Rob Hodson wins with the BMW S 1000 RR on the Isle of Man, Carmelo Morales triumphs in Spain.
•One win and two further podiums for the BMW riders at the Southern 100.
•Carmelo Morales takes third win of the season in the Spanish Championship.
•Six podiums for BMW racers in France.
Munich. Last week and at the weekend, BMW racers were in action on the Isle of Man, in Spain and France. On the Isle of Man, Rob Hodson (GBR) won the opening race in the Southern 100. The Spanish Championship (RFME CEV) headed to MotorLand Aragón (ESP), where Carmelo Morales (ESP) clinched his third win of the season. Pau (FRA) played host to the French Superbike Championship (FSBK) and the French European Bikes Championship (FR EU). FSBK champion Kenny Foray (FRA) and FR-EU reigning champion Florian Brunet-Lugardon (FRA) both finished in second place in their races.
Southern 100 on the Isle of Man.
One month after the Tourist Trophy, road racers reunited on the Isle of Man for the Southern 100. A total of five races were on the schedule for the BMW S 1000 RR racers: the two Corlett’s Trophies races on Tuesday, the Ellan Vanin Fuels Senior Race on Wednesday, and the Island Aggregates Superbike Race and the Hunts Motorcycles Solo Championship Race on Thursday. The Southern 100 is part of the BMW Combined Road Race Challenge (BMW RRC), meaning that the results will be classified for the BMW Motorrad Race Trophy.
The very first race saw BMW racers secure a win and another podium. Rob Hodson (GBR) won the Corlett’s Trophies Race 1A while Michael Evans (GBR) finished in third place. In the following Corlett’s Trophies Race 1B, Dennis Booth (GBR) finished on the podium in third place. Also finishing in the top eight, Eric Wilson (GBR) crossed the finish line in sixth place with Jean-Pierre Polet (BEL) in eighth.
In the Ellan Vanin Fuels Senior Race, Hodson was the best BMW finisher in sixth place. He was followed by Ryan Kneen (GBR) and Mark Parrett (GBR) in seventh and eighth places. Hodson was also the best RR rider in the Island Aggregates Superbike Race, this time finishing fourth. Evans crossed the finish line in fifth place, while Sam West (GBR) and Kneen finished in seventh and eighth place. In the last of the 1000cc races, the Hunts Motorcycles Solo Championship Race, Evans, in fifth, was the best-placed BMW rider. This time, Kneen finished in sixth and West was eighth.
The Southern 100 was overshadowed by a tragic death: Britain’s James Cowton was fatally injured in a serious accident in the 600cc Challenge Race. The BMW Motorrad Motorsport Community would like to extend their heartfelt condolences to his family, friends and team.
Spanish Championship at Alcañiz, Spain.
MotorLand Aragón near Alcañiz (ESP) hosted the fourth round of the 2018 Spanish Championship (RFME CEV) – and was the setting for reigning champion Carmelo Morales’ (ESP) third win of the season. Two races in the 1000cc class were held at the modern racetrack in northern Spain at the weekend.
In the thrilling first race on Saturday, Morales was first to cross the finish line on his Graphenano EasyRace SBK Team BMW S 1000 RR. Fourth place went to Pedro Rodriguez (ESP / Castromaroto Racing). In race two on Sunday, Morales finished in fourth place and Rodriguez was sixth. Julian Miralles (ESP / Graphenano EasyRace SBK Team) secured first and second place in the Open class (twelfth and tenth place in the overall standings). Morales maintains his lead in the championship standings.
Carmelo Morales: “I was very pleased with the win on Saturday as we had issues in the practice session which set us back in terms of tuning. Fortunately, everything was ok after that and we won the first race. The bike was perfect, and the tyres performed perfectly throughout the race. Race two was clinched at the end, and my rivals on soft tyres were faster which is why I wasn’t able to fight for the win, but fourth place is important for the championship. Overall, we are positive since we got a win and maintained the lead in the championship.”
French Superbike Championship at Pau, France.
The French Superbike Championship (FSBK) stopped off at Pau (FRA) for the fifth round of the 2018 season at the weekend. The two races on Sunday turned out to be real thrillers. Reigning champion Kenny Foray (FRA), of the Tecmas Racing Team, finished in second place on the podium in both races. In race one, he was just 0.257 seconds behind winner Jeremy Guarnoni (FRA), while in the second race it was 0.862 seconds. Foray is currently second in the championship standings.
His team-mate Maxime Bonnot (FRA) finished in second and third place in the Superbike Challenger class (SBK Ch). This saw Bonnot claim tenth and eleventh place in the overall standings.
Kenny Foray: “We had another good weekend. In qualifying, we secured second place on the grid for race one and third for race two. Then, in the races we got two second-places. It was difficult to overtake here, and the pace of the races was extremely fast. I gave it my all, but it wasn’t enough to get the win, but I am happy, because it wasn’t possible to do better. We will keep fighting and are now fully focussed on round six of the season in Carole.”
French European Bikes Championship in Pau, France.
As part of the FSBK weekend in Pau (FRA), the French European Bikes Championship (FR EU) also held their fifth round of the season and BMW riders secured a total of four podiums. Reigning champion Florian Brunet-Lugardon (FRA / Gers Moto Vitesse Ordannaise) finished second in both races. In the first race on Saturday, Jonathan Germany (FRA) also finished on the podium, in third place, followed by Alexandre Leleu, Léo Challamel and Hernani Teixeira (all FRA) in fourth to sixth place. In the race on Sunday, Challamel finished third behind Brunet-Lugardon. Julien Brun (FRA) finished in fifth place, Teixeira was seventh. Brunet-Lugardon still leads the championship standings. He has a lead of 34 points over his nearest challenger, with four races to go.