It was a historic Sunday at Portimão (POR): After being part of the FIM Superbike World Championship for nearly 20 years, BMW Motorrad factory rider, Troy Corser (AUS), rode the last races of his long and successful career in this series. To mark this occasion, Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport surprised Troy with a special green “crocodile”-livery on his RR. Starting the final round of the 2011 season from 18th on the grid, Troy faced a big challenge at his farewell performance. But the double world champion was committed until the final chequered flag, despite knowing that the bumpy and undulating nature of the track would cause some difficulties for him and team mate, Leon Haslam (GBR). Troy put in two solid races and finished 14th and 16th. Leon came home in ninth and 15th.
Ayrton Badovini (ITA) of the BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team was 13th and ninth. His team mate, Xavier Fores (ESP), retired in race one and finished 19th in the second one. The races were won by Carlos Checa (ESP) and Marco Melandri (ITA). In the riders’ championship, Leon finished the season in fifth with 224 points. Troy is 15th with 84 points. In the manufacturers’ standings BMW is fourth with 275 points. Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport will now stay at Portimão and on Tuesday will test there with the 2012 RR.
In the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup race Sylvain Barrier (FRA) of the BMW Motorrad Italia Superstock Team celebrated another podium, crossing the finish line in second. His team mate, Lorenzo Zanetti (ITA), was fifth. In all five BMW S 1000 RRs were classified in the top 11. Fabio Massei (ITA) from Team Piellemoto finished eighth. The two riders from the Garnier Alpha Racing Team, Brett McCormick (CAN) and Markus Reiterberger (GER), were tenth and 11th respectively.
Troy Corser
“I am a little disappointed with the results. That was not really how I wanted to finish my racing career. We struggled the whole weekend. We were able to improve the bike by changing some settings, but we still did not have enough grip. I just rode as hard as I could with what I had and gave my best. It was a shame because we have made very good steps throughout the year and I was hoping to transfer that here to a good result. The boys and I tried everything, but that was not enough. But I was not the only one to struggle with grip, as a lot of guys were sliding around. So it was just a matter of bringing it home without a crash. All in all I have to say that I enjoyed every bit of my time with BMW so far. It was frustrating at times, but there have been a lot of great moments as well.”
Leon Haslam
“We knew that it was going to be a tough weekend and, as we had expected, we were struggling with the bike already in race one. From the first lap on we had to fight and it was a long, hard race. It was just about bringing it home and trying to get as many points as possible. We were in the top ten, so we improved from where we qualified. At the start of the second race I was struggling so much that I ran off the track. That put me way back. Throughout the race the consistency was a little bit better, but I lost the front quite often and the rear tyre had blistered. There were too many issues to get a good result. Now I am looking forward to the future and to the 2012 season, which starts on Tuesday with our test here.”
Bernhard Gobmeier (BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director)
“Due to it being Troy’s last start in the Superbike World Championship, this was an historic day. Of course we would have hoped for a better result for him, but this weekend was difficult from the beginning on. In the early stages of race one it went quite well for us, but then we experienced severe issues with grip and tyres. I want thank our riders and the entire team for their commitment and efforts during the whole season. Now we are looking forward to the new 2012 season and getting our preparations into full swing, starting with our test on Tuesday.”
