In the eight months since BMW announced it would enter the World Superbike Championship in 2009, the project has gathered pace and race fans are now able to see the tangible evidence of the project for the first time. The new BMW S 1000 RR has been tested at various racetracks in Spain, and has now had its first test at a track used by the World Superbike Championship (WSB) - the Eurospeedway Lausitzring.
The German circuit was on the WSB calendar up to last season and the recent two-day test gave the team a chance to compare its lap times and performance to last year's race. At the end of the test, the team and its three test riders were happy with the progress of the bike and eager to analyze the data before continuing the bike's development. The three riders, Steve Martin, Kevin Curtain and Jeremy McWilliams, said, "The basics of the S 1000 RR are very good, the engine has good power, the chassis and suspension are working well and the bike has the basis of a Superbike racer already."
This sentiment was echoed by BMW Motorrad Motorsport's General Manager Berti Hauser: "I am very happy with the professionalism of all three riders and the feedback they have given us. We are under no illusions about the amount of work we have to do before the start of next season, but we are ready and looking forward to this huge challenge. Up to now, we have done very little work on the electronics, preferring to get the basics working well, and I think we achieved that. If our project continues at this pace, I think we could surprise a few people next year."Whilst the main focus of has been at the track, a lot of work has been going on near Rosenheim, a small town about 40 miles south-east of BMW's headquarters in Munich. It is here that BMW Motorrad and its partners, Alpha Technik, will prepare the race bikes in a brand new facility. The main workshop area is split into three parts and has two dynos - one for the whole bike and another that can simulate any racetrack in the world.
Another of the three buildings will also house BMW Motorrads Off-Road and Enduro team, whilst the other two will be for the Superbike project and spares parts. The progress of the facility's construction has been rapid. In just eight months it has gone from grassland to workshops, offices, meeting rooms and a canteen for employees.
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