RACING SEASON IS HERE

Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport News 2009 Superbike World Championship

Round 10, Brno, CZ
Circuit: 5.403 kms Conditions: Dry, sunny/cloudy 26 C.
Friday qualifying, 24th July


BEST FIRST DAY OF QUALIFYING OF THE SEASON FOR TEAM BMW MOTORRAD MOTORSPORT.

Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport riders Troy Corser and Ruben Xaus ended the first day of qualifying at Brno with their best results of the season and are now hoping for further improvement this weekend. Troy finished sixth quickest overall and Ruben eighth but, more importantly, both riders looked happy with the day's proceedings and are now eager to push harder tomorrow. Today's results have not come about by accident, they are the result of continuous hard work and development since Valencia, together with recent successful tests in Italy.

Italian Max Biaggi (Aprilia) posted the day's fastest lap, with fellow Roman Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) second. Spaniard Carlos Checa (Honda) was third, with American Ben Spies (Yamaha) fourth, making it four different manufacturers on the provisional front row.

Troy - 6th, 2:00.603
Today I think the bike has probably been the best it has been all season and that's very encouraging and positive. Today I can feel the track easily and because there are no real hairpins - which kill us normally - we can use the flow of the track to our advantage. The bike feels more consistent now and that's because of the ongoing development and the step up we made in the recent tests. The bike is now easier to ride and I can push it hard, but when I do push hard, I am not getting the problems I had before. Ruben and I have been waiting for the bike to be like this and we both hope that the improvement will continue so that we can end this weekend with some really positive results.

Ruben - 8th, 2:00731
The bike is definitely easier to ride today and that's because of the step forward we made during the recent tests and all the hard work the team have put in since the season began. I had to swap to my spare bike (because of a clutch problem) towards the end of today's qualifying and although the tyres were different and set-up was not the same, I was able to put in quick laps straightaway. If I had been able to use my normal bike, I feel pretty sure that I could've gone two or three tenths of a second quicker and that would've put me in about fourth place. It's good to have a bike that's more rideable and this gives me more time to do what I want. We shouldn't get too carried away though, because this track suits our bike better than lots of other tracks, and the important thing is that we continue to improve tomorrow, so that we can push hard for good results on Sunday.

Rainer Baeumel (BMW Motorrad Motorsport Team Manager)
Today is no overnight sensation. It is the result of work that began after Valencia, carried on since and then the improvements we made in our recent tests. It has been our objective to improve the rideability of the bike since the start of the season and we have now done that. Now we ned to keep up the pace and improve again because everybody will go faster tomorrow. It's good to see Troy and Ruben smiling again and now we would like to end Sunday with good results and then enjoy our summer break.


IMPROVEMENT ALL AROUND FOR BMW AT IMOLA TEST.

Monday, 20 July 2009 10:03

The two-day official WSB test at Imola saw a major improvement for BMW, with Ruben Xaus setting the seventh quickest overall time, just eight tenths of a second away from Jonathan Rea's mark. The Spanish rider used a new spec engine that proved to make the bike much easier to ride and control. The test was so positive that the new engine will be used in the race at Brno at the end of this week.

"I am happy how the these tests have gone and I am really happy with the new engines," declared Xaus. "Now the bike is easier to ride and the connection between the throttle and the engine is improved. Of course, there's still a lot of work to do, but this improvement has made us all smile again and look forward to using these engines in Brno. The lap times are very close and if I had gone just over one tenth of a second faster, I would have been fighting Spies for third place! I am happy with my times on race tyres and feel we have made a good step forward and one that allows us to think very positively about the future. The team have been working fantastically hard recently and we need to be happy about what we have done. I have a lot of faith that BMW understand the situation and know what to do to keep up this improvement."