Home round for the BMW S 1000 RR

Having just returned from the "Suzuka 8 Hours" (JPN), BMW Motorrad France Team Thevent is ready for its next mission: the "8 Hours of Oschersleben", held this weekend (11th to 12th August). The race at Motorsport Arena Oschersleben (GER) marks the fourth and penultimate round of the 2012 FIM Endurance World Championship. The BMW Motorrad HP RaceSupport backed squad has a clear target at BMW's home round of celebrating its second win of the season and closing the gap to the front in the overall classification. After a decisive victory on the #99 BMW S 1000 RR at the "8 Hours of Doha" (QAT) in June, Sébastien Gimbert, Erwan Nigon (both FRA) and Damian Cudlin (AUS) were cruelly denied a podium finish last time out at Suzuka, after an electrical fault saw them drop from second to ninth in the final 30 minutes of the race. It was a disappointing result for the team, but with the series leader SERT crashing out of the race in Japan, a finish inside the top ten was enough to see BMW Motorrad France Team Thevent close to within 13 points of the top of the championship standings. The "8 Hours of Oschersleben" has 35 points on offer to the race winner. The French-Belgian squad can thus make an important step forward in the battle for the World Championship title before the season's finale, the "24 Hours of Le Mans" (FRA) in early September. The battle for the championship is close; just 20 points separate the top five teams on the leader board. Gimbert, Nigon and Cudlin are determined to collect maximum points at Oschersleben by securing a BMW S 1000 RR race win on home soil. "Oschersleben is an important race for BMW Motorrad France Team Thevent, for a number of reasons," Team Principal Michael Bartholemy explains. "Firstly, a win this weekend would put us in a very strong position going into the final round of the series at Le Mans, where the championship will be decided. Secondly, could there be a better way for us to thank BMW for their unstinting support this season than to win in Germany? I think not. We know we have a very competitive set-up for 8-hour racing - a very fast bike, three strong riders and an experienced team - so I think another race win is a realistic goal this weekend." "This weekend in Germany our priority is to close the gap to SERT further, or even eliminate it completely." Gimbert says. "We need to go into the final round at Le Mans as close to the top of the standings as possible if we are to give ourselves a fighting chance of winning the championship. It means we head to Oschersleben with a clear aim for the weekend ahead; to win the race and claim maximum points. We have the full package, so there's no reason why we shouldn't repeat the success of Qatar this weekend in Germany." "We must go to Oschersleben and push for victory if we want to fight for the championship at Le Mans," Nigon confirms. "We can't afford to aim just for the podium, or for the top five; our objective must be to win the race. We saw at Suzuka that the bike, the riders and the team were all strong and it was only bad luck that cost us a place on the podium. The Oschersleben circuit should be good for us as well, as Damian has previous experience there and I won an IDM Superbike race there back in May. After the disappointment of Suzuka we're ready to win in Germany and then take the fight for the championship to the last round at Le Mans." "After the race at Suzuka our focus is very sharply directed forward now," says Berthold Hauser, Head of BMW Motorrad HP RaceSupport. "We have set ourselves a clear target: we want to show a top race at our home round in Germany and claim as many points as possible for our championship campaign, because the title is definitely within our reach. The team is well prepared and those of us at HP RaceSupport have worked very hard again to achieve this goal. There is only one option: full attack and go for victory. Eight hour races suit us very well and now we need to get the maximum out of the Oschersleben round to have the best chance for the final round at Le Mans."BMW Sports Communications - press.bmwgroup-sport.com

Source: http://www.fim-live.com/en/media/news/news-detail/article/1344434040-home-round-for-the-bmw-s-1000-rr/

Christian Bourgeois Philippe Bouzanne Ellis Boyce Helmut Bradl