Markus Reiterberger (BMW/2): “Give the word” / World Endurance Championship

After a slow start from fifth place on the grid, the BMW works team led by ex-racing driver Werner Daemen fought to move forward little by little. During the night, Markus Reiterberger, Sylvain Guintoli and Ilya Mikhalchik were in third place at the Bugatti Circuit. When the Yamaha in front had an accident (Karel Hanika), the trio moved up to second place.

However, in the fight with the future winner Yoshimura SERT Motul (Suzuki), the BMW M1000RR could no longer resist it. So the weekend ended one lap behind second place. “It was a good weekend. In the end we took second place and we have to be happy about that,” said Sylvain Guintoli after his first race on the M1000RR. “We learned a lot and it was my first experience with the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team with Markus and Ilya. It was a great experience.”

The 2014 Superbike World Champion continued: “It’s a bit of a shame that we didn’t win because we wanted to bring it home, but I’m sure the experience gained during this weekend and the race, which was very difficult, helped us. It will help us to be better in the future. It’s a good foundation that we can build on it for the rest of the season.”

After three third places in 2023, progress was made at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. For Markus Reiterberger it was another podium finish with his regular BMW team. “We are very happy with the second place. Of course we would like to win, but in that difficult and long race, in which many happened, many accidents and mistakes, we went through very well,” emphasized the new father of one daughter. “We had good speed and we were very fast at night when it was very cold. It was very difficult because of the cold and tricky conditions.”

“Thanks to the team and my teammates who gave everything,” added the Bavarian. “I think we showed that we can be loud in the World Cup. We also know where we still need to use a lift to be better. Overall, it was a successful weekend with second place at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The third driver of the Belgian team, Ilya Mikhalchik, was also happy to finish on the podium. “I am very happy with the result. It was a very difficult race, especially at night when it was almost zero outside. It was very cold on the bike and the conditions were tricky. But even then, our bike worked very well, the tires worked well and everything was fine,” explained the Ukrainian.

“We fought for the podium places and in the end we got the second place. So we are really happy. Many thanks to all the crew who worked all night, and especially to my teammates, who were very fast and gave their best in all sessions, no matter the conditions how was it,” concluded Mikhalchik, who is now with his team. third place in the World Cup.

Results 24h Le Mans (April 21):

1. Yoshimura SERT Motul (Black, Masson, Linfoot), Suzuki GSX-R1000, 857 Runden
2. BMW Motorrad World Endurance (Reiterberger, Mikhalchik, Guintoli), BMW M1000RR, + 1 lap
3. YART – Honda (Canepa, Fritz, Hanika), Honda YZF-R1, +5
4. Kawasaki Webike Trickstar (Leblanc, Ramos, Gamarino), Kawasaki ZX-10R, + 13
5. National Motos Honda (S. Suchet, V. Suchet, Raymond), Honda CBR1000 RR-R (SST), + 17
6. Tati Team Beringer (Clere, Krummenacher, Perolari), Honda CBR1000 RR-R, + 18
7. Team Bolliger Switzerland (Thöni, Romero Barbosa, Toledo Romero), Kawasaki ZX-10R, + 20
8. BMRT 3D Maxxers (Pilot, Hardt, Cresson), Kawasaki ZX-10R, + 21
9. Chromeburner RAC-41 (Lesch, Tessels, Raffin, Renaudin), Honda CBR1000 RR-R (SST), + 22
10. Motobox Kremer Racing (Vincon, Rubin, Fetz), Yamaha YZF-R1, +32
11. 3ART Best Bikes (Vietti-Ramus, Kemmer, Watanuki, Pot), Yamaha YZF-R1 (SST), +4

More:
17. Metiss-JBB (Pons, Schmidt, Rizza, Akroyd), Metiss (EXP), + 68

Removed:
FCC TSR Honda (Hook, Better, Techer), Honda CBR1000 RR-R
Tecmas MRP BMW (Forray, Bühn, Arbel, Soomer), BMW M1000RR (SST)
Mana-Au Racing (Trueb, Miralles Gonzalez, Palomares), Honda CBR1000 RR-R
Maco Racing (Meltzer, Choy, Ishizuka), Yamaha YZF-R1
Honda No Limits (Nigon, Gabellini, Steinmayr, Masbou), Honda CBR1000 RR-R (SST)
Honda Viltais Racing (Alt, Odendaal, Mercado), Honda CBR1000 RR-R

World Championship standings after 1 of 4 races:

1. Yoshimura SERT Motul, 61 Points
2. YART – Yamaha, 52
3. BMW Motorrad World Endurance, 51
4. Kawasaki Webike Trickstar, 39
5. Tati Team Beringer, 33
6. Bolliger Switzerland, 28
7. BMRT 3D Maxxers, 24
8. Motobox Kremer, 20
9. KM99, 18
10. Wojcik Honda, 12
11. FCC TSR Honda, 5
12. Viltais Honda, 2
13. Maco Competition, 1

Brand position after 1 of 4 races:

1. Yamaha, 43 points
2. Kawasaki, 43
3. Suzuki, 40
4. BMW, 33
5. Honda, 32