BMW Motorrad Motorsport: New involvement in off-road racing.

1. Intensification of off-road sports involvement: Competitive
participation with the 450 cc BMW sports enduro in 2007. 2. The
fascination of enduro sport: Single-cylinder sports enduro concept with
innovative technology. 3. Rider portraits. 4. BMW motorcycles - an
off-road tradition which goes back 81 years. 5. Press contacts.
Off-road racing is inseparably linked to BMW motorcycles. The multiple
victories of BMW motorcycles in the Paris-Dakar rally are still in
recent memory, but the tradition goes much further back than this. Over
the last eighty years, not just success in road racing but also
outstanding results off the asphalt have attracted great interest.
After the success of the HP2 sports flat twin enduro in competitions
such as the German Cross Country Series, the race at Pikes Peak and the
Erzberg, BMW is now expanding its off-road involvement to include the
attractive and prestigious E2 class, in which 450 cc 4-stroke machines
and 250 cc 2-stroke sports enduros will be entered for competition. In
this class, BMW will be testing the concept of a 450 cc single cylinder
enduro machine which is mainly designed for sports use. Here, BMW is
not content simply to implement the design features typical of the
class but combines these with completely new technological solutions
which are characteristic of BMW in terms of engine and chassis, thus
continuing its off-road sporting tradition and giving the brand a
striking, distinctive profile in an off-road context, too. In the 2007
season, the innovative, patented technology of the single cylinder
sports enduro concept will be put to the acid test in numerous
competitive races. What is more, BMW has been able to secure the
services of experienced off-road professionals Sascha Eckert, Joel
Sméts and Simo Kirssi who will contribute their skill and
experience to the process of testing under the toughest conditions, as
well as the harmonisation and further development of the concept.