Tag Archives: Endurance

BMW

24H SPA EWC Motos: BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team Claims Another Podium at Spa-Francorchamps

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.

BMW

24H SPA EWC Motos: BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team extra motivated ahead of FIM EWC home round.

The BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team is returning to the scene of its greatest success to date. This weekend, the 24H SPA EWC Motos (BEL) forms round two of the FIM Endurance World Championship 2023 (FIM EWC). Last year, the team and its riders Markus Reiterberger (GER), Ilya Mikhalchik (UKR), and Jérémy Guarnoni (FRA) claimed a historic victory in the 24-hour race at Spa-Francorchamps. The success at the team’s home event was not only the first win in a 24-hour race for Werner Daemen’s (BEL) outfit but also the first time a European manufacturer had won over this distance for several decades. All set for its first appearance at the event is the Tecmas-MRP-BMW Racing Team. They start in the Superstock class of the FIM EWC and are making their debut on the Ardennes rollercoaster at Spa-Francorchamps.

This season, the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team is running the new version of the BMW M 1000 RR. The three regular riders – Reiterberger, Mikhalchik, and Guarnoni – immediately finished on the podium in the first race with the new bike when the trio came home third on the #37 M RR at the opening round of the 2023 season, the 24 Hours of Le Mans (FRA) in mid-April. The team is now extremely motivated ahead of the second race of the season at the iconic racetrack, which is just a one-hour drive from the Belgian team’s base. The fourth rider at Spa-Francorchamps is Vincent Lonbois (BEL). Over the course of his career, the 32-year-old has spent many years riding BMW motorcycles at racetracks and on the road racing scene. In 2016, he was crowned champion in the International Road Racing Championship (IRRC) with the BMW S 1000 RR. He also finished runner-up in the BMW Motorrad Race Trophy in the same year.

The new Tecmas-MRP-BMW Racing Team, in which the French Tecmas Racing Team and its owner Arnaud Sassone (FRA) is collaborating with Werner Daemen’s company Motorcycle Racing Parts and BMW Motorrad Motorsport, made a dream start to its debut season in the FIM EWC at Le Mans. Kenny Foray (FRA), Jan Bühn (GER), and Loïc Arbel (FRA) took victory in the Superstock class with the #9 BMW M 1000 RR. The team is now entering uncharted territory at Spa-Francorchamps. Although the Tecmas Racing Team has contested individual races in the FIM EWC in the past, it did not start the 24H SPA EWC Motos last year.

The race weekend at Spa-Francorchamps begins with free practice on Friday morning. The grid positions will then be determined in the two-part qualifying on Friday afternoon. The race itself gets underway on Saturday at 14:00 (CEST). As well as the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team and the Tecmas-MRP-BMW Racing Team, private BMW outfit Team LRP Poland also competes at the 24H SPA EWC Motos.

Quotes ahead of the 24H SPA EWC Motos.

Marc Bongers, BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director: “It goes without saying that last year’s fantastic victory remains a memorable one. We are now back in the Ardennes to face this special challenge again. We have shown that we can be successful at the home circuit for the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team, and are obviously hoping for a similar result this year. The current season got off to a successful start with the new BMW M 1000 RR at Le Mans, with third place overall for the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team and the debut victory in the Superstock class for the Tecmas-MRP-BMW Racing Team. We now travel to Spa-Francorchamps well prepared. The law of any 24-hour race obviously also applies here – namely that anything can happen. However, as far as the riders, teams, and machinery are concerned, we are well prepared and very confident ahead of the weekend.“

Werner Daemen, Team Manager BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team: “We are expecting a hot week at Spa–Francorchamps. The weather forecast is perfect. Last week, we had a successful pre-test. I was a little bit worried about the weather but the new BMW M 1000 RR also looks very good in hot conditions this year. So I think that we are well prepared for defending our good result from last year and hopefully, we also have the necessary luck.”

