A debut year to remember in World Superbikes

The 2009 Superbike World Championship promised to be more exciting than ever,especially with BMW Motorrad Motorsport making its debut in the ultra-competitive series and taking on no less than six other manufacturers, including four Japanese and two European. Although BMW Motorrad has a very long history in motorsport, they
were the ‘new boys’ of the Superbike World Championship in 2009 and, without a doubt, the company’s decision to enter the series came at the hardest and most competitive time in its 21-year history.

However, after 14 rounds and 28 races at circuits all over the world during the past eight months, Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport are more than happy with their first year in the Superbike World Championship and are already looking forward to 2010. The team always knew that this year was going to be hard, but Troy, Ruben and the whole team have performed better than many expected in their first year of World Superbike competition, taking a remarkable 17 top ten finishes during their debut season. Here’s a blow-by-blow account of a whirlwind first year in WSBK…

Round one, Phillip Island, Australia

Despite starting from 17th place on the grid, BMW Motorrad Motorsport rider Troy Corser stormed through the field to take a tremendous eighth place in the opening race of this year’s Superbike World Championship at Phillip Island. In so doing, he also set the fastest lap of the race and showed the huge crowd that BMW Motorrad
Motorsport were not in the championship just to make up the numbers.

Round 2, Doha, Qatar

BMW Motorrad Motorsport riders Troy Corser and Ruben Xaus rode superbly in both the two 18-lap races in Doha and earned themselves three top ten placings! Troy finished ninth in both races and Ruben took 13th in race one and followed that with a hard-fought tenth in race two.

Round 3, Valencia, Spain

After the closeness of qualifying, Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport riders Troy Corser and Ruben Xaus were confident that they could attack top ten positions in today’s third round of the Superbike World Championship at Valencia. But Ruben’s 13th in race one was the best finish of the duo on a day that failed to pay dividends for all the hard work done by the whole team over the weekend. Troy crashed out of race one after just one lap, fortunately without injury, and then took 15th in race two, despite suffering grip problems. Ruben finished 16th but was happy with his pace in both races.

Round 4, Assen, Netherlands

Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport rider Troy Corser enjoyed one of the most consistent race days of the season so far, taking a superb pair of top ten finishes at Assen. He was well supported by his team mate Ruben Xaus, who had also been forced to start from way down the grid. Ruben began both races from the fifth row,
but charged his way to 14th in race one and then followed that up with a 11th in race two.

Round 5, Monza, Italy

Ruben Xaus gave Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport their best result so far with a superb seventh in the first race at Monza. He then followed it up with a solid ninth in the second race to make it his best weekend in five rounds and show that he and the bike are making progress every time out. Troy Corser was involved in a crash on the opening lap of race one, when he was hit in the neck by another rider’s fallen bike.

Round 6, Kyalami, RSA

The sixth round of this year’s Superbike World Championship in Kyalami will not be remembered with much affection by Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport. The weekend had started with promise, but ended without either or Ruben or stand-in rider Steve Martin scoring any points in the two 24-lap races. Ruben was pushed off the track twice and completed just three laps in total. Steve managed to finish both races, ending 22nd in race one and 18th in race two.

Round 7, Miller Motorsport, Park, USA

The seventh round of this year’s Superbike World Championship didn’t go down in Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport history as one to remember. Starting from their lowest grid positions this season was always going to be difficult for riders Troy Corser and Ruben Xaus and it is to their huge credit that they brought their bikes home in both races. Troy and Ruben fought hard in the pair of 21-lappers and managed to score just one point, thanks to
Troy’s fifteenth place in race one.

Round 8, Misano, Italy

The first race at Misano saw the riders line up on a soaking wet track with all of them on full wet tyres. BMW Motorrad Motorsport rider Ruben Xaus took advantage of the tricky conditions and charged his way up from 18th on the grid to first place and led the race with just seven laps to go. But when he changed bikes, he was adjudged to have exceeded the pit-lane speed limit and he was given a ‘ride-through’ penalty. He fought his way
back into the race and ended 14th. Troy’s race was over before he could even start. An electronic problem on the warm-up lap caused a high-side and he crashed out, fortunately without doing further damage to his injured right
shoulder.

Round 9, Donington Park, GBR

Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport rider Ruben Xaus took a superb ninth place in the second Superbike World Championship race at Donington Park. In sunny conditions, Ruben fought his way up through the field from the fourth row of the grid to take his third top ten finish of the season. This followed his 15th place in race one and showed that he and the team have recovered from their recent poor results. Troy did not enjoy such a good day. A crash in race one, when he found a false neutral, and general lack of grip meant a real struggle in race two. But despite the grip problems, Troy kept going and managed to finish the race, albeit outside the points.

Round 10, Brno, CZE

The work done away from the track, together with the recent successful Italian tests, all added up to Brno being the best weekend of the season to date for Troy. He finished a superb fifth in race one, after leading the first couple of laps, and followed that up with a tenth in race two, despite tyre problems. A crash for Ruben on the opening lap of
the first race put an end to any chance of glory and left him in the medical centre. After X-rays, it was discovered that he had broken his right femur.

Round 11, Nürburgring, Germany

Troy made good starts in both races and took eighth place in race one and then followed that up with a strong sixth in race two. Richard Cooper, standing in for Ruben Xaus, also made good starts but crashed out of both 20-lappers, fortunately without injury. However, the young British rider had little time to find a dry set-up and learn the circuit, so can count himself unlucky, as he showed good promise, talent and speed in both races.

Round 12, Imola, Italy

It was a day of mixed fortunes for BMW Motorrad Motorsport at Imola, with Ruben posting superb top thirteen positions on his comeback after injury and Troy suffering brake problems which saw him in eleventh place in race one and a DNF in race two.

