WSBK and BSB wins for Barrier and Kiyonari on their BMW S 1000 RRs.
Sylvain Barrier tasted success at his home race in the WSBK in Magny-Cours, while Ryuichi Kiyonari thrilled BSB fans in Silverstone.
Munich, 8th October 2014. Last weekend, two genuine highlights took centre stage as the 2014 season draws to a close: the FIM Superbike World Championship (WSBK) visited Magny-Cours (FR), while Silverstone (GB) hosted the penultimate round of the British Superbike Championship (BSB). Both events yielded victories for customer teams supported by BMW Motorrad Motorsport. Sylvain Barrier (FR) won the EVO class in the WSBK on his BMW S 1000 RR, and Ryuichi Kiyonari (JP) stepped onto the top step of the podium in the BSB.
FIM Superbike World Championship in Magny-Cours.
Last weekend featured the final European round of the 2014 FIM Superbike World Championship (WSBK) for the experts at BMW Motorrad Motorsport. The “Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours” (FR) hosted the 11th of this season’s 12 rounds. Sylvain Barrier (FR) of the BMW Motorrad Italia SBK team had been looking forward to his home event for a long time – and claimed another success. The conditions were far from easy though: Friday and Saturday were dry, but the rain arrived on Sunday. However, Barrier refused to allow the perilous conditions to knock him off his stride in the opening race. He won the EVO class (tenth overall) on his BMW S 1000 RR EVO. He led the EVO field again in race two, until he fell victim to the extremely slippery track, crashing out and damaging the handlebar on his bike. Barrier was forced to retire as a result.
BMW Team Toth once again fielded two BMW S 1000 RRs in Magny-Cours. Imre Toth (HU) came home 20th and 13th. Gabor Rizmayer (HU) crashed out in the opening race, but bounced back to produce a strong ride on his EVO version of the bike in race two. He finished third in the EVO class and 12th overall. The season finale of the WSBK takes place in Doha, Qatar, on 2nd November.
FIM Superstock 1000 Cup in Magny-Cours.
The FIM Superstock 1000 Cup (WSTK) held the finale of its 2014 season in Magny-Cours, where it shared the bill with the WSBK. The rain also resulted in miserable conditions and numerous retirements in the Superstock race. Federico Sandi (IT/Team Motoxracing) ploughed on regardless, however. He finished fifth on his BMW HP4 – his best result of the season. The second best-placed BMW Motorrad privateer was Federico d’Annunzio (IT/FDA Racing Team) who came home tenth. Remo Castellarin (IT/Cast16 Corse) and Robert Muresan (RO/H-Moto Team) failed to finish.
British Superbike Championship in Silverstone.
When it comes to excitement, the penultimate round of the British Superbike Championship (BSB) in Silverstone (GB) will take some beating. Ryuichi Kiyonari (JP / Buildbase BMW Motorrad) and his rivals put on an unforgettable show as the race for the title neared its thrilling conclusion. In the first of the two races on Sunday, Kiyonari was embroiled in a thrilling three-way battle for the win with Shane Byrne (GB) and Josh Brookes (AU). The lead changed hands no fewer than six times on the last lap alone. The trio was separated by just 0.368 seconds as they crossed the line. Kiyonari finished a hair’s breadth behind winner Byrne, crossing the line in second place, just 0.084 seconds after his biggest rival for the title.
“King Kiyo” took his revenge in race two. The Japanese BMW S 1000 RR rider took an early lead and had the upper hand in another breath-taking duel with Byrne. This time it was Kiyonari who crossed the finish line first – 0.074 seconds ahead of his rival. The weekend’s results have catapulted Kiyonari into the top 15 in the BMW Motorrad Race Trophy standings. He currently lies 11th (see below for standings).
Kiyonari’s team-mate James Westmoreland (GB) claimed top-ten finishes in both races, coming home eighth and tenth. Patric Muff (CH / Batham’s Prize Winning Ales) was 14th and 13th. One race was held in the BSB Superstock class. Hudson Kennaugh (ZA / Linxcel Moto Racing) finished third on his BMW S 1000 RR to claim a place on the podium. Lee Jackson (GB / Buildbase BMW Motorrad) was seventh.
