Successful yield from the BMW S 1000 RR racers: Wins and podiums at the 24 hours of Le Mans, in the British Superbike Championship, the Sidecar World Championship and the Superbike Series Brasil.
At an action packed weekend, the BMW S 1000 RR hit the race track in France, Great Britain, Brazil and the US – Podium honours in five different championship classes.
Munich (DE), 13th April 2016. It was a busy weekend for the international BMW racers and the experts from BMW Motorrad Motorsport. At Le Mans (FR), the famous 24-hour race marked the curtain raiser for the 2016 FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC). The FIM Sidecar World Championship (SWC) also held its first race of the year at Le Mans. The British Superbike Championship 2016 (BSB) kicked off at Silverstone. The BMW S 1000 RR was also in action in America: in the Superbike Series Brasil (BRSBK) at Sao Paulo (BR) and the Motoamerica FIM/AMA North American Road Racing Series (AMA) at Austin (US). It was also another successful weekend, with wins and podiums for the BMW racers in five different championship classes.
FIM Endurance World Championship at Le Mans, France.
Last weekend saw the first endurance race of the year for the BMW S 1000 RR: the FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC) kicked off its 2016 season with the prestigious 24 hours of Le Mans (FR). Seven BMW teams tackled this classic race in the Superbike (EWC SBK) and Superstock classes (EWC STK).
When the lights went out on Saturday afternoon, it was a BMW S 1000 RR starting from the front of the grid. The Penz13.com BMW Motorrad Team, which is contesting its second season in the highest category, the EWC SBK, had secured pole position in Friday’s qualifying. During the first seven and a half race hours, riders Kenny Foray (FR), Mathieu Gines (FR) and Lukáš Pešek (CZ) were constantly fighting at the front with their number 13 RR. Unfortunately, the team had to retire during the night for safety reasons as damage led to the risk of dropping oil on the track.
The number 48 BMW S 1000 RR of Völpker NRT48 by Schubert Motors finished the race in a strong seventh overall. In addition, riders Bastien Mackels (BE), Dominik Vincon (DE) and Stefan Kerschbaumer (AT) secured third on the podium in the Superstock class EWC STK. Also the remaining BMW teams successfully completed the 24-hour distance: the Tecmas Racing Team – BMW (18th overall), GERT56 HMT by RS Speedbikes (31st overall), 24Racing – Piste Libre – Epsilon (36th overall), LRP Poland (43rd) and the BMW Motorrad CEEU team (45th). On the BMW Motorrad CEEU BMW S 1000 RR, Roland Resch (AT) and Martin Choy (BG) shared duties between them, after their teammate Janez Prosenik (SI) was seriously injured in a crash at the beginning of the race. The whole BMW Motorrad Motorsport community wishes Janez a speedy recovery.
British Superbike Championship at Silverstone, Great Britain.
It was a great season opener in the British Superbike Championship (BSB) for the BMW S 1000 RR, with a win and two further podium finishes in the Superbike class (BSB SBK) and a 1-2-3-4-5 in the Superstock class (BSB STK).
The first of the two Superbike races held at Silverstone (GB) was dominated by Tyco BMW rider Michael Laverty (GB). He took an early lead and stayed up at the front until the finish line. Winner Laverty was joined on the podium by his Tyco BMW teammate Christian Iddon (GB) in third place. In race two, Iddon again crossed the line in third, celebrating his first ever double podium in the series. Laverty came home sixth. In the championship classification, Laverty and Iddon are ranked second and third respectively after the first round.
Four other BMW S 1000 RR racers also collected championship points at Silverstone. Lee Jackson (GB / Buildbase BMW Motorrad) claimed two top-eight finishes, crossing the line in eighth and seventh respectively. His teammate Richard Cooper (GB) ended the races in 12th and 11th. Former WorldSBK racer Jakub Smrz (CZ) is competing in the BSB this year on a Smiths Racing BMW team RR. He finished both races in 15th. Alastair Seeley (GB / Royal Air Force Regular & Reserves) was 14th in race two, but retired in race one.
The race for the Superstock class (BSB STK) saw a brilliant 1-2-3-4-5 for the BMW S 1000 RR. Victory went to Taylor MacKenzie (GB / Buildbase BMW Motorrad), who was joined on the podium by the Tyco BMW pairing of Josh Elliott (GB) and Ian Hutchinson (GB). Hudson Kennaugh (ZA / Trikmoto Bahnstormer BMW) crossed the line in fourth, while Michael Rutter (GB / Bathams SMT) was fifth on his RR. Points were also collected by BMW riders Leon Jeacock (GB / GEO E Davies Racing) in 12th, Chrissy Rouse (GB / CECS Mission Racing) in 13th and Rob McNealy (GB / McNealy Brown Ltd) in 14th.
FIM Sidecar World Championship at Le Mans, France.
