BMW The Ultimate Riding Machine

In only its second season in the Superbike World Championship, the S 1000 RR is already having a big impact. Furthermore, all around the world, motorcycle racers are discovering that BMW’s new Superbike has exactly what it takes – straight out of the box – to win races. Here’s a summary of BMW S 1000 RR success so far in 2010…

WSBK

The thousands of passionate BMW fans that gathered at the historic Monza circuit early in May and who were watching around the world were in for a treat, as BMW Motorrad Motorsport rider Troy Corser achieved the team’s first ever World Superbike podium. After a four-way battle at the front between himself, Max Biaggi, Leon Haslam and Cal Crutchlow at the high-speed circuit, Corser secured his 129th WSBK podium – but importantly – the first ever for the S 1000 RR and BMW Motorrad Motorsport.

Since then, Corser has gone on to record another podium finish – at Misano at the end of June – as well as achieving the team’s first ever pole position. Roll on Silverstone in August…

Superstock 1000 FIM Cup

After six rounds of 10 in this year’s Superstock 1000 FIM Cup, the S 1000 RR has been in a class of its own with BMW Motorrad Team Italia’s Ayrton Badovini being equally Unstoppable in this important race series that supports the Superbike World Championship at all its European rounds.

Six convincing wins from six races so far in 2010 means that Badovini currently has a maximum 150 points in the rider standings – currently more than twice that of second-placed rider Michael Magnoni. His team-mate Daniele Beretta also showed his potential by finishing on the podium in Monza and finishing fourth in Brno, elevating him to tenth in the standings.

With these impressive results, BMW leads the Manufacturers Standings by a clear margin over distant challengers Honda and Suzuki. The Superstock 1000 FIM Cup returns at the beginning of September at Silverstone. Who would bet against Badovini securing the championship at this round?

France

After four rounds of the 2010 French Superbike Championship, it’s success all the way for BMW Motorrad France team riders Erwan Nigon and Sébastien Gimbert. After 8 races out of 14, their race results on the track prove conclusively just what the BMW S 1000 RR is capable of in the right hands: After five wins, two second places and a third place, Nigon tops the points table with 184 (out of a possible 200). Team-mate Sébastien Gimbert is second on 143 points, with one win, five second places, a fifth and ninth place to his credit.

The two BMW riders have done incredibly well so far this year and now both occupy strong positions at the top of the championship, which means that BMW Motorrad France is extremely confident for the forthcoming rounds of the 2010 French Superbike Championship, which continues at Magny-Cours on the 17th and 18th of July.

Spain

The 2010 ‘CEV Buckler’ Spanish Superbike Championship has completed just four rounds so far in 2010, but BMW S 1000 RR rider Javier Forés is already staking his title ambitions by securing four consecutive victories so far in 2010 for the Motorrad Competicion team.

In the ‘Stock Extreme’ class, the Valencian rider’s maximum points gives him an advantage of 40 points over Ducati rider Xavier Del Amor. His team-mates Enrique Rocamora and Alberto Lopez are fourth and seventh in the overall championship standings.

These great results from the Motorrad Competition team have helped extend BMW’s lead in the Manufacturer Standings. Despite this being the first time that the S 1000 RR has competed in this championship, BMW currently has 155 points, 76 more than the nearest manufacturer Ducati, with the Japanese manufacturers trailing even further behind. The next race takes place at Albacete on 12 September.

Germany

Belgian rider Werner Daemen recently scored a double victory at the Salzburgring on his BMW S 1000 RR in a successful weekend of racing in the German Superbike Championship (IDM).

The Team alpha Technik - van Zon - BMW rider performed flawlessly and elevated himself to second place in the overall points table. His pole position, two race wins, fastest lap and a podium from his team-mate Barry Veneman also means that the BMW team is now leading the Manufacturers Standings by 28 points over KTM, with Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki rounding out the top five.

The next round of the 2010 IDM German Superbike Championship will take place on the first weekend of August at the Schleizer triangle.

Australia

Lap record, top qualifier and two race wins. That’s not bad for only the second outing on a new bike and a considerable achievement for Craig Coxhell and the CJC Racing S 1000 RR team at Round 3 of the Australian Superbike Championship, held at Queensland Raceway in Australia’s Sunshine State.

In the team’s first outing in Darwin they’d managed to get inside the top ten in the Superbike class on a practically standard and untested bike. With the bike in Superstock trim and unsure of when new parts would be available, the team decided to switch to the Superstock class. In doing so, they still managed to finish 6th and 7th outright – winning the Superstock class in both races – and were also the first Superstock bike to get into Superpole shoot-out in the history of this qualifying format in Australia.

This was the first podium for BMW in Australia on the new S 1000 RR but definitely not the last. The championship continues on August 20-22 back at Queensland Raceway.

UK

In the 2010 British Superbike Championship EVO class (which allows homologated machines with full Superbike racing rolling chassis, but ‘stock’ engines in order to keep costs manageable), Jentin Racing – BMW Motorrad rider Steve Brogan is second in the overall points standings after six of 12 rounds having scored five race wins so far.

In the Metzeler Superstock 1000 national championship, the S 1000 RR is again in front with Jon Kirkham leading the 2010 series by 34 points, with two race wins and three third places to his credit. Other BMW riders battling in this competitive series include Tristan Palmer – who has scored two podiums and is currently forth in the championship – and former BMW BoxerCup rider Richard 'Cooperman' Cooper.

Canada

Along with many other markets worldwide, BMW Motorrad Canada is fielding an S 1000 RR team in its own national superbike championship. Both riders from BMW’s 2009 race team – Francis Martin and Michael Ferreira – are the riders hoping to bring a superbike victory to BMW Motorrad Canada in 2010 and after five rounds of this year’s series, Francis Martin is getting close. The former double Canadian Superbike Champion has finished on the podium four times in five races and currently lies second in the overall points, with team-mate Ferreira in sixth.

The final two rounds of this year’s series will take place from 5-8 August at Shubenacadie in Nova Scotia, so here’s hoping that Francis Martin gets his first victory on the S 1000 RR.

Northern Ireland

In June, Scottish rider Keith Amor scored a stunning victory in the North West 200 Superstock race on a BMW S 1000 RR. Held in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, this race takes place on public roads running between the three seaside towns of Portstewart, Coleraine and Portrush, and is one of the fastest in the world, with top speeds up to 204 mph (328 km/h) recorded through the speed trap.

Thirty-eight-year-old Amor from Falkirk in central Scotland rode a BMW S 1000 RR to victory for the WA Corless/Jackson Racing team – his first ever International road race win and the first on public roads for the S 1000 RR. Keith also rode a BMW S 1000 RR in the event’s two ‘Superbike’ races, finishing in fourth and sixth places respectively, recording 195mph (313.8 km/h) through the speed trap.

Elsewhere…
All around the world, BMW S 1000 RRs are being raced in various championships. In Argentina, René Zanatta is racing in the national Superbike championship, while Daniel Cassano and Mariano Cordasco are racing the BMW in the ‘Stock Bikes’ category.

In the USA, the vast area covered means that many riders are restricted to regional, rather than national championships, but as you can imagine, there is a lot of activity and success going on stateside – enough to bring you a whole story in the near future!