BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team finished in the FIM Endurance World Championship top three for the second season running with rider Illya Mykhalchyk vowing to “keep pushing” following the squad’s fifth-place finish in last weekend’s Bol d’Or.
Werner Daemen’s Belgium-based team started the EWC season-deciding Bol d’Or on pole position for the third year running as one of four overall title chasers.
After a new race lap record from Markus Reiterberger – a 1m52.517s – helped BMW move into the lead in the early hours of Sunday morning, a crash for squad newcomer Hannes Soomer put Yoshimura SERT Motul back ahead. It also left the Estonian sidelined with a broken arm and dislocated shoulder and forced Reiterberger and Mykhalchyk to complete the race as a duo, albeit substantially delayed due to mechanical issues.
“It was tough, I think it was the toughest 24-hour race I ever had in all aspects,” Ukraine rider Mykhalchyk said afterwards. “There was a lot of action on the track, and then for half of the race I was only riding with Markus so I am really tired now but for sure happy that we did this incredible job. The team was also working so fast in the box when we had some technical issues. We were all on the highest level. I am a little bit upset as we had the pace to win this race and we had bad luck. But this motorsport and this can happen. So let’s take the positives from the performance and let’s keep pushing.”
Sven Blusch, Head of BMW Motorrad Motorsport, said: “Highs and setbacks, the Bol d'Or once again demonstrated all sides of endurance racing. After securing pole position with a strong performance, the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team fought long and hard for the victory we had all hoped for. The pace of the BMW M 1000 RR, the riders’ performances, and the entire team’s work were once again impressive. However, endurance racing doesn’t always reward these efforts. Equally impressive was the tireless effort and fighting spirit to overcome the difficulties later in the race and still achieve the best possible result under these conditions.”
Blusch continued: “At the same time, we wish Hannes a speedy recovery after his severe crash. A huge thank you to the entire team and our riders for a strong performance throughout the entire season. The BMW Superstock teams were also convincing, initially securing a triple success in qualifying and then dominating the race at the top of the class. Unfortunately, they too faced setbacks. Nevertheless, it is clear that the BMW M 1000 RR competes at the top of the world in both the Superbike and Superstock classes.”
Original Source [ FIM EWC ]
