BMW seem pretty serious about this bike and racing effort. Three guys testing, Steve Martin, Kevin Curtain and Jeremy McWilliams. These guys want to win and I wouldn't be surprised to see the bike on the podium a few times throughout the year.
BMW
“I am very happy with the professional way all three riders worked and the amount of feedback they have given us. We are under no illusions of the amount of work we have to do before the start of the season next year, but we are ready and looking forward to facing this huge challenge.
“Up to now, we have done very little work on the electronics and have preferred to get the bike’s basics working well and I think we have achieved that. If our project continues at this good pace, I think we could surprise a few people next year.”
Whilst the main focus of attention has been at the track, a lot of work has been going on near Rosenheim, a small town about sixty or so kilometres south east of BMW’s headquarters in Munich. It is here that BMW Motorrad and its partners, Alpha Technik, will prepare the Superbike racebikes in a brand new state of the art facility, incorporating 7,000 square metres of workshops and offices.
The main workshop area is split into three parts and has two dynos - one for the whole bike and another which can simulate any racetrack in the world.
One of the three buildings will house BMW Motorrad's Off-Road and Enduro team, while the other two will be for the Superbike project and for spares and parts.
The progress of the facility's construction has been rapid and eight months ago there was nothing but grassland where there are now workshops, offices, meeting rooms and a canteen for all the employees. The new facility marks just another step of BMW Motorrad and Alpha Technik on their way towards the 2009 Superbike World Championship season.
