BMW Motorrad Motorsport - WSBK - Imola - Races

Imola – Races.

Sunday, 25 September 2011.

Weather conditions: Sunny.

Temperature: Air: 25 – 28 °C, Track: 36 – 44 °C

Number of riders participating: 22 from 14 teams

Fastest lap Race 1: Noriyuki Haga (PATA Racing Team Aprilia) 1:47.960 min

Fastest lap Race 2: Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) 1:47.943 min

After two promising days at Imola (ITA), Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport waited in vain for top results in today’s races. The team leaves the 11th round of the 2011 FIM Superbike World Championship with another top-five result under its belt. Factory rider, Leon Haslam (GBR), finished fifth in the second heat after he fell in race one. His team mate Troy Corser (AUS) finished 12th in the first race, but had to retire in race two.

In race one, Leon kept sixth place on the opening laps. Then he found his rhythm and was able to push, closing the gap to the front runners. After eight laps, he was only 0.2 seconds behind the leading group. But then he fell on lap nine and was forced to retire. Troy started from 15th and was able to make up some positions during the race. After the start of race two, Leon was fighting in the leading group. But then he struggled to go the pace of the front runners and had to settle for fifth. Troy made another good start, but then lost positions and retired on lap 11. The races were won by Jonathan Rea (GBR) and Carlos Checa (ESP). On the grid of the second race, Troy was given a special award by Infront for having achieved his 4000th world championship point at Nürburgring (GER) earlier this month.

In the riders’ championship, Leon is fifth with 187 points. Troy lies 15th with 71 points. In the manufacturers’ standings BMW is fourth with 232 points. Ayrton Badovini (ITA) of the BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team finished ninth and tenth respectively. His team mate Xavi Fores (ESP) retired in the first race and came home 14th in the second.

In the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup race four BMW S 1000 RRs were classified in the top 10. Sylvain Barrier (FRA) from the BMW Motorrad Italia Superstock Team finished fifth, followed by Markus Reiterberger (GER) from the Garnier Alpha Racing Team in sixth. Baru Racing Team rider Michele Magnoni (ITA) finished eighth, Fabio Massei (ITA) of Team Piellemoto crossed the line in ninth.

At the 24-hour race at Le Mans (FRA), Team BMW Motorrad France 99 started with its RR from pole position and led until the halfway point, but then suffered technical issues and finished seventh.

Leon Haslam:

Result Race 1: DNF / Fastest Lap Race 1: 1:48.743 min

Result Race 2: 5th/ Gap to 1st: 00:17.388 min / Fastest Lap Race 2: 1:48.883 min

“In the early stages of race one I was struggling to push properly, but after a few laps I found a good rhythm and caught up to Tom and Carlos. Unfortunately I then got a false neutral. I went into the corner, the gear jumped out and in again and I fell. I am disappointed with the crash. For race two, we made some small changes to try and improve the bike, but the increase in air temperature meant things didn’t work out as we planned. So I lost the contact to the leading group and just had to try and maintain my position.”

Troy Corser:

Result Race 1: 12th/ Gap to 1st: 00:26.444 min / Fastest Lap Race 1: 1:48.976 min

Result Race 2: DNF / Fastest Lap Race 2: 1:49.287 min

“In race one I did not get a bad start, but then I ran a little bit wide at the ‘Tosa’-hairpin. We had made quite a few changes on the bike, so it took me a few laps to learn how to ride it. Once I had worked it out, I was able to push. In race two I felt something was wrong with the bike, as I could hear a strange noise coming from it. I am not sure where it was coming from or what it was but something wasn’t right. So I decided to play it safe and pull in. It is a shame because I felt good and we could have scored some good points.”

Bernhard Gobmeier (BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director):

“After our good lap times on Friday and Saturday we, of course, expected more. In the first race we had a crash due to the bike jumping out of gear. Until then the lap times were great. In the second race the times were not that good anymore, so at the end of the day Leon finished fifth. This position was hard fought for, But there is room for improvement and we aim to transfer the information we have collected here into top results next week at Magny-Cours.”