Markus Reiterberger: “It still gets better” / World Endurance Championship

The BMW Motorrad World Endurance team was heavily involved in the preliminary tests of the 24 hours race at Le Mans (April 18 to 21). After two days that were partially affected by rain and wet conditions, only the Honda Viltaïs Racing and Yamalube YART Yamaha teams were on the timesheets, ahead of Markus Reiterberger, Ilya Mikhalchik and newcomer Sylvain Guintoli.

“Finally, I think we can be very satisfied with the test. We know what we have to do for the race week,” reported team manager Werner Daemen. “Of course not everything was perfect, but it looks like we found a good way. All three drivers did a great job. I think we are well prepared for the race in two weeks and I have a good feeling.”

“We can be completely satisfied, after all we finished the test in third place. The times of Ilya, Sylvain and I were within four tenths of a second. Unfortunately, I had traffic on my fast lap, so maybe I lost a share a few tenths of a second,” Markus Reiterberger noted.

And more: “We tried a few things that are important for the race. It was also positive that we made good progress in the rain. All three of us were ahead in all conditions. Of course, we all have to keep working hard to reach our goals, because things they can always be better. We know in which direction we have to work so that we can be at the front in two weeks.

Last year, the Tecmas-MRP-BMW-Racing team started the new season with a class win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. With the best times in the Superstock category, the three unchanged drivers Kenny Foray, Jan Bühn and Loïc Arbel insisted that they not only want to win the biggest trophy of the long-distance race again, but also want to be at the front. fight for overall victory in the World Cup.

Pre-exam times
1. Honda Viltaïs Racing, 1:35.679 minutes. 2. YART Yamaha, 1:36.157. 3. BMW Motorrad World Endurance, 1:36.371. 4. KM99, 1:36.448. 5. Yoshimura SERT Motul, 1:36.534. 6. FCC TSR Honda France, 1:36.636. 7. Kawasaki Webike Trickstar, 1:37.293. 8. Tati Team Beringer, 1:37.294. 9. MRP BMW of Tecma, 1:37.324. (Class 1 Superstock) National Fire 10, 1:37.977 (Class 2 Superstock). Also: 12. Bolliger Team Switzerland, 1:38.555. 19. Motobox Kremer, 1:39.038.