We proudly present the next champions!
Munich. At the moment, hardly a week goes by without another title win for the BMW Motorrad Motorsport community. We now have two more champions to celebrate, both of whom have successfully defended their series titles. In the French Superbike Championship, Kenny Foray from the Tecmas Racing Team crowned another great season with his third title, having already topped the standings in 2017 and 2022. Gabriele Giannini from the Pistard Racing Team, the reigning champion, also emerged triumphant in the Italian National Trophy 1000. Yet the season is far from over – our BMW racers are still in with a chance of claiming more championship titles. Our Newsletter contains more information about that.
Image © Stéphane Valembois
Topics in this Newsletter.
- FSBK: Kenny Foray celebrates his third championship title.
- IT 1000: Gabriele Giannini crowned champion once again.
- FR EU: Champion Nelson Major finishes season with another double victory.
- BSB: Leon Haslam and Josh Brookes keep title hopes alive.
- BR SBK: Ramiro Gandola and Maxi Gerardo still top the championship standings.
FSBK: Kenny Foray celebrates his third championship title.
Kenny Foray & Arnaud Sassone, Tecmas Racing Team
© Stéphane Valembois
Kenny Foray has done it again, as together with the Tecmas Racing Team, he celebrated a third French Superbike Championship (FBSK) title at the Le Castellet season finale. Having triumphed in 2017 and 2022, he claimed the crown again this year. However, the season did not start as planned for the defending champion. He finished seventh and sixth in the first two races of the year at Le Mans. He finished second at the second round of the season at Nogaro to claim his first podium.
Foray then really started to chase his third title. He picked up seven wins in the next eight races with his BMW M 1000 RR, denied a clean sweep when he fell in the other race. At the end of September, he headed to the finale at Le Castellet as the championship leader. Second place in the first of the two races was enough for him to secure the title again. With the job done, he finished the final race in style. The old and new champion Foray rounded off the season with his eighth win of the year.
Kenny Foray
© Stéphane Valembois
“It was a very interesting season”, concluded Foray. “It is always good to be racing as the defending champion. However, we did not have an easy start to the season. We had some bad luck at the season-opener but everything went really well after the first four races. We won a lot of races. We only made one mistake, when I fell at Magny-Cours. That cost us a few points but we won again after that. I was nine points ahead of Mike Di Meglio going into the finale, but he made a mistake in race one and we were able to secure the title before the last race of the year. The team was just unbelievable throughout the whole season. Everyone worked together so well and the spirit was just perfect. And the BMW M 1000 RR was superb too. Winning the title again is brilliant for the whole team, for BMW and also for our tyre partner Michelin. A big thankyou to everyone who played a part!”
Jérémy Guarnoni also reached the podium at the season finale on a BMW M 1000 RR from the MDS team. He finished the first race in third before taking a tumble in race two. Guarnoni chalked up one win and a total of five podiums this season. He finished fifth in the overall standings.
IT 1000: Gabriele Giannini crowned champion once again.
Gabriele Giannini
© @sciambergapower
The Italian National Trophy 1000 (IT 1000) also featured a successful title defence. Gabriele Giannini claimed his second consecutive championship title at the Imola season finale. Securing second place in the first race on the BMW M 1000 RR from Pistard Racing was enough to confirm him as champion.
Giannini topped the championship standings ahead of the finale at Imola which took place last weekend. It was all decided on Saturday when the BMW racer finished second in the first race to build an unassailable lead. In the second and final race, the old and new champion also crossed the line in second position.
Gabriele Giannini
© @sciambergapower
This Italian National Trophy 1000 season consisted of eight races. Giannini only failed to finish once, due to a fall, and reached the podium in every other race. He finished the season with two wins, four second-place finishes and one third place. Alessandro Arcangeli also finished third on one occasion this season to secure another podium for the BMW racers.
The final two races of the season in the Italian Superbike Championship CIV also took place at Imola at the weekend. Daniele Zinni finished in eleventh and eighth positions.
FR EU: Champion Nelson Major finishes season with another double victory.
Nelson Major from the Tecmas Racing Team had already secured the championship title in the French European Bikes Championship (FR EU) at the penultimate event of the season iatn Carole at the end of August. The champion rounded off the season in style, claiming another double victory at the season finale at Le Castellet at the end of September.
Major headed the field with his BMW M 1000 RR as the BMW riders secured top-four and top-three lock-outs. In race one, Julien Brun and David Henriques claimed second and third spots on the podium. Kyrian Hartmann finished fourth to complete the successful result for BMW. In the second race, Ludovic Hauser claimed second place behind winner Major, while Brun finished third that time.
Major chalked up seven wins and a total of twelve podiums in 14 races during his championship season. Second and third positions in the final championship standings also went to BMW riders. Hauser finished second overall, ahead of Henriques. Over the course of the season, BMW racers claimed twelve wins and 34 podiums in 14 races.
BSB: Leon Haslam and Josh Brookes keep title hopes alive.
Leon Haslam
© Bonnie Lane Photographics
BMW racers Leon Haslam (ROKiT BMW Motorrad British Superbike Team) and Josh Brookes (FHO BMW Racing Team) kept their title hopes alive at the penultimate event of the season in the British Superbike Championship (BSB) at Donington Park. They both reached the podium with their BMW M 1000 RRs and will still be involved in the battle for the championship title at next week’s Brands Hatch finale.
Haslam secured the second spot on the podium in the sprint race at Donington Park, as well as in the first main race. A mechanical problem forced his retirement from the second main race. Haslam heads to the season finale in fourth place in the championship. He is 41 points off the lead, with 105 points still up for grabs.
Leon Haslam
© Bonnie Lane Photographics
“There is everything still to play for at Brands Hatch,” Haslam said. “In the wet we seem to be a lot more competitive compared to our opposition and in the dry weather we are in with a shout as well. We will wait and see and I can’t wait to get going as anything can happen.”
Brookes finished the Donington Park sprint race in seventh place, claiming eighth position in the first main race. He finished third in the second main race to return to the podium. He is now seventh in the championship standings, 78 points off the lead as he heads to the finale. His team-mate Peter Hickman finished ninth, tenth and seventh in the three races at Donington Park.
Another podium for Alastair Seeley in the Superstock class.
Alastair Seeley secured another podium finish in the Superstock class on his BMW M 1000 RR for the SYNETIQ BMW Team. Seeley finished the first race at Donington Park in third place. He crossed the line in fourth position in race two. The result saw Seeley confirm his third place in the championship standings. He is still in with a chance of claiming second overall at the final two races of the season at Brands Hatch.
BR SBK: Ramiro Gandola and Maxi Gerardo still top the championship standings.
Two BMW racers still top the standings after seven out of ten events in the SuperBike Brasil season. Ramiro Gandola from the AGEM/BMW Racing Team is the championship leader. Maxi Gerardo (Team BMW Rider Experience) is in second place, also on 139 points. The fact that Gandola has recorded one win more than Gerardo determines the sequence. In September, they both reached the podium at the seventh round of the season in Londrina where Gandola finished second, while Gerardo secured third place.
BMW rider Raphael Santos also tops the standings in the SBK Evo Pro class. There are three more events to come this year in the SuperBike Brasil season which ends in November.