The FIM Sidecar World Championship (SWC) also met at Le Mans (FR) for its season opener. However, the first race of the year was held in the most tricky conditions due to heavy rain. It even had to be red-flagged and re-started when too much water on the track made it too risky to continue. The Finnish BMW duo of Pekka Päivärinta / Kirsi Kainulainen finished second on the podium. Mike Roscher / Anna Burkard (DE) decided to return to the pits prematurely due to the dangerous conditions.
Superbike Series Brasil at Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The Superbike Series Brasil (BRSBK) is a new addition to the 2016 BMW Motorrad Race Trophy. The season kicked off last weekend at Interlagos in Sao Paulo (BR) – with a win and a podium for the BMW S 1000 RR. In total, three BMW racers crossed the line within the top-four. Victory went to Danilo Lewis (BR) on the Tecfil Racing Team’s RR. As a new member of the BMW Motorrad Alex Barros Racing team, Sebastiano Zerbo (BR) raced to third on the podium. The top-four were completed by BMW rider Diego Petrel (BR).
Motoamerica FIM/AMA North American Road Racing Series at Austin, US.
Curtain raiser also for the 2016 Motoamerica FIM/AMA North American Road Racing Series (AMA): The first two races of the year were held during the MotoGP weekend at Austin (US). BMW Motorrad Motorsport was once more represented by Steve Rapp (US). He finished the races in 11th and 13th overall. With these results, he claimed seventh and eighth in the Superstock class (AMA STK).
More, from a press release issued by RoadRace Factory:
A New Season, A New Class and Mixed Results
The long off-season is finally over and the second season of MotoAmerica is finally upon us. A lot has transpired during the off-season. We gained a new title sponsor in Broaster Chicken, we moved to the Superbike Class and we had to do some major consolidation by opting out of our long run in the SuperSport class and going with one rider for the first time in our history. The switch to the Superbike class has been the hardest aspect of the preparation for the team. The more technology you incorporate, the more complexity you introduce into an already complicated machine. With limited testing time and parts coming in at the last minute, the opening round was looming large in the minds of the crew.
Jake Gagne had spent the off-season doing what he does best, being about as chill as he could possibly be. A solid training regime that is a mix of surfing, spear fishing and riding motor cross in San Diego had Jake in peek conditioning for his debut in superbike. Arriving at the Circuit Of The Americas for the opening round, Jake and his 32Crew were optimistic for a solid performance right out of the gate. Adding to the excitement of the opening round was the shared stage with the MotoGP paddock and the international crowd.
Without much in the way of preseason testing, Jake and his bike didn’t click right away as the team had hoped. With limited track time during the weekend the crew would be searching for answers to improve upon his P6* times. Working against the team, was the previously mentioned lack of track time. When the paddock is shared with MotoGP the MotoAmerica teams have fewer sessions. Meaning, that come Friday morning the first qualifying session had to be nailed. What happened on Friday morning was not nailing it. In fact, when the checkered flag was flown, Jake would stay in P6**. He did however earn a chance for the Superpole which would be held later that afternoon. This would be his last chance to put the Broaster Chicken / RoadRace Factory Yamaha R1 on top.
In typical 32Crew style, the team worked non-stop throughout the break between sessions and when they rolled to the pits for Superpole they were confident that they had resolved the issues and would nab a top qualifying position. Jake was fast! During the short superpole session he was flying around the circuit and was putting on a great show. With the new Dunlop Qualifying tires the strategy was to come in as time was going down, change the rubber to the new Q Tire and go out for one out lap and one flyer. This is the new challenge, teams essentially prep for this one lap showdown. Jake put the heat in the tire and put the hammer down. Clearly confident, Jake was going through sectors and setting fast times. On a big circuit like COTA, it’s a sustained effort on a demanding track and Jake was flawless. At the line Jake had placed his bike on the front row in third position. A very good sign.
The remaining schedule includes a lot of down time with the team only getting a 20 min warm-up session in the morning and then waiting till mid-afternoon before the race. During that time, the crew continued to tweak the motorcycle while Jake participated in the numerous fan activities.
Race one was scheduled for 5pm on Saturday. The weather was absolutely perfect. The stage was set for MotoAmerica’s second season to launch into glory. A new story was being written. Suzuki was showing Yamaha they weren’t out of contention, Tony Elias had arrived to make the most of his replacement rider status, several riders moved up to the class and the grid for the combined Superbike / Superstock was the largest field in years. All the components of a great drama were in place and when the field lined up the anticipation was electric. Jake took his place outside the two Suzukis on the front row and within seconds it was that familiar sound of revs going up and bikes screaming to life! Race one was under way!
