The BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team had a successful home race at Spa-Francorchamps, as they finished on the podium once again. After 24 hours of intense racing, Markus Reiterberger, Ilya Mikhalchik, and Jérémy Guarnoni secured third place with their BMW M 1000 RR at the 24H SPA EWC Motos, the second round of the 2023 FIM Endurance World Championship. This follows their previous third-place finish at the opening race weekend in Le Mans. The team is currently ranked third in the Team world championship standings, 33 points behind the leaders.

In the qualifying sessions, the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team showed strong performance, securing second place on the grid. However, they faced challenges during the race, with safety car phases causing them to lose time after pit stops. Despite this setback, the team consistently battled their way back through the field, eventually climbing to fourth place. They maintained this position throughout the night, delivering good lap times and efficient fuel consumption. With three and a half hours remaining, they inherited third place when the Suzuki team ahead of them encountered technical issues. The BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team successfully defended their position until the end, even in the face of rain in the closing stages of the race.

The Tecmas-MRP-BMW Racing Team, fresh from their victory in the Superstock class at the season-opener in Le Mans, also had a promising start at Spa-Francorchamps. However, they faced a setback when forced into the garage due to a technical issue. Despite efforts to repair the bike, they eventually had to retire from the race during the night.

The private BMW Team LRP Poland, racing with the BMW S 1000 RR, experienced various issues throughout the race but managed to push through and reach the finish line after 24 hours of racing.

The next race, the 8 Hours of Suzuka in Japan, will take place on August 6th.

BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director, Marc Bongers, expressed his satisfaction with the team’s third-place finish, noting the unfortunate situations caused by safety car periods. He praised the team’s performance, emphasizing their ability to fight back and the reliability of the motorcycle. Bongers acknowledged the need to improve their speed to reach the top position and shared disappointment for the Tecmas-MRP-BMW Racing Team’s inability to finish the race due to technical problems.

Werner Daemen, Team Manager of the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team, described the race as hectic, highlighting their bad luck with safety car periods in the beginning. However, he commended the impressive performance of the riders and mechanics and expressed gratitude to BMW for providing a reliable bike for the 24 hours. Daemen emphasized the team’s focus on the upcoming race in Japan and their aim to achieve another strong result.

Markus Reiterberger, one of the riders, reflected on their second-place qualification and the challenges faced during the race. He mentioned struggling with grip in high temperatures but remained error-free throughout the race, eventually securing third place. Reiterberger expressed gratitude to the team and acknowledged the tough and long race they had completed on the podium.

Ilya Mikhalchik, another team member, expressed happiness with their overall speed during the race, despite losing time due to safety car pit lane exits. He praised the team for avoiding mistakes and looked forward to a good position in the upcoming race in Japan.

Jérémy Guarnoni, also a part of the team, celebrated the second consecutive podium finish but acknowledged their lack of luck with the safety car, causing them to lose contact with the front riders. Nonetheless, Guarnoni expressed satisfaction with the team’s performance and the speed of his teammates.