mika
Still Wondering
STRONG TEAM PERFORMANCE AT GCC EVENT IN MERNES.
06/30/2008
Munich. Round three of the 2008 German Cross Country championship was coloured white and blue, as three of the top four bikes in the XCPro class were BMW G 450 X machines. The BMW Motorrad factory team may have been denied its third consecutive victory, but overall the racing at Mernes proved to be a major success.
BMW factory rider Simo Kirssi, the current GCC series leader and winner of the opening rounds at Tollwitz and Walldorf, was yet again the fastest man out of the Munich manufacturer's camp, still the race win on the well prepared and entertaining "Speedhang" went to Frenchman Cyrille Coulon. The sentimental win belonged to five-time World Motocross champ Joel Smets though, who came from behind to seal the final podium step.
Under blazing sunshine Kirssi grabbed the Le Mans-style start and guided the field into the first lap, shadowed by his teammate Bert Meyer and Coulon. The latter set a blistering pace and wasted no time. The Frenchman passed Meyer in lap one and Kirssi in lap two. Smets meanwhile suffered drama in the first chicane. Finding himself trapped under his own bike after a crash - and visibly in pain - the likeable Belgian re-joined the race dead-last. But Smets was on fire and quickly started to pick up competitors to the left and right, ultimately rounding out his fine performance by stealing third place from Meyer.
Championship leader Kirssi had been following Coulon for a large portion of the 2-hour race, yet had to accept the runner-up position. Bert Meyer, who completed the BMW display of strength behind Kirssi and Smets, had his hands fulls with long-time rival Arnaud Demeester early in the race. The veteran Frenchman however crashed out two thirds into the proceedings.
The BMW Motorrad Motorsport crew applauded their riders after the chequered flag and everyone on the team was delighted with the result. After all, success is the best reward for all the hard work and extensive development carried out.
Simo Kirssi: "I started well and enjoyed the track. Cyrille went by in the second lap and I couldn't quite keep his pace. Not today. I am not satisfied and would have preferred to win."
Joel Smets: "There was a lot of dust in the first corner after the start. I couldn't see anything and don't even know why I crashed. Maybe I clipped another rider's bike, maybe someone touched mine or maybe I just lost the front. Anyway, I was lying there with my leg trapped between the rear wheel and fender. I hurt my hip in the incident and had to ride through the pain for two hours. Nevertheless, it was a lot of fun and I am pleased with the result."
Bert Meyer: "The start went well today. After re-fuelling though, I ran into an old problem of mine: struggling to gain my rhythm back. I was then battling with Arnaud (Demeester) and taking control before he crashed out eventually. Fourth place is okay."
Wolfgang Fischer (head of team): "Simo rode his own race in second place. His lap times were similar to Coulon's, but he couldn't quite keep him. Joel delivered an exciting race and came from being way behind to take third. Bert had a nice battle with Demeester going on until the Frenchman dropped out. All team riders completed the race and two climbed onto the podium. A good day for us and a good day's racing."
GCC Mernes XCPro class
1. Cyrille Coulon (FRA), Yamaha, 22 laps
2. Simo Kirssi (FIN), BMW Motorrad Motorsport, 22 laps
3. Joel Smets (BEL), BMW Motorrad Motorsport, 22 laps
4. Bert Meyer (GER), BMW Motorrad Motorsport, 22 laps
5. Marco Straubel (GER), KTM, 21 laps
6. Stefan Geyer (GER), KTM, 21 laps
7. Falko Karbautzki (GER), KTM, 21 laps
8. Christoph Seifert (GER), KTM, 20 laps
9. Steffen Albrecht (GER), Yamaha, 19 laps
10. Andreas Schulz (GER), 19 laps
BMW M1 Procar revival at Hockenheim.
06-30-2008 Press Release
BMW M1 Procar revival at Hockenheim.
Past masters roll back the years.
Munich, 30th June 2008. The F1 German Grand Prix programme this year will see the revival of the most spectacular single-make competition in motor racing history. The BMW M1 Procar series will be back at Hockenheim on 19th and 20th July as a field of ten cars.
BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen, for one, is looking forward to the event: ÔÇ£The M1 was unveiled 30 years ago as the first car created independently by the then BMW Motorsport GmbH. It was a racing car which BMW customers could also drive on the road, a unique project which had to overcome some tricky administrative hurdles before getting off the ground.ÔÇØ In order to gain Group 4 homologation, 400 units of the super sports car had to be built within a period of 24 months. As Theissen continues: ÔÇ£The idea of organising a single-make series was born out of necessity ÔÇô i.e. the requirements of homologation. Nobody expected the BMW M1 Procar series to go down quite so well. Just a mention of it today still triggers an enthusiastic reaction. This revival serves as a ÔÇÿthank youÔÇÖ to the fans.ÔÇØ
ÔÇ£There hasnÔÇÖt been a series as attractive as this before or since,ÔÇØ says Marc Surer. Now working as a Formula One expert on TV, Surer is well placed to judge. As a young Formula 2 driver, he conducted testing and set-up work for the prototypes at the time. ÔÇ£With its mid-engined layout, the M1 was a bit of an animal to drive and had an outrageous soundtrack. The series fed off the appeal of the cars and the opportunity for young drivers to measure themselves against the leading Formula One stars at the time.ÔÇØ
The five fastest drivers from Friday practice for the Formula One Grand Prix earned themselves a drive in the M1 race. The 15 remaining 500 hp machines were piloted by hungry young hopefuls. ÔÇ£You were really somebody if you got to drive in one of those races,ÔÇØ recalls Surer. ÔÇ£It was a unique opportunity to pit your skills against the F1 drivers ÔÇô and they were certainly pretty quick in the M1. The handling of the mid-engined car suited them down to the ground. Plus, in 1979 ÔÇô the first of the two years the series was held ÔÇô they always started from the front and were given works cars. That made it pretty tough for us junior drivers in the independent teams. We had to look after our car, but at the same time did everything we could to make our mark.ÔÇØ
The idea of developing the BMW M1, however, was the brainchild of Jochen Neerpasch, the head of BMW Motorsport GmbH at the time, and it was he who initiated the single-make series with Bernie Ecclestone and Max Mosley within the relatively relaxed structure of F1 three decades ago.
A handful of past masters are set to line up once again for the two show races at Hockenheim. Surer will be joined by Jacques Laffite, Dieter Quester, Christian Danner, Harald Grohs and Prince Leopold of Bavaria. Jochen Neerpasch will also be there, at the wheel of the BMW M1 turned into an Art Car by Andy Warhol. His co-driver will be none other than Frank Stella, who also created an Art Car ÔÇô a BMW 3.0 CSL which raced at Le Mans in 1976. The 72-year-old remains a keen motor racing fan.
06/30/2008
Munich. Round three of the 2008 German Cross Country championship was coloured white and blue, as three of the top four bikes in the XCPro class were BMW G 450 X machines. The BMW Motorrad factory team may have been denied its third consecutive victory, but overall the racing at Mernes proved to be a major success.
BMW factory rider Simo Kirssi, the current GCC series leader and winner of the opening rounds at Tollwitz and Walldorf, was yet again the fastest man out of the Munich manufacturer's camp, still the race win on the well prepared and entertaining "Speedhang" went to Frenchman Cyrille Coulon. The sentimental win belonged to five-time World Motocross champ Joel Smets though, who came from behind to seal the final podium step.
Under blazing sunshine Kirssi grabbed the Le Mans-style start and guided the field into the first lap, shadowed by his teammate Bert Meyer and Coulon. The latter set a blistering pace and wasted no time. The Frenchman passed Meyer in lap one and Kirssi in lap two. Smets meanwhile suffered drama in the first chicane. Finding himself trapped under his own bike after a crash - and visibly in pain - the likeable Belgian re-joined the race dead-last. But Smets was on fire and quickly started to pick up competitors to the left and right, ultimately rounding out his fine performance by stealing third place from Meyer.
Championship leader Kirssi had been following Coulon for a large portion of the 2-hour race, yet had to accept the runner-up position. Bert Meyer, who completed the BMW display of strength behind Kirssi and Smets, had his hands fulls with long-time rival Arnaud Demeester early in the race. The veteran Frenchman however crashed out two thirds into the proceedings.
The BMW Motorrad Motorsport crew applauded their riders after the chequered flag and everyone on the team was delighted with the result. After all, success is the best reward for all the hard work and extensive development carried out.
Simo Kirssi: "I started well and enjoyed the track. Cyrille went by in the second lap and I couldn't quite keep his pace. Not today. I am not satisfied and would have preferred to win."
Joel Smets: "There was a lot of dust in the first corner after the start. I couldn't see anything and don't even know why I crashed. Maybe I clipped another rider's bike, maybe someone touched mine or maybe I just lost the front. Anyway, I was lying there with my leg trapped between the rear wheel and fender. I hurt my hip in the incident and had to ride through the pain for two hours. Nevertheless, it was a lot of fun and I am pleased with the result."
