The stage is set for the BMW Motorrad Motorsport team’s second season in the Superbike World Championship. After a successful debut year, which featured 17 top-ten finishes, the team under BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director Berthold Hauser now has its sights set on closing the gap to the top teams and picking up podium finishes in 2010. “In our first year we learned something new every day and added to our wealth of experience,” says Hauser. “The BMW S 1000 RR has immense potential. The challenge is how to get the very maximum out of the bike on the track. That is not possible from scratch. Any experience gained must be earned. Based on the knowledge gathered in 2009, I expect us to take another step forward in 2010. We want to close the gap to the group of top teams and be battling for podium finishes.”
In order to achieve this goal, the team has examined all areas and identified potential improvements. The corresponding changes have been implemented step-by-step during the winter break. The bike’s performance has been further improved. The engineers concentrated primarily on making the BMW S 1000 RR easier for the riders to control when at the limit. At the same time, the team organization has been optimised.
Davide Tardozzi is new on board. The experienced Italian is a well known face in World Superbikes and, as team manager, is responsible for the running of all aspects of the team at trackside. He will also be involved in tactical decisions from the pit wall on race weekends. General and technical project leader Rainer Bäumel will once again be responsible for the further development of the BMW S 1000 RR and supervision of the technical aspects of the bikes in 2010.
The road-going version of the BMW S 1000 RR made its much anticipated debut at the end of 2009. The feedback from both the specialist press and customers has been extremely positive. “Our colleagues in production development have raised the bar very high for us,” Hauser confirms. “We now want to tap the full potential of the racing bike and aim for the top, too.”
As a production model, the BMW S 1000 RR already boasts impressive racing genes. “When developing the production bike, the motorsport department was able to introduce many ideas,” reports Bäumel. “When we started our work at the end of 2007 it was based on a prototype. We first had to understand how the bike functions and how we could make a racing bike out of it. In the meantime the production development is now complete. We are now in a position to drive the further development and offer even more input to the production department. This primarily affects future models.”
In its second year, BMW Motorrad Motorsport is once again putting its faith in Troy Corser (AU) and Ruben Xaus (ES), two of the most successful and experienced Superbike riders around. Corser knows how it feels to sit at the top of the standings at the end of the season: he won the Riders’ Championship in 1996 and 2005. Going into the 2010 season, the Australian had been on the podium 128 times – more than any other rider. With 331 starts, the
man from “Down Under” is also the longest serving rider and the top qualifier in the field, with 42 pole positions to his name. “Our first development year ran as expected,” says Corser. “We are now all highly motivated to continue improving. We made great progress in 2009 and understand the bike much better. Last year the other teams could call on their experience and improve their speed over the course of the season. I am convinced we will also be in this position in 2010.”
Xaus is also a true winner. He has appeared on the top step of the podium 11 times to date. Over the course of his 176 races he has gained the experience required to join his team-mate in driving the BMW Motorrad Motorsport squad forward. In 2003 Xaus finished second in the Riders’ Championship. “The first year with BMW Motorrad was very intense,” he says. “The team is fantastic and has thrown itself into the ambitious project with great enthusiasm. Everyone is working incredibly hard. This really spurs us riders on. The team has put its trust in me – and I will give 100% to repay it. It is worth pushing me to the limit for the guys. What we are still missing is experience with the BMW S 1000 RR, but we are gaining that with every kilometre on the track.”
