BMW Motorrad Motorsport - WSBK - Silverstone - Races
Silverstone – Races.
Sunday, 31 July 2011.
Weather conditions: Scattered clouds.
Temperature: Air: 18 – 23 °C, Track: 23 – 38 °C
Number of riders participating: 21 from 12 teams
Fastest lap Race 1: Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) 2:06.045 min
Fastest lap Race 2: Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia Racing) 2:05.525 min
Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport leaves the Silverstone race weekend with mixed emotions. At the last race weekend before the summer break, factory rider Leon Haslam (GBR) secured the squad another top five finish in the 2011 season of the FIM Superbike World Championship. On the other hand, Troy Corser (AUS) had to retire from the second race due to a technical issue. In the championship standings, Leon is fifth (158 points) and Troy is still 15th (62 points). In the manufacturer standings, BMW lies fourth with 194 points.
Two BMW riders were again successful in the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup race: BMW Motorrad Italia Superstock Team rider Lorenzo Zanetti (ITA) celebrated a podium, finishing second. 17 years old German Markus Reiterberger (GER) from the Garnier Alpha Racing Team secured another top ten result finishing sixth.
BMW Motorrad Motorsport congratulates Erwan Nigon (FRA), Sébastien Gimbert (FRA) and Damian Cudlin (GBR) from Team BMW Motorrad France on the fourth place on its debut at the prestigious Suzuka 8-Hour race. The result catapulted Team BMW Motorrad France 99 to the top of the Endurance World Championship standings, with just two rounds of the series remaining.
Leon Haslam:
Result Race 1: 4th / Gap to 1st: 00:07.116 min / Fastest Lap Race 1: 2:06.417 min
Result Race 2: 8th / Gap to 1st: 00:11.496 min / Fastest Lap Race 2: 2:06.328 min
“In race one I was really happy with the start. I was able to get myself into the position I wanted to be in and ran with the leaders. I was really pushing for the podium and battled to keep with Marco Melandri, but I was really struggling to pass him and stay in front. I was happy to be running close to the front and the lap times were OK. I just narrowly missed out on a podium. In race two I was having a few issues with the bike and I was forced to adapt my riding style to try and ride around it. I got to the point where I was able to run consistent lap times, but by then the leaders had gone. Now we have the summer break, so I am just looking forward to spending some time at home and preparing in the gym for the next races.”
Troy Corser:
Result Race 1: 9th / Gap to 1st: 00:25.491 min / Fastest Lap Race 1: 2:06.979 min
Result Race 2: DNF / Fastest Lap Race 2: 2:07.099 min
“In race one I got a great start. I actually had a little incident at the first corner – I collided with another rider which did cost me a bit of time and to be honest I was lucky not to go down. I fought hard and managed to get to the front of the group and I felt well on the bike. The grip level dropped off as the race progressed, and it caused me to slide and spin the rear tyre. I just managed the situation the best I could and brought it home. In race two we had an issue with the bike which we are currently looking into. That sadly brought an early end to the race for me. We are not sure exactly why the issue occurred at the minute but it does seem bizarre at this stage because we only made minor changes between races. The changes we did make seemed to improve the package but sadly we couldn’t take advantage of that. I have a couple of days off before going back to serious training. I still do not feel 100 per cent fit on the bike after my injury.”
Bernhard Gobmeier (BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director):
“We leave Silverstone with mixed emotions. In the first race, Leon’s lap times were good enough for a podium finish. After the second race, he complained about chattering. This didn’t allow good lap times. Troy showed a really good performance in race 1 and demonstrated that he is back from his injury. In the second race he brought the bike back to the garage and retired early from the race as he had technical issues. We now will analyze the data and find out what the problem was. The entire squad in Stephanskirchen, Munich and at the race track has worked hard over the last couple of months. Everybody should now recover before we come back to our home race at Nürburgring.”