Bert Meyer: "The start went well today. After re-fuelling though, I ran into an old problem of mine: struggling to gain my rhythm back. I was then battling with Arnaud (Demeester) and taking control before he crashed out eventually. Fourth place is okay."
Wolfgang Fischer (head of team): "Simo rode his own race in second place. His lap times were similar to Coulon's, but he couldn't quite keep him. Joel delivered an exciting race and came from being way behind to take third. Bert had a nice battle with Demeester going on until the Frenchman dropped out. All team riders completed the race and two climbed onto the podium. A good day for us and a good day's racing."
GCC Mernes XCPro class
1. Cyrille Coulon (FRA), Yamaha, 22 laps
2. Simo Kirssi (FIN), BMW Motorrad Motorsport, 22 laps
3. Joel Smets (BEL), BMW Motorrad Motorsport, 22 laps
4. Bert Meyer (GER), BMW Motorrad Motorsport, 22 laps
5. Marco Straubel (GER), KTM, 21 laps
6. Stefan Geyer (GER), KTM, 21 laps
7. Falko Karbautzki (GER), KTM, 21 laps
8. Christoph Seifert (GER), KTM, 20 laps
9. Steffen Albrecht (GER), Yamaha, 19 laps
10. Andreas Schulz (GER), 19 laps
BMW M1 Procar revival at Hockenheim.
06-30-2008 Press Release
BMW M1 Procar revival at Hockenheim.
Past masters roll back the years.
Munich, 30th June 2008. The F1 German Grand Prix programme this year will see the revival of the most spectacular single-make competition in motor racing history. The BMW M1 Procar series will be back at Hockenheim on 19th and 20th July as a field of ten cars.
BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen, for one, is looking forward to the event: ÔÇ£The M1 was unveiled 30 years ago as the first car created independently by the then BMW Motorsport GmbH. It was a racing car which BMW customers could also drive on the road, a unique project which had to overcome some tricky administrative hurdles before getting off the ground.ÔÇØ In order to gain Group 4 homologation, 400 units of the super sports car had to be built within a period of 24 months. As Theissen continues: ÔÇ£The idea of organising a single-make series was born out of necessity ÔÇô i.e. the requirements of homologation. Nobody expected the BMW M1 Procar series to go down quite so well. Just a mention of it today still triggers an enthusiastic reaction. This revival serves as a ÔÇÿthank youÔÇÖ to the fans.ÔÇØ
ÔÇ£There hasnÔÇÖt been a series as attractive as this before or since,ÔÇØ says Marc Surer. Now working as a Formula One expert on TV, Surer is well placed to judge. As a young Formula 2 driver, he conducted testing and set-up work for the prototypes at the time. ÔÇ£With its mid-engined layout, the M1 was a bit of an animal to drive and had an outrageous soundtrack. The series fed off the appeal of the cars and the opportunity for young drivers to measure themselves against the leading Formula One stars at the time.ÔÇØ
The five fastest drivers from Friday practice for the Formula One Grand Prix earned themselves a drive in the M1 race. The 15 remaining 500 hp machines were piloted by hungry young hopefuls. ÔÇ£You were really somebody if you got to drive in one of those races,ÔÇØ recalls Surer. ÔÇ£It was a unique opportunity to pit your skills against the F1 drivers ÔÇô and they were certainly pretty quick in the M1. The handling of the mid-engined car suited them down to the ground. Plus, in 1979 ÔÇô the first of the two years the series was held ÔÇô they always started from the front and were given works cars. That made it pretty tough for us junior drivers in the independent teams. We had to look after our car, but at the same time did everything we could to make our mark.ÔÇØ
The idea of developing the BMW M1, however, was the brainchild of Jochen Neerpasch, the head of BMW Motorsport GmbH at the time, and it was he who initiated the single-make series with Bernie Ecclestone and Max Mosley within the relatively relaxed structure of F1 three decades ago.
A handful of past masters are set to line up once again for the two show races at Hockenheim. Surer will be joined by Jacques Laffite, Dieter Quester, Christian Danner, Harald Grohs and Prince Leopold of Bavaria. Jochen Neerpasch will also be there, at the wheel of the BMW M1 turned into an Art Car by Andy Warhol. His co-driver will be none other than Frank Stella, who also created an Art Car ÔÇô a BMW 3.0 CSL which raced at Le Mans in 1976. The 72-year-old remains a keen motor racing fan.
