BMW Motorrad's Melandri finished fifth at Magny-Cours

Sunday at “Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours” (FRA) started very positively with the BMW Motorrad Goldbet STK Team celebrating factory rider, Sylvain Barrier (FRA) winning the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup for the second year in succession. Sylvain finished fourth in the race on his BMW HP4 to take BMW Motorrad’s third Superstock crown.

Marco Melandri

Photo by: Dave Dyer

In the first Superbike race, both riders had a good start from the third row. Marco improved to fourth and Chaz to fifth. On the second lap, Chaz lost the front and came back to the pit to fix the bike but had to retire. Marco then slipped back to fifth position where he remained until the end of the race. The race was red flagged with three laps to go. Tom Sykes (GBR) took the win. In race 2 both BMW riders made again a good start with Marco moving to fourth and Chaz to sixth.

At the beginning of the second lap, Chaz overtook Marco and began to battle with Davide Giugliano (ITA). Marco got back past Chaz on lap 6 to take fifth, however he then ran on into the gravel losing a lot of time and rejoining in sixteenth. While Chaz was fifth again and kept this position until the end, Marco showed a strong recovery.

He had good rhythm setting more than ten laps within the 1’39 bracket and managed to make his way up to eighth place. Towards the end of the race, Marco passed Toni Elias (SPA) for seventh. The race was stopped with two laps remaining after several riders crashed as it started to rain. Tom Sykes won race two.

At the start of 9th race of FIM Superstock 1000 Cup Sylvain Barrier, on his BMW HP4, took the lead at the first corner, however the race would then be red flagged following a crash. In the second part, Sylvain made a bad start losing out on some positions while his team mate, Greg Gildenhuys (RSA) became caught up in another rider’s accident and was forced to retire. On lap 4, Sylvain took fourth place which he maintained until the end.

Thanks to this result he won the 2013 FIM Superstock 1000 Cup with one more race to go. BMW Motorrad won Superstock titles in 2010 and 2012 with the BMW S 1000 RR, this year however the title was taken on the new BMW HP4, the first time ever for a bike equipped with an electronic suspension system (DDC).

Marco Melandri: (Result Race 1: 5th / Gap to 1st: 0:23.573 min / Fastest Lap Race 1: 1:39.562 min, lap 8) / Result Race 2: 7th / Gap to 1st: 0:36.219 min / Fastest Lap Race 2: 1:39.259 min, lap 3): “In race one I was struggling with the setting and I was not really fast, the result shows the potential I had. Before race two we decided to make a step back and setting up the bike so I could be consistent. Without that issue I could have been on the podium.

At least I can say that I had more fun in race two than in race one. I was fast and overtook many riders to recover from the position which I slipped down to. Overall, I want to thanks my team they did an excellent job over the whole weekend. Next race is in Jerez, our test track, we know it very well so we’ll start with a good setting and we could have chance to be on the podium.”

Chaz Davies: (Result Race 1: DNF / Gap to 1st: --/ Fastest Lap Race 1: 2:26.501 min, lap 2) / Result Race 2: 5th / Gap to 1st: 0:25.724 min / Fastest Lap Race 2: 1:39.278 min, lap 2): “In race one the crash was strange, I was off the brakes but lost the front slightly and I couldn’t recover it. I slid for ages and tried to get back up as I was holding the bike but in the end there was nothing I could do. I picked up the bike but there was a lot of dirt in the throttle so it was too dangerous to continue once we’d got back to the pits.

Considering we missed the twenty three laps of race one which would have provided valuable data the bike didn’t feel too bad in the early laps of race two. However later on I started to struggle when the tyre dropped a little bit and the bike got a bit more nervous at the rear. When the overall grip level dropped I started to push the front again and couldn’t turn as I wanted. All in all, we perhaps lost out a bit from missing the time in race one but no excuses, we weren’t fast enough and didn’t get the right set up.”

Sylvain Barrier: (Result: 4th / Gap to 1st: 0:8.668 min / Fastest Lap: 1:41.501 min, lap 8): “It has been a fantastic season for me this year. I’ve really enjoyed working with BMW and the new BMW HP4. I really enjoyed battling with Niccolo Canepa all year as he’s also been very consistent. It’s also really great that once again we win the title here in Magny-Cours. Thanks to James Toseland who has supported me for three years now.

It was a good race, in the first part of the race I made a really good start and had no problems so I wanted to get going. The second time the start wasn’t as good so I rode carefully trying not to make any mistakes as I knew what I had to do to win. Thanks to BMW for having confidence in me and we’ll see what happens next year.”

Andrea Buzzoni (General Manager BMW Motorrad WSBK): “Today Sylvain and the BMW HP4 gifted us the second Superstock title in a row. It confirms the technical strength of our team, the BMW HP4 and Sylvain’s talent. We want to thank Sylvain for the result. He managed the race in a clever way showing he’s a mature rider and that he is ready to make a further step in his career and we wish him the best. Sylvain embodies the qualities of a winning rider: cleverness, talent and heart.

In race one of the Superbike class Chaz unfortunately crashed while Marco was fifth and almost the contrary in race two where Marco went wide losing his position meaning he could not fight at the front, even if he demonstrated to be fast, while Chaz was fifth. Today Sykes was outstanding and I want to congratulate him for his performance. Today’s result ended our possibilities to win the title, nevertheless it was not a bad season but we can fully assess this after Jerez.”

Andrea Dosoli (Technical Director BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK Team): “The data we collected in the dry conditions on Friday were not enough to set up our RRs properly for the race. In race one, Marco was not happy with the set up so in race two we made a step back to a better known setting. With this setting Marco was faster and consistent, even if the result does not show it. In the early stages he went wide and re-joined the group quite far back but could recover and show good rhythm and speed.

Without the issue we could have fought for the podium. Chaz unfortunately crashed in race one quite early so we could not evaluate the performance. In race two, he started well and for half of the race he was fighting for fourth place but struggled with corner-entry in the second half and finished fifth. Jerez is our test track, we have good knowledge of the circuit and data so we’re confident we could get a good result.”

BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK Team