2014 BMW Motorrad Race Trophy – Current Standings.
Status: 8th October 2014
| Pos. | Name (Nat.) | Series | Points |
| 1 | Markus Reiterberger (DE) | IDM, EWC | 274,00 |
| 2 | Emilien Jaillet (FR) | FSBK | 238,00 |
| 3 | Bastien Mackels (BE) | IDM, EWC | 210,00 |
| 4 | Cyril Brunet-Lugardon (FR) | FSBK | 208,00 |
| 5 | Marco Nekvasil (AT) | IDM | 204,65 |
| 6 | Michael Dunlop (GB) | IOMTT, BSB | 199,38 |
| 7 | Lucy Glöckner (DE) | IDM | 193,30 |
| 8 | Laurent Aymonin (FR) | FSBK | 190,00 |
| 9 | Dominik Vincon (DE) | IDM | 188,13 |
| 10 | Lee Jackson (GB) | BSB | 168,00 |
| 11 | Ryuichi Kiyonari (JP | BSB | 162,50 |
| 12 | Lance Isaacs (ZA) | SAM | 161,63 |
| 13 | Jordan Szoke (CA) | CSBK | 153,50 |
| 14 | Ivan Silva Alberola (ES) | CEV | 151,00 |
| 15 | Michel Amalric (FR) | FSBK | 144,00 |
16. Pedro Vallcaneras (ES/EWC/138,76), 17. Leon Bovee (NL/IDM/137,78), 18. Matthieu Lussiana (FR/BRSBK/137,00), 19. Daniel Rivas (ES/CEV/127,00), 20. Eeki Kuparinen (FI/CEV/120,00), 21. Alessandro Polita (IT/CIV/116,25), 22. Hudson Kennaugh (ZA/BSB/113,00), 23. Luca Conforti (IT/CIV/101,25), 24. Marc Neumann (DE/IDM/100,88), 25. Andy Rey (FR/FSBK/100,00), 26. Stefan Nebel (DE/IDM/97,50), 27. Michael Rutter (GB/IOMTT/BSB/96,83), 28. Florian Drouin (FR/FSBK/93,00), 29. Björn Stuppi (DE/EWC/92,75), 30. Hayato Takada (JP/EWC/MFJ/92,75), 31. Federico D‘Annunzio (IT/WSTK/92,00), 32. Uwe Gürck (DE/SWC/91,32), 33. Gianluca Vizziello (IT/CIV/90,00), 34. Janine Davies (ZA/SAM/83,70), 35. Jason Pridmore (US/EWC/79,00), 36. Fabrizio Perotti (IT/CIV/75,00), 37. Alessio Corradi (IT/CIV/73,75), 38. Mark Albrecht (DE/IDM/69,15), 39. Denni Schiavoni (IT/CIV/68,75), 40. Thomas Hainthaler (DE/IDM/62,25), 41. Florian Brunet-Lugardon (FR/FSBK/62,00), 42. Sylvain Barrier (FR/WSBK/EWC/61,50), 43. Nicolas Pouhair (FR/FSBK/58,00), 44. Lucas Teodoro (BR/BRSBK/57,00), 45. Marco Muzio (IT/CIV/55,00), 46. Daisaku Sakai (JP/MFJ/EWC/52,73), 47. Luciano Ribodino (AR/BRSBK/46,50), 48. Jean Foray (FR/FSBK/45,00), 49. Robert Muresan (RO/WSTK/42,00), 50. Marco Sousa (CA/CSBK/41,00), 51. Jörg Steinhausen (DE/SWC/40,80), 52. James Westmoreland (GB/BSB/40,00), 53. Kohji Teramoto (JP/MFJ/EWC/34,96), 54. Sergiy Grygorovych (UA/IDM/33,00), 55. Lucas Barros (BR/BRSBK/27,00), 56. Patric Muff (CH/BSB/25,83), 57. Rémi Boitel (FR/FSBK/21,00), 58. Camille Hedelin (FR/FSBK/18,00), 59. Tim Robinson (CA/CSBK/17,50), 60. Alessio Velini (IT/CIV/15,00), 61. Shinya Takeishi (JP/MFJ/EWC/10,73), 62. Imre Toth (HU/WSBK/9,00), 63. David Datzer (DE/IDM/6,00), 64. Peter Sebestyen (HU/WSBK/3,00), 65. Filip Altendorfer (DE/EWC/2,45), 65. Florian Bauer (DE/EWC/2,45), 65. Rico Löwe (DE/EWC/2,45), 68. Didier Grams (DE/Macau Grand Prix/0,00), 68. Martjin Polinder (DK/IDM/0,00)
More, from a press release issued by Eric Gulbransen’s publicist:
Eric Gulbransen Wins Open Twins Championship at 2014 AFM Season Finale
Willows, California – Eric Gulbransen secured the Open Twins Championship in dramatic fashion onboard his Calmoto European Motorcycles Livermore KTM RC8 R during the final round of the AFM championship at Thunderhill Raceway.
The highly competitive Open Twins Championship came down to the final race of the 7-round series. “I felt a lot of pressure coming into this final race knowing the Championship was on the line,” Eric said. “We missed Saturday’s practice and didn’t have a chance to get the new rear shock dialed in. I had to finish 3rd or better in Sunday’s race and would just have to ride around any issues that came up,” Gulbransen said after taking the Championship.
The veteran KTM rider started the Open Twins race from pole position and rocketed to the front getting the holeshot. “The CalMoto RC8 R is brutally fast and I felt really confident on the Michelin Power slicks so the holeshots come easy,” Eric said. “After leading the 1st lap I decided to play it safe and settled into a good pace to safely bring the KTM home in 2nd place knowing that would secure the Championship,” added Eric.
“It is so great to see Eric stand on top of the podium 4 times this year,” commented CalMoto European Motorcycles Livermore owner Mike Meissner. “This has been an interesting year for us with a lot of development work on the bike. Despite the ups and downs we were able to put our vision into practice and come away with the Open Twins Championship.”
Eric Gulbransen is grateful to have the support of sponsors Calmoto European Motorcycles Livermore, AF Motorsports, Michelin, Vanson Leathers, CHANGES, ForTheTrack.com, DC-10, Motion Pro, GP Frame and Wheel, RaceImage.net, 4TheRiders.com, Yoyodyne, Spears Racing, and KFG Racing. Eric would also like to extend a special thank you to Tracy Gulbransen, Mike Meissner, Anya Meissner, Lew Meissner, Keith Rodrigues, Alex Florea, Matt Connerton, Bob Robbins, Mike Ohlstein, Derek LaFontaine, Chris Stone and Jeremy Cleland.
About CalMoto European Motorcycles Livermore:
CalMoto is a full service dealership offering Parts, Sales and Service for premiere European brands KTM, BMW and Triumph. Featuring a massive parts and accessories inventory to meet all two wheeled needs, CalMoto can draw on the inventory of both Bay Area stores through our linked computer systems. This relationship offers our customers access to the largest selections of parts and accessories in Northern California. Visit us atwww.calmoto.com or follow us on Facebook atwww.facebook.com/calmotolm.
For more of Eric Gulbransen’s in-depth features and racing chronicles visit www.gotagteam.com.