall. When the race got underway on Saturday afternoon, Richards set a blistering pace in the first stint taking numerous places and John was able to consolidate the team’s position. Indeed, they were lying in third as he handed over to Amor and over the next few hours, positions changed frequently. As darkness fell, the team were in fifth position and it was John who had the honour of not only completing the final stint of the 8 hours but also of the 2011 season. The fifth place meant the team ended the year in 7th place overall in the Championship with 43 points. Speaking afterwards, a pleased John commented; “We’ve finished three races this year and finished fifth each time so, for our first year in the Championship, I think that’s a fantastic achievement. Qualifying went well and although I knew it was going to be tough out there, once again we strung together a pretty faultless race and with no issues we were able to bring the bike home for a good finish. It’s quite a unique place to be racing and I was honoured to take the final stint for the team so the 8 Hours of Qatar is another box ticked in my ‘things to do’ list! I’ve got to say a big thanks to everyone in the team they’ve been mega all year long and with a lot of work going on behind the scenes, especially the ABS project, they’ve done an awesome job. It’s all over for them but I’m heading off to Macau now and I’m really looking forward to getting on board the SMT Honda it won’t be easy but I’ll certainly be going for the win once more!” The Macau Grand Prix gets underway on Thursday with first practice whilst the 15-lap race takes place on Saturday, 19th November. More, from a press release issued by BMW Motorrad Motorsport: BMW S 1000 RR just misses world championship title. Team BMW Motorrad France 99 experiences bad luck at the finale and finishes the FIM Endurance World Championship second overall. Munich/Doha, 13th November 2011. BMW Motorrad celebrates the best ever final placing for the BMW S 1000 RR in a world championship. In only its first full season in the FIM Endurance World Championship, Team BMW Motorrad France 99 finished second in the overall standings. But the joy accompanying this success is tempered slightly, as the team was fighting for the title. However, bad luck at the season finale, the “8 Hours of Doha” (QAT) prevented the major triumph. Team BMW Motorrad France 99 crossed the line second. That was not enough to secure the title, as rival SERT finished third and became World Champion with an advantage of only four points. The race weekend started in style for the BMW Team. Having dominated practice and qualifying, riders Sébastien Gimbert (FRA), Erwan Nigon (FRA) and Damian Cudlin (AUS) were confident of fighting for the win on the “Losail International Circuit”. Unfortunately, their hopes were cruelly dashed just 12 laps into the race when another competitor crashed and collected the race leader Gimbert on his way to the gravel trap. Four minutes lost for repairs in the pits meant the team rejoined the race in 24th. The squad started the fight back that would see the RR progress rapidly through the field to eventually take the chequered flag in second, trailing race winners Yamaha by just 30 seconds. But these 30 seconds made the difference, as with a victory Team BMW Motorrad France 99 would have won the title. “Our bike once again dominated the entire race weekend. We were consistently the fastest and would surely have won, but it was not to be”, said Marcel Driessen, Director BMW Motorrad France. “Our riders gave 110 percent and launched an unbelievable fight back after the crash, which was absolutely no fault of our own, coming through from last but one to second. In the end, we missed out on the World Championship title by just 30 seconds. The whole world witnessed an unbelievable race and a bike that was simply perfect. A huge thank you goes to everyone in our relatively young team. Thanks also to BMW Motorrad in Munich for their great support, and congratulations to the SERT team.” “I am disappointed, obviously, but I am also proud of what we did in the race”, explained Gimbert. “I was comfortable at the front of the race when Katsuyuki Nakasuga pushed too hard and took us both out. It would have been easy to have given up then, to have left the bike, closed the pit’s doors and just called it a day. But we didn’t. Instead, we fought back and we came within 30 seconds of winning the championship. That is something for me, Erwan, Damian and the whole team to be proud of.” “What can I say? I’m disappointed, but this is racing”, added Nigon. “Sometimes you enjoy good luck and sometimes you endure bad luck, like we did at this race. But we did our best to recover and only missed out on a dream comeback by the narrowest of margins. I’d like to say a big thank you to my teammates, Sébastien and Damian, to BMW, Michelin and everyone in the team for their support.” “After Sébastien was t-boned by Nakasuga in the first hour of the race we regrouped, pushed on and came within 30 seconds of winning the world championship title”, Cudlin summed up. “After 72 hours of racing this season, we lost out by just half a minute. How crazy is that? I want to thank everyone who made this season possible.” “We fought back after the crash, lapping two or three seconds faster than anyone else on track for most of the race, but it wasn’t quite enough and we lost out by just 30 seconds at the end”, said Team Principal Michael Bartholemy. “We are second overall in only our first full season in the championship. I’d like to congratulate our riders who have done a fantastic job this season. Thanks also to BMW Motorrad and to Michelin, whose unstinting support allowed us to come here to Qatar still with a shot at the title. I’d also like to congratulate SERT on retaining the championship title.” Berthold Hauser, head of the specialist BMW Motorrad HP Race Support department, explained: “What can you say after that kind of finish to a race and the World Championship, when you so narrowly miss out on the World Championship title? Everything ran perfectly: the bike was flawless, the team was on top form in every respect, and we didn’t make even the slightest mistake. We had pulled out all the stops on the technical side, but there is absolutely nothing you can do about a completely unnecessary and dangerous attack from an over-motivated competitor. BMW Motorrad and this team can finish the season as runner-up and with their heads held high. The way this panned out, we are without doubt the endurance world champions in many people’s minds. Congratulations to SERT on winning the World Championship title. Bring on 2012!” More, from a press release issued by FTR MOTO: FTR MOTO SEVENTH WITH COGHLAN IN VALENCIA FTR MOTO was reunited with Kev Coghlan and the Joe Darcey Team to take seventh place in Sunday’s sixth round of the CEV Buckler Spanish Moto2 Championship at Valencia. Coghlan, riding the FOGI Racing M211 machine campaigned by Kenny Noyes in this year’s World Championship, qualified fifth before finishing seventh in the damp and tricky conditions. Coghlan led the race into the first corner and was involved in a battle throughout the 19-lap affair before finishing just 0.023s behind former 125cc Grand Prix rider Tomoyoshi Koyama in a race which set a new record of 38 riders in a Spanish Moto2 race. “It was a tough race in those conditions and easy to make little mistakes,” said Coghlan. “But, overall, it was great to be working with the FTR guys and with the Joe Darcey Team again and I’d like to thank Angus Borland of FOGI Racing and everyone for the opportunity.” Coghlan will now contest the seventh and final round of the CEV Buckler Spanish Moto2 Championship at Jerez this coming Sunday, November 20. “Kev rode intelligently in the conditions and it was his first time on the Michelins with the M211 in a race so there was plenty for him to think about,” said FTR’s Steve Bones. He added: “We’ve had a pretty satisfactory weekend at Valencia after also qualifying in the top five Kev set his fastest lap on the penultimate lap and we definitely have something to build on at Jerez this coming weekend.”