Following on from yesterday’s podium success the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team prepared for the final two races of the weekend under hot and sunny conditions. Tom Sykes lined up in P3 for the 10 lap sprint race with team mate Markus Reiterberger respectively on the fourth row in P12.

Sykes got off to a good start despite dropping a place and maintained P4 for the next 5 laps until a charging Alex Lowes passed him on Lap 5. The race was far from over and a chance at a podium loomed once again with crash from Sandro Cortese at T16 and then Jonathan Rea at T10 meant Sykes was now running in P3, with Leon Haslam hot on his tail with just 2 laps to go. Unfortunately, Tom Sykes suffered a cruel mechanical issue with just half a lap to go resulting in a DNF.

Markus Reiterberger equally got off to a good start as he ended lap 1 in P13 battling with Frenchman Loris Baz and Honda's Yuki Takahashi. With the crashes in front of him Markus would end his race in P13.

The final race of the weekend soon approached but following Tom Sykes' DNF in the previous race it meant he had to start P11 on the grid. Again Sykes got off to a good start promoting himself up two places sitting in P9 just behind Cortese and Michael Ruben Rinaldi, however with another crash from #11 Cortese and #7 Chaz Davies this meant he would inherit P7 with 10 laps to go. Sykes struggled to get passed Rinaldi as the gap to him grew bigger with every lap and looked set for P7 in the race, but with another Yamaha crash from Marco Melandri a solid P6 was all that could be managed come the chequered flag.

Between the sprint race and Race 2 for Markus Reiterberger big changes were made to his BMW S 1000 RR with the head angle and swing-arm angle included on the list. Markus found himself in a 4-way battle for P12 in the early stages of the race but broke away from the group again with Frenchman Loris Baz. With the crashes ahead of him in the race Markus brought his BMW S 1000 RR in P11 - his best result of the weekend.

Round 7 of the WorldSBK Championship has been one to remember for the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team following their maiden podium of 2019. The team will now re-group and get set for SMR's home race at Donington Park in just 2 weeks’ time.


Shaun Muir – Team Principal

“We are really gutted for Tom. He has put all his effort in and got very little reward for it in the sprint race when with just half a lap to go he had a mechanical DNF when he could have been on the podium. That would also have meant third on the grid for the main race but he had to go from P11 on the grid and we all know that it’s difficult to pass the Ducatis in a straight line. He came within 1.8 seconds of the podium from 11th on the grid and I think that shows the talent and effort that he put in there. So, we apologise to Tom for not giving him the tools today. However, I think we can all see that there has been real progress and he is going to come back strong for sure at Donington.

Markus on the other hand is still struggling to find his real form and we’re not yet where we want to be, we will look at all the data and sit down to discuss the set-up for Donington and hopefully with the cooler track temperatures it can be good towards our tyre wear and he and Tom can come back and do a good job at our home round.”

Marc Bongers – BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director

“On the whole, we can be very happy with the Misano weekend. It is obviously a shame that we were denied our next podium by a mechanical issue this morning. However, you must not forget that this kind of thing can always happen with a fledgling project like ours. We will analyse what the cause was. That is part of the learning process.

The podium in Saturday’s race was the next important step with our new BMW S 1000 RR. The sprint and main race on Sunday allowed us to demonstrate the progress we have made with the development of the RR. The performance was spot on. If Tom had started from further up the grid in the afternoon, he could have challenged for a spot on the podium again. In the end, he missed out by under two seconds. However, his sixth place was another good result. The hard work also paid off for Markus and his crew. They took a step forward and this is the direction to go now. We now must continue this positive trend at Donington Park.”

Tom Sykes (GBR)

“It was a little bit unfortunate. I honestly feel that we had three podiums in reach. We were third in the sprint race until the last lap and had a issue which allowed Leon Haslam to come close and then unfortunately we retired.

That didnt help the cause as this meant that I started the last big race from the fourth row which cost me some time in the first few laps. The whole BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team did a great job. I feel if we had started from the front row we could have gone away, kept our rhythm and I definitely feel that this would have allowed another podium position. So a little bit of a shame but on the plus side we’ve had a podium, we finished second this weekend with the all-new BMW S 1000 RR, we are showing its potential. Even in this last race we had very good consistency. We will build on this.”

Markus Reiterberger (GER)

“Today was better than yesterday, although my start was not so good in the Superpole race and a mistake cost me valuable time. The result was that I had to settle for 14th on the grid in race two. However, I made a good start and was able to hold on to 12th and later 11th place for the whole race. I did my best, did not make any mistakes, and brought the BMW S 1000 RR home safe and sound. The track conditions were more difficult today. It was very hot and I have never known there be so little grip. It was tough for everyone, but we coped well. We have taken a small step forward, which gives us more confidence. We will continue to work hard to improve. So a big thank you to the whole team.”