Jake got off to a decent start, but turn one at COTA as perhaps the trickiest turn on the schedule. It’s a mad cluster of machines vying for a small piece of real estate. Once the field settled into their places, it was on! Cameron Beaubier had an unfortunate accident early on and was out. That left Jake to battle with Roger Hayden, Toni Elias, and Josh Hayes. It was a great battle and Jake had worked himself up to second place. Unfortunately the race would be red flagged when Kyle Wyman’s bike would leave an oil slick down the back straight. It would all have to be done again.
The restart came an hour later and it would be a 5 lap sprint race. This time, when the riders launched, Jake would get knocked around as the field tried to file into T1. Soon, the Suzukis would be pulling away from the group and Jake were battling hard but losing ground. At the finish Jake would cross the line in P4 overall. A good beginning but not what he and his crew knew they could accomplish. Ahead of them was race two on Sunday and now they were more determined than ever.
With ever changing weather conditions throughout the day on Sunday, it was difficult to know what to expect by race time. As luck would have it, it was another beautiful Texas afternoon. Jake once again took his place on the outside of the front row. This time the eyes of the international fans were all watching. MotoAmerica had put on a good show so far and this race was no different. When the lights went out a massive grid of riders all flew up the hill and towards T1. This time, there would be no red flags. The Suzukis however were running away form the field. Toni Elias was making the most of his US debut while Jake was falling off the pace. Something was clearly wrong with his machine and watching him struggle lap after lap was painful for the crew. Soon he would be passed by a trio of SuperStock riders and it was clear something was horribly wrong. As the laps ticked down, Jake would bring his Yamaha R1 home in P9 overall and P5 in Superbike.
Following the race the team quickly retrieved the motorcycle and debriefed with Jake. All that could be done now was to analyze the data, talk with Jake and move on towards round two at Road Atlanta this next weekend.
Jake Gagne
4th – Superbike Championship Points
“Our first weekend on the superbike didn’t go as planned, didn’t go too hot. We had some ups and some downs, mostly downs but we kept the bike up on two wheels which is a positive. We just struggled with a lot of different things. There’s just a ton of new stuff on this new superbike and trying to be competitive in this class is really tough.
We’re just going to keep chipping away at it and make some improvements. I think we’ll be there, near the top in time. I’m looking forward now to Road Atlanta and seeing what we can do there.”
Scott Jensen
Crew Chief
“We got into race one and we were looking pretty good, you know we were on the front row and were running up in second. We got a red flag and that kinda hindered our progress. With the restart and the short race we didn’t quite end up where we knew we should’ve been.
We went into race two after trying some new, experimental ideas with the chassis and that didn’t work out as well as we had hoped. We ended up giving Jake a motorcycle that was pretty difficult to ride. We have our data and we know that we can setup a good bike for Jake in the next round. We know how fast he is and we’ll make sure he can show it in Atlanta next weekend.”
Danny Walker
Team Manager
“What can I say. This weekend we came into it with really high hopes. We didn’t get a lot of testing in, but we thought we had a good package coming into this round. It was clear that we didn’t have all the bugs sorted out and Jake was doing his best to ride through it all. He showed his capabilities in qualifying and during the first race before the red flag.
Race two, I don’t know what to say. We have some homework to do. We knew that moving up to the superbike class was going to be a challenge. We don’t have all the bugs worked out and we kinda knew that this is more a test for us and the new system. At the end of the day, Jake got a P4 and P5 in his class and we can be happy with that… but we’re not happy unless we’re up front and neither is Jake.
We’re gonna take this as our learning round and come back for Road Atlanta in a week ready to put the Broaster Chicken / RoadRace Factory R1 up where it belongs and let Jake do what he does best.”
More, from a press release issued by Team Rabid Transit:
TEAM RABID TRANSIT HAS UPS AND DOWNS AT COTA
Team Rabid Transit, powered by RSRacecraft, went into the first MotoAmerica round this past weekend at Circuit of the Americas with high expectations. Their Superstock 1000 rider, Sheridan Morais, proved to be the man to beat at the Dunlop Tire Test held at COTA a few weeks back. The team struggled with chassis set up all weekend but was able to salvage some points in the Superstock 1000 championship with a 5th place finish in race one and 9th in race two. The teams Superbike rider, Brandon Cretu, failed to qualify for the race after a fueling issue left him with only two laps during the one and only qualifying session during the shared MotoGP weekend.
Sheridan Morais, Team Rider commented:
“We really struggled with our chassis over the weekend which has us battling to hang with the front guys. On a positive note, we scored points and with a long season ahead we will count on them towards the end of the year. The team worked so hard for both myself and Brandon, and the bikes were incredibly fast. I am looking forward, we know what we need to improve and after having lead the official testing we know that we have the pace so now we work on making that happen.”
Brandon Cretu, Team Rider, commented:
“Obviously COTA didn’t go the way we had wanted but it was an experience to learn from without a doubt. This was the first time I had ever failed to make the grid at any of the professional events I have competed in but as Wayne Gretzky said “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” I have never been to Road Atlanta but it looks like a really fun and flowing track that will suit my style so I am excited to put this behind me and move on to round two of the MotoAmerica championship!”
Ronnie Saner, Crew Chief, commented:
“This was definitely a difficult weekend for the entire team. We learned a lot about the new R1 and how to use its strong points for the upcoming rounds. We plan to test on the way to Road Atlanta to see if we are making forward progress prior to the MotoAmerica second round.”
The team is poised to achieve top class results at round two of the MotoAmerica championship at Road Atlanta this weekend coming up for both of their riders. We would like to thank the sponsors who support our team and make this year possible: Rabid Transit, RSRacecraft, Yamaha, Brock’s Performance, Pit Bull, Evol Technologies, Spark Exhaust, Sprint Filter, Motion Pro, Bel Ray, HT Moto, Drippin Wet, Heroic, Superlite Sprockets, Speedcell, Dynojet, AIM, SBS Brakes, Pilot, YART, Cox Racing, GB Racing, Ohlins, Zero Gravity, HEL, Fast Frank, Cap It, Galfer.
Please visit the team website, www.teamrabidtransit.com, for more information on the team and its riders or their Facebook page, Team Rabid Transit. Fans can also follow both riders on Twitter, Sheridan Morais @shez32show and Brandon Cretu @brandoncretu, for the most current updates.
More, from a press release issued by Pirelli:
Pirelli and the Kawasaki SRC Team Win the 24-Hours of Le Mans for the Fifth Time in Seven Years at First Round of FIM Endurance World Championship
The No.11 Kawasaki ZX-10R Ridden by Gregory Leblanc, Fabien Foret, and Mathieu Lagrive Made 28 Pit Stops in 819 Laps to Win by Nine Laps on the Standard DIABLO™ SC1 Superbike Tires
The 3ART Yam’ Avenue Team Consisted of Riders Louis Bulle, Alex Plancassagne, and Lukas Trautmann Winning Superstock on the Yamaha R1 Using Pirelli’s Standard DIABLO™ Superbike SC3 Front and SC2 Rear
LE MANS (France)– The 39th running of the famous endurance race, 24 Hours of Le Mans Moto, ended yesterday afternoon at the French track of Le Mans Bugatti Circuit. A crowd of more than 72,300 was in attendance, witnessing Pirelli and the Kawasaki SRC team emerge victorious for the fifth time in the last seven years.
The Kawasaki ZX-10R bikes ridden by riders such as Gregory Leblanc, Fabien Foret, and Mathieu Lagrive, reached a high level of success at the first round of the FIM Endurance World Championship, which included almost exclusively using Pirelli’s standard DIABLO™ Superbike SC1 tires on both, front and rear.
“I really want to thank Pirelli for providing us with the tires we needed to tackle very cold track conditions. We had excellent grip even during the night,” said Gregory Leblanc. His Kawasaki teammate Fabien Foret added, “Two great teammates, a good bike, and the right tires. That was the recipe for victory today.”
In addition to capturing the victory, the 24 Hours of Le Mans Moto gave Pirelli another highlight, which included the success of the 3ART Yam’ Avenue team. They finished sixth in the final race standings and won Superstock, a sub-category within the FIM Endurance World Championship where teams may participate with bikes similar to factory models and do not have certain modifications, such as quick release for the wheels. The Yamaha R1, led by Louis Bulle, Alex Plancassagne, and Lukas Trautmann were sporting Pirelli’s standard DIABLO™ Superbike SC3 front and SC2 rear tires.
A total of twenty-eight pit stops by the Kawasaki SRC team were made during the 24-hour race in 819 total laps. They crossed the finish line with a lead of 9 laps on the runner-up, the Team April Motors Events on Dunlop tires, and 11 laps on the third place team F.C.C. TSR Honda on Bridgestone tires.
With the exception of the first few laps after the start and the last laps before the finish that forced Kawasaki riders to use the DIABLO™ Rain and DIABLO™ Wet tires, the team relied on the standard SC1 solution throughout the race. The tires showed great versatility, combined with superior performance and managed to work well even when temperatures fell below 0° degrees during the night.
To cover the approximately 3,427 kilometers traveled, the No.11 machine of the Kawasaki SRC team used a total of 28 rear and 14 front tires, which featured a change every two pit stops for the front and averaged 244 kilometers per tire. The rear received a new tire every pit stop and averaged 122 kilometers per tire.
The 24-hour marathon, which has been held regularly since 1978 on the “Bugatti” circuit of Sarthe, has watched the Kawasaki SRC team obtain the highest step of the podium for the fifth time after winning in 2010-2013. The victories eluded to four consecutive wins in the Bol d’ Or and brings the total victories to nine that have been obtained by Pirelli and the Kawasaki SRC team over the last six years of the FIM World Endurance Championship.