BMW Announces Trophy for Privateer Racers
Fri, 02 May 2014BMW announced a new competition for privateer racers competing worldwide. Private road racers competing on BMW’s S1000RR or HP4 sportbikes in 15 different series worldwide will earn points based on their results, with the top privateer at the end of the year winning the BMW Motorrad Race Trophy.
The trophy represents BMW’s new philosophy towards motorcycle racing which began with the official withdrawal of factory support in the World Superbike Championship. At the time of the announcement, BMW said it was refocusing its resources on “customer racing efforts”.
“We are proud to present our new concept of the BMW Motorrad Race Trophy,” says Bertrand Hauser, BMW Motorrad Motorsports technical director. “There’s never been anything like this in motorcycle racing, BMW Motorrad is the first manufacturer in the world to organise a race trophy especially for its customers. It’s kind of a ‘championship without limits’ – in which the privateer BMW Motorrad riders from some of the most important international and national series in the world play the leading role. BMW Motorrad riders who fight for the title in their championships now also can battle each other for the title of the best BMW Motorrad rider – riders, who would not otherwise be able to test their strength because they take part in completely different series.”
The bad news, at least for American racers, is that AMA Pro Racing is not one of the 15 series eligible for this program.
Lance Isaacs earned points towards the BMW Motorrad Race Trophy thanks to a pair of podiums in the South African Superbike Championship last weekend.
The World Superbike Championship, Superstock 1000 Cup and Endurance World Championship are included, as well as the Isle of Man TT and Macau Grand Prix. Various domestic series are also eligible including national championships in the UK, Canada, Brazil and South Africa. BMW says it plans to extend the number of championships in the future, but BMW privateers in AMA Pro Racing will be out of luck until 2015 at the earliest.
But for racers in series that are eligible for the competition. Here’s how it works: Racers will compete as normal in each series, with their results earning a number of points towards the Trophy. The exact number of points earned for single-race events like the Macau Grand Prix will also earn points based on a complex balancing formula. At the end of the year, the 15 top point-earning racers worldwide will be awarded with a trophy and a monetary prize. For this first season, BMW has posted a total pot worth 100,000 euros (US$138,600).
BMW will provide online support for privateer racers while BMW Motorrad Motorsport engineers will also be on site at eligible races to provide support.
Series eligible for the BMW Motorrad Race Trophy:
FIM Superbike World Championship (WSBK) FIM Superstock 1000 Cup (WSTK) FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC) FIM Spanish Superbike Championship (CEV) FIM Sidecar World Championship (SWC) Brazilian Superbike Championship (BRSBK) British Superbike Championship (BSB) Canadian Superbike Championship (CSBK) French Superbike Championship (FSBK) International German Superbike Championship (IDM) Italian Superbike Championship (CIV) Japanese Road Race Championship (MFJ) South African Motorcycle Championship (SAM) Isle of Man Tourist Trophy (TT) Macau Grand Prix (MGP)[Source: BMW]
By Dennis Chung
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