BMW has USA race success
BMW Motorrad Press Release - Jun 20, 2007

The first half of 2007 has seen BMW Motorrad's most active program of racing ever in the USA. Several dealers are participating in regional and national road racing events, and riders of other manufacturers’ bikes are starting to take notice and look at BMW in a new light – especially where the R 1200 S sports boxer is concerned.

Put a great bike in the hands of great talent and you get great results. BMW Motorrad’s new R 1200 S has been winning regional and national races since it was introduced in the States last year. This new sports boxer – putting out 122 hp on a 190 kg body – is beating much lighter and faster race bikes from the Japanese and Italian competition. BMW Motorrad USA-supported Team BMW XPLOR racers such as Brian Parriott, Nate Kern, Ivan Messina and Brad Hendry are lining up their shelves with a multitude of trophies this year, in such race series as MotoST, MRA and AFM.

 

 

 

 

 

One of the newest Team XPLOR racers to embrace success on the R 1200 S is Brad Hendry of Foothillls BMW Motorcycles. Brad, racing a near stock BMW R 1200 S, has won three consecutive MRA events this season – one in Colorado and the other two in Nebraska. He’s raced in the Supertwins GTO class up against some very tough V-twin competition, including the new Ducati 1098S, Ducati 999R, 998R and the Aprilia Mille. At the end of every one of these seven-lap MRA races, the spectators have cheered Brad to victory on the R 1200 S.

 

Brian Parriott – perhaps the best known of Team BMW XPLOR’s racers in the US – has just finished a triple win in the AFM series at Infineon Raceway in California. Brian won in the 750 production and 750 Superbike classes, beating the popular Suzuki GSX-R750s. He also finished first in the Sport Open Twins, leaving behind Ducati’s new 1098 and the popular 999R.

Both Brian and Brad cite BMW’s superior Telelever front suspension as one of the major factors in their multiple wins against the lighter and faster competition. “The BMW R 1200 S was amazingly stable during braking, allowing me to go around the racer in front of me and get on the brakes late,” commented Brad Hendry. “As we'd get out of the corner, I'd pick up the throttle and be able to exit the corner way before the others, allowing me to accelerate outside of the racer in front of me. In short, their horsepower advantage would go out the window as soon as they got to the corners."

“I think what’s putting us ahead of the competition can be partly attributed to BMW’s Telelever system,” said Brian Parriott. “Although it took me some time to get used to, this suspension enables me to put the bike deeper into the corner with the confidence that the front tyre won’t let me down.”

 

Brian Parriott and Nate Kern also finished first in the MotoST at Virginia International Raceway on Sunday 29 April. Parriott and Kern took the victory with a time that was 23.028 seconds ahead of the field in the three-hour endurance race around VIR’s 3.27-mile course. The pair completed 86 laps with an average speed of 98.71 mph (160 km/h) and led the entire race except for one lap.

Brian Parriott was delighted with BMW San Jose’s first win of the 2007 season alongside Nate Kern: “At the green flag, I took the lead in turn one but another team passed me on lap four. However, by lap five we were leading again and never looked back – the total lap count was 86 and we led 85 of those laps. Our winning race at VIR was great. The track was fantastic and was probably the most fun one I’ve raced at in North America.”