Honda passes BMW in the World Superbike Championship in Argentina: Podiums or top five results are a long way off for the BMW riders in San Juan
BMW is now only fifth in the World Superbike Championship. The strong form of the races in Donington, Most and Magny-Cours could not be confirmed at the following races in Barcelona and Portimao. And at the first overseas race in Argentina, the four BMW riders also fell short of their own expectations. Honda passed them again in the manufacturers’ standings, leaving BMW in last place.
“The weekend was generally up and down,” noted BMW factory rider Scott Redding, who finished seventh in race one and ninth in race two. In the Superpole race, the Briton was bumped up to 14th.
“We tried to learn a few things with the bike, with the set-up. But it turned out that it wasn’t any better. So we went back to what we know for the last race. The feeling was a little bit better with that,” Redding reported.
“It’s a shame because normally I’m quite fast here, but I couldn’t really show the full potential in the races,” regrets last year’s winner Redding. “In the Superpole race we had to use the SC0 rear tyre, which was no match for anyone else on the SCX. In the afternoon we made a few changes so I could take the X tyre. “
“I felt pretty good on the bike but then we got into some trouble with the brakes and I struggled a bit. Overall I’m happy to finish the weekend on a positive note, but we need to work a bit harder for the next round,” said last season’s World Championship bronze medallist.
Michael van der Mark not far off Scott Redding
Team-mate Michael van der Mark had an unremarkable weekend, finishing both main races in tenth place. In the sprint race he finished in P11. “The Superpole race was quite OK. I had a good feeling, I just didn’t manage to get past some of the guys. That’s why I couldn’t improve my position on the grid for race two,” said the Dutchman.
“My start in race two was quite good, but I was slowed down in the first few corners. The pace was right, but it wasn’t enough to get closer to the guys in front of me and try to overtake them. The pace was quite good throughout the weekend, we also improved a lot on the set-up and I feel better and better on the bike,” explained Van der Mark. “
“The pace was good, we improved a lot on the set-up and I feel better and better on the bike,” explained Van der Mark.
“I can feel the bike coming back to me now,” Van der Mark is happy about the positive development for him. “It’s obviously not the positions we want to finish in, but from my point of view we had a solid weekend and I think we improved the bike. So I’m quite happy. “
Sober assessment from BMW motorbike sport director Marc Bongers
“It was a difficult weekend. Everyone has worked very hard, but we have not yet managed to match our podium performances from Donington Park, Most and Magny-Cours,” lamented BMW Motorcycle Sport Director Marc Bongers.
“The conditions changed a lot in terms of temperatures. Compared to the competition, we can’t adjust to these changes well enough or fast enough. Our package is still too sensitive, i.e. not stable enough to react to conditions and track characteristics without major changes,” notes the BMW man in charge.
“Qualifying went quite well. With Scott and Loris (Baz) on the second row, we had a good starting position for the first two races. Scott was able to finish both main races in P7 and P9, but that’s not our goal,” Marc Bongers points out.
“In the Superpole race, Scott was the only rider to use the hardest tyre, the SC0, because he couldn’t cope with the SCX in the morning warm-up. This tyre choice had proved to be good in the first race. With Michael, it was good to see him racing consistently and slowly but steadily making his way back,” notes the BMW official.
“Loris was really unlucky in the second race,” Marc Bongers is annoyed about the collision with Axel Bassani what had happened. “He was in the best way to ride a strong race, but then was hit by another rider and crashed.”
Bonovo rider Eugene Laverty provided a small sense of achievement in race two, as the WSBK veteran was the best non-factory rider in eleventh. “For Eugene, I’m happy that he finished race two for the Bonovo team as the best independent rider right behind Scott and Michael. It would be great if he can continue this in the last races of his WSBK career,” said Marc Bongers.