Markus Reiterberger: “Spa-Francorchamps is the home event for our team, and it is practically the home race for us too. Spa is a really great racetrack, and we have very fond memories of the circuit after last year’s victory. We completed a two-day function test there at a hobby event, during which we gained our first impressions of the new bike at this track. We now continue with the final tests, in which we will work on fine-tuning. As a team, I believe we are better positioned than ever. We are ready. We want to at least finish on the podium, but would obviously prefer to win. That is the goal we have set ourselves. The weather forecast is good, the team is super. There is nothing to stop us from being successful, and we will do everything we can to make that the case.”

Ilya Mikhalchik: “I am looking forward to a great race weekend at Spa on a beautiful track. I can’t wait to get back there with our new beautiful bike. Let’s hope for a good weekend and to enjoy riding our BMW M 1000 RR there. We want to show good speed over the entire weekend and to do a good job during the race. It would be great to finish the race on Sunday with a strong result.”

Jérémy Guarnoni: “The target for Spa is clear; like always, we want to win. We know that it is a track we are really fast on. Last year we won there, so obviously the goal is to repeat that. That would be really amazing. It is also a special race for us because it is the team’s home race. This gives us extra motivation. We know that in dry conditions, we are really fast there so let’s see what will happen. I am confident. At the pre–test, we saw that all is okay. Everything is on point so let’s see.”

Arnaud Sassone, Team Owner Tecmas-MRP-BMW Racing Team: “We arrive at Spa-Francorchamps as the championship leader and with an advantage of eleven points. That is perfect, but it does put us under extra pressure, which we must manage. This race at Spa is a first for my team of technicians, but we have worked hard and listened to our riders in order to be well prepared. BMW Motorrad has been successful at Spa in the past, with the overall victory for the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team last year. Our three Tecmas riders, led by their leader Kenny Foray, are a well-oiled team, which is both fast and capable of providing the engineers with precise information. They are also in great form and very motivated. All three of them are very familiar with the track in the Ardennes. Kenny took part in qualifying with the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team in 2022, while Loïc Arbel finished runner-up in the overall standings on the Tati Team’s Kawasaki. And Jan Bühn has been a regular at the Spa circuit for years.”

BMW

ROWE Racing Takes Third Place in the GT World Challenge Europe 1000km Race at Paul Ricard

In the second Endurance Cup race of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS (GTWC), BMW M works drivers Philipp Eng, Marco Wittmann, and Nick Yelloly of ROWE Racing claimed third place at the 1000km race of Paul Ricard. This is the team’s second podium finish in the series, maintaining their lead in the standings. However, they had to settle for third place after final stint driver Yelloly lacked the required pace to defend the lead position.

The BMW Junior Team finished in sixth place, while Valentino Rossi, Maxime Martin, and Augusto Farfus finished eighth for the BMW M Team WRT after a strong chasing performance.

Despite starting from 11th on the grid, the #98 car came in fourth but was later classified third when a five-second penalty was imposed on the Audi that finished ahead of them. Similarly, the #46 BMW M4 GT3 moved up 12 positions from 20th to eighth in an impressive performance.

The #32 BMW M4 GT3 from the BMW M Team WRT, which started in ninth place, was not able to finish the race due to technical issues. The #30 BMW M4 GT3 of the WRT team and the #35 BMW M4 GT3 from Walkenhorst Motorsport also did not finish the race.

ROWE Racing’s Philipp Eng was pleased with the team’s performance, saying that they had made significant improvements to the car after finishing practice sessions quite far off the lead on Friday. Max Hesse of ROWE Racing also expressed satisfaction with the team’s competitiveness in the race.

Valentino Rossi of the BMW M Team WRT acknowledged that they wanted more from the race but were satisfied with an 8th place finish from 20th on the grid.

Meanwhile, Charles Weerts of the BMW M Team WRT expressed disappointment over their DNF status resulting from a slight collision with a teammate. The team will now focus on the next race in Spa.