Mister Motorsport.

"I am incredibly well. There is not a boring second, and I have the pleasure of being able to follow motorsport from the outside. That is a totally different perspective. I love and enjoy seeing the guys go to work. I still have a lot of contact with people who I treasured back then, and still do today. As such, I am not really missing anything."

"That was a really funny situation. At the time, I was Head of Chassis and Complete Vehicle Testing and, at the same time, was actively involved with a private racing team. We used to take part in various races in Germany and Europe. At some point, we came up with the nutty idea of competing at Daytona. We received support from BMW Marketing. And so it was that, in early 1999, we entered the AMA Pro Thunder in Daytona. That was the first time that BMW had taken part in that race. We were a small, private team and only narrowly missed out on the podium. That was a huge success for us, and excited the people there. You could tell how pleased the fans were to have a BMW motorcycle involved. When we came up just short of the podium, we were surrounded by a huge cluster of people at the finish. All of a sudden, the head of BMW Motorrad at the time, Dr. Michael Ganal, appeared in the middle of everyone. He came over to us and had a chat. I was totally in shock. All I could think was: ‘Oh my God, the big boss’..."

"Yes, he asked me: ‘When will you be back in Munich, Mr. Hauser?’. I answered that I would be back that Wednesday, to which he said: ‘I would like to see you in my office’. My heart was in my mouth, because I thought I was going to go there and get a real ticking off, because I had been involved in motor racing besides my job. I almost started to hyperventilate, because I really thought I was going to lose my job. On the Wednesday in question, I went to see him in his office and he said: ‘Sit down, Mr. Hauser’. Then I lost it, because I thought he was going to throw me out. However, he asked me: ‘Would you perhaps like to work with me directly?’ I almost completely forgot to breathe, because I did not know what he was getting at. He asked: ‘Would you like to be Head of BMW Motorrad Motorsport?’. That was it, then – I did not know whether I was awake or dreaming. I politely asked for a night to sleep on it. However, what I really wanted to do was to hug him and say: ‘Yeeeeees!’. The following day I said yes. Dr. Ganal said to me: ‘This is the end of your normal career – but it is going to be very exciting!’ Shortly afterwards, on 1^st March 1999, I was appointed and confirmed in office."

"It is the fact that it is often so unexpected, and the way all the topics associated with motorsport are pushed to the limit. Primarily, of course, the technology and the competition. Testing yourself against others. And the atmosphere you get in motorsport. You are one big family, and on the track you really give it some. It is hard, but fair."

"Immediately after my appointment, I was sent to the Tunisian Rally. The job there was to prepare for the 2000 Dakar Rally, the millennium Dakar. Among those racing for us in Tunisia was Richard Sainct, who had won the 1999 Paris-Dakar shortly before. And we won again in Tunisia. We spent the year preparing, took part in the Dubai Rally in November, and headed to the 2000 Dakar at the turn of the year. It started in Dakar and ended in Cairo."

"Yes, it was a very special rally. During the preparations, unlike the opposition, it was not important for me to get as much power as possible out of the engine. Instead, I focussed on improving the durability of our BMW F 650 RR. We worked really hard to get the air filter tight to protect the engine from the fine desert sand. That proved to be the key to success. Our rivals at the 2000 Dakar went flat-out on the first stages, while we just rode steadily. Richard Sainct, Oscar Gallardo and Jean Brucy on the F 650 RR, and Jimmy Lewis on the BMW R 900 RR, which we developed at the same time in 1999. We did our job: rode, completed the service, then rode again. One by one, all the other top riders among our rivals were forced out, either by crashing or with technical issues. In the end, Nani Roma was the only one of our opponents still in the race. I still remember it well. That afternoon I was lying in my tent in the bivouac in Wadi Rayan when we received the news that Roma, who had a healthy lead, also had a technical problem. That left the door open for us to complete a top-four finish. That was an amazing experience, which I will never forget."

"Yes, we were stuck in Niamey in Nigeria, because there had been a terror warning. The whole Dakar circus – teams, cars, motorbikes, equipment, organisation – everyone was flown from Niamey to Libya on Antonovs."

"That was initially followed by the years with the BMW Motorrad BoxerCup. That was a crazy idea that I had with my esteemed colleague Axel Zimmermann from Passenger Cars Marketing, who looked after the safety cars in MotoGP at the time. We came up with the idea of running a one-make cup. The international BMW Motorