BMW Motorrad factory rider Markus Reiterberger competed in the FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) in Cremona as a replacement rider for the injured Toprak Razgatlioglu. Reiti rode one of the two official BMWs on the new WorldSBK circuit and proved to be a great team player.
His task in the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team was to carry out preparatory work for Razgatlioglu's comeback. Among other things, he was fitted with a new, additional engine. As a result, Reiterberger had to start from the back of the field in both main races and complete two long lap penalties each time.
Nevertheless, he managed to catch up in both races and score points. The 30-year-old German finished the race on Saturday in P14 and on Sunday he crossed the finish line in P15. His performance in Superpole was impressive, in which he was in P7 before his fastest lap was cancelled due to yellow flags. Just one week after the season finale in the FIM Endurance World Championship (FIM EWC), Reiterberger made the transition to WorldSBK very successfully. This was also made possible thanks to Chris Gonschor, Technical Director BMW Motorrad Motorsport. As a long-standing and loyal member of the BMW Motorrad family, he had already given Reiti the opportunity to test the WorldSBK bike together with the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Test Team in August.
Markus Reiterberger:
"The weekend was very nice and very exciting, but also very exhausting. Getting on such a strong and very demanding bike after such a long FIM EWC race at Le Castellet was not without its challenges. Nevertheless, it was a really great experience for me. The most important thing this weekend was that we fulfil our goals and tasks so that Toprak can continue to fight for the world championship as soon as he comes back. And I think we did a good job. At the same time, I was able to see how fast I still am and still managed some impressive laps. Unfortunately, I wasn't quite able to confirm it in race two. But we still showed that we can do a good job and that was really nice. I felt very comfortable in the team and I am very grateful to BMW Motorrad Motorsport and especially to Chris Gonschor and the whole team for this opportunity. It's nice to have been part of the BMW Motorrad family for so long."
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