BMW commit to FIM World Endurance
As of the upcoming 2019/20 season, which gets underway on 21st/22nd September with the Bol d’Or in Le Castellet (FRA), a BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team will contest the FIM EWC with the new RR. The commitment is in collaboration with the Team MRP of Team Manager Werner Daemen (BEL). The riders will be announced at a later date.
“The FIM Endurance World Championship is an attractive platform for us for many reasons,” said Dr. Markus Schramm, Head of BMW Motorrad. “Endurance races like the Bol d’Or or Le Mans are real tests of stamina for both man and machine during which we can showcase the performance of our BMW S 1000 RR on the international stage. The FIM EWC is becoming increasingly popular around the world and gives us the opportunity to be present also in the Asian markets. That’s why it is a logical step for us to expand our works commitment with the new RR, which is already making waves in the FIM Superbike World Championship this season. I’m looking forward to gripping endurance races with the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team.”
“As part of our customer racing programme, we have had a presence in the FIM EWC for several years and we are looking forward to taking the next step with the new BMW S 1000 RR and having a works involvement there now,” added BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director Marc Bongers. “Werner Daemen’s MRP team is a competent partner with a wealth of racing experience, who is also already very familiar with the new RR. We’re also excited to have Dunlop on board and part of this project as tyre partner. Dunlop will also provide strong support with their expertise. The objective is clear: The first season in this top-level world championship will be a year of learning in which we want to become more and more competitive step by step. In the longer term our aim is to be up there among the leading pack and battling for the title.”
“We’re really looking forward to this fantastic new project and being able to enter the Endurance World Championship with the support of BMW Motorrad Motorsport and a works team,” said Werner Daemen. “I believe that we have the necessary experience and we are eagerly awaiting the 2019/20 season. I would like to thank BMW Motorrad Motorsport for their continuous confidence in our work. I was an active rider in the Endurance World Championship myself and recorded a few successes, for example, second place in the 24-hour race in Francorchamps in 2000. I hope to be celebrating similar successes with the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team sometime in the near future.”
In preparation for the start of the season, the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team is currently developing an endurance version based on the RR Superbike used in the FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK).
FIM Endurance World Championship 2019/20
- 21st/22nd September 2019: Bol d’Or (24-hour race) – Le Castellet (FRA)
- 14th December 2019: 8 Hours of Sepang – Sepang (MAS)
- 18th/19th April 2020: 24 Heures Moto – Le Mans (FRA)
- 6th June 2020: 8 Hours Oschersleben – Oschersleben (GER)
- 19th July 2020: Suzuka 8 Hours – Suzuka (JPN)
Source: MCNews.com.au