The international BMW Motorrad Motorsport family can celebrate the first title win of the 2018 season: Jordan Szoke (CAN) has been crowned champion of the Canadian Superbike Championship for the 13th time. The latest important meeting of the international road racing scene, the Ulster Grand Prix, also ended in success. In the 1000cc race, BMW rider Peter Hickman (GBR) claimed victory and a podium finish and was named “Man of the Meeting”. David Johnson also reached the podium with the BMW HP4 RACE. Travis Wyman (USA) claimed a podium finish in the MotoAmerica.
Canadian Superbike Championship at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Canada.
The “serial offender” has done it again. Champion record holder Jordan Szoke (CAN / Mopar Express Lane BMW Superbike Team) secured his 13th title in the Canadian Superbike Championship (CSBK), his seventh together with BMW. He took the final steps to this by finishing third and fourth in the season finale at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park outside Bowmanville (CAN).
Another BMW rider topped the podium in the first of the two final races of the weekend: Ben Young (CAN / Ben Young Racing). In Bowmanville, he claimed his first win in the CSBK. Szoke secured third place. In the second race on Sunday, Young finished second to reach the podium again. Samuel Trepanier (CAN) claimed the final podium spot with the Blysk Racing BMW S 1000 RR. Szoke confirmed his title win by finishing fourth. Young ended the season in second place in the championship standings.
Jordan Szoke: “Definitely one of the tougher championships I’ve won, that’s for sure. But we battled through. It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster year, so this one means a lot. I partnered with BMW about eight years ago, and we’ve now won seven championships. I’ve had a really great run here with the team and the bike, and it’s been awesome.”
Ulster Grand Prix at the Dundrod Circuit, Northern Ireland.
The international road racers met up in Northern Ireland at the weekend for the spectacular Ulster Grand Prix. This year’s schedule was disrupted by bad weather, leading to the cancellation of some events. Two races did take place on Saturday in the 1000cc category, the Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council Superstock race and the MMB Surfacing Superbike race. BMW rider Peter Hickman (GBR) recorded a win and a podium finish to prove impressively that he has earned his place among the world’s best road racers.
Hickman enjoyed a thrilling duel with Dean Harrison (GBR) in the Superstock race, with the lead changing hands several times. Hickman was in second place at the end of lap four, before popping out of Harrison’s slipstream to retake the lead at the start of the fifth and final lap. However, a red flag then stopped the race and the standings at the end of lap four were treated as the final result. This meant that Hickman finished second, 0.203 seconds back.
In the Superbike race, Hickman took the lead on lap two. This race was also stopped early – race control could no longer guarantee the riders’ safety as the rain increased in intensity. Hickman claimed victory by 1.399 seconds – his fifth win overall at the Ulster Grand Prix. As the Smiths Racing rider also won the 600cc Supersport race, he was named as “Man of the Meeting” for the second year running.
Australia’s David Johnson was competing for Tyco BMW Motorrad – with the BMW HP4 RACE. He secured the first international podium for the carbon-fibre racing machine. Johnson claimed third place in the Superbike race. It was also his first podium finish at the Ulster Grand Prix. The Australian rider, who had only been with the team a short time, claimed seventh place in the Superstock race.
Peter Hickman: “It’s been a bit of a stop-start meeting with the weather conditions making it difficult for everyone, and we ended up losing three of our scheduled races, but to come away with a total of two wins and a second place has been very pleasing. It could have been three wins, as I felt really comfortable in the Superstock race and was just biding my time behind Dean before making my move on lap five. As soon as I got by I opened up a lead, but, with the red flag coming out and the result going back a lap, I had to settle for second. It’s swings and roundabouts though as good fortune smiled on me in the Superbike race, being awarded the win. It’s such a shame the rain brought an end to the day, but I’m happy for myself and for the team that we got the results we did, whilst it’s also nice to win races at each of the International road races.”
David Johnson: “Taking the weather into consideration and the limited time we had to prepare, I really think it’s been a successful week working with the Tyco BMW boys. The team worked hard to make me comfortable on the bikes and in the team and, despite the weather, I’m pretty pleased to have taken a third place back to Australia. I feel very honoured to have been given the chance to ride the BMW HP4 RACE for the Tyco BMW team and to give the bike its first ever international road racing podium is a real buzz.”
MotoAmerica at the Sonoma Raceway, USA.
The MotoAmerica (MA) paid a visit to the Sonoma Raceway (USA) at the weekend. The BMW S 1000 RR claimed a podium finish in the Superstock class race: Travis Wyman (USA / Weir Everywhere Racing) secured third place. Chad Swain (USA /Hustle Hard Racing) crossed the line in fifth position.
BMW rider Danny Eslick (USA / Scheibe Racing) finished in seventh and eighth in the two Superbike class (MA SBK) races.