Round 13, Magny-Cours, France

A day of hard graft in Magny-Cours saw Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport rider Troy Corser grab a pair of top ten finishes. He finished ninth in race one and tenth in race two. Ruben Xaus continued to fight his pain and was rewarded for his efforts by a strong 11th in race one and a 12th in race two.

Round 14, Portimao, Portugal

There were mixed fortunes in Portimao, with Ruben finishing eighth in the first race and then high-siding and breaking his right leg after another rider’s engine sprayed oil over his bike in the second. Troy also had some frustrations of his own, as he was forced to pull into the pits due to chattering. However, he finished ninth in race two, again showing the S 1000 RR’s potential to be a contender in this series. Corser and Xaus both remain keen and committed to work hard with the team and make this happen.

Hauser reflects on a year to remember

The final words went to BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director Berti Hauser, who summed up what he described as one of the most exciting years of his life. “The season has been a long, hard one, but the time has gone very quickly and I am surprised that we have now come to the end. It has been a wonderful experience and we managed 17 top ten finishes, so I think you can say that is ‘mission accomplished’. We’ve had our ups and downs and have not been far off the podium at times, which is a testament to the potential of the bike. We know we have to improve in some areas and I can assure you that this will happen before next season begins.

“This was our ‘rookie’ year and I think the whole team can feel happy and proud about our first season. I would like to thank Troy, Ruben, all the mechanics, engineers, InFront, Pirelli, all the background staff, and all our sponsors for all their hard work and support in a great first season. Final thanks also, to all our competitors this year, for making our life difficult, but also for making us work harder and keep improving. See you all next year!”
Any new manufacturer joining the series knows it is going to face a tough time and BMW was under no illusions about the challenges it faced. However, BMW entered World Superbikes because it is a championship where fans and customers identify with the brand and the bikes. Customers will soon take delivery of the eagerly awaited BMW S 1000 RR road bike, from which the factory race bike is derived. It has been a long time coming but will undoubtedly be worth the wait.

National success stories
Fantastic IDM debut

Let’s not forget that in addition to the factory World Superbike team, there were other committed riders, technicians, engineers and loyal fans all hoping for national success on the S 1000 RR in various races. In 2009, these included a debut participation in the IDM German Superbike Championship, where Belgian rider Werner Daemen secured third place in the overall rider standings.

Under the control of the talented Daemen, the BMW S 1000 RR took two race wins and four podiums on its way to third place in the championship – an unbelievable result in its first season in this hard-fought series that is Germany’s premier motorcycle championship and one of the most competitive domestic racing series in the world.

Tasting victory at Barcelona 24 Hours

Two BMW S 1000 RR teams celebrated great results at the ‘24 Hores Frigo de Motociclisme’ endurance race that took place in July at the Catalunya circuit in Spain. The two teams finished in first and second place in the Superstock class, and fifth and sixth place in the overall rankings, among a field of over 40 teams that included Endurance World Championship regulars and many riders on full factory superbikes.

Two BMW teams, consisting of four riders each, travelled to the famous circuit located north of Barcelona. Representing the Spanish Busquets dealership were Josep Maria and Alex Busquets, BMW Motorrad Germany’s Gerhard Lindner, and Camille Hedelin, who works at BMW’s test centre at the Autodrome de Miramas in the south of France. Campaigning the BMW S 1000 RR for the Scratch dealership in this legendary day/night endurance race were Pere San Martin, Josep Mas, Raul Gurri and Pedro Balaguer.

For BMW Motorrad’s Gerhard Lindner – a former racer and Motorrad magazine journalist, who is responsible for the durability and reliability testing and development of the company’s series production motorcycles – it was a dream come true to not only compete at Cataluyna on the new S 1000 RR, but to achieve the best possible results on its debut in this prestigious race. “For me, this is a very special result for lots of different reasons. I started out as project manager with lots of ideas for the development of the S 1000 RR. Then we have been doing lots of extensive testing of this machine, so to finally see two bikes on the grid in this race and to actually finish the race in the top two positions in our class is as good as it gets – we couldn’t have asked for anything better!”

Another successful test of endurance for S 1000 RR at the Bol d’Or

BMW Motorrad’s Gerhard Lindner was back in September with a private team from Poland to contest the famous Bol d’O race on a series production BMW S 1000 RR. They took on more than 50 other teams and finished in a remarkable fourth place in the Superstock Class, and a commendable 12th place in the overall standings, after 24 hours and 766 laps of the 4.2-kilometre Magny-Cours circuit.

The BMW Sikora Bily Prorace team – consisting of riders Ireneusz Sikora from Poland, and Tomas Miksovsky and Milos Cihak from the Czech Republic – were joined by Lindner, who brought two standard test bikes from Germany to France and with the help of team manager Thomas Eckardt (who has lots of past experience with the BMW Motorrad Motorsport factory squad) ensured that there was a BMW motorcycle present in the starting line-up at Magny-Cours.

Despite the fact that the spare bike was destroyed by one of the riders in a high-speed crash during practice, their single remaining S 1000 RR ran perfectly right throughout the day and night, and by the time the 2009 Bol d’Or finished the BMW riders had completed 766 laps of the circuit at an average speed of 140.67 km/h. Despite the intense heat, which had caused problems for many other machines (25 per cent of the teams failed to finish the race), the only problem that Gerhard and his teammates suffered was brake fade.

2010 and beyond…

With Ruben Xaus and Troy Corser starting their second year on the works machines, Werner Daemen continuing his title challenge in the IDM, and news that BMW Motorrad Italia will be entering the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup in 2010 with an official team, BMW fans have much to look forward to with the new Series Production machine. This year has proved to the watching world that BMW Motorrad’s new supersports bike means business, so expect to see it making the headlines at racetracks all over the world in 2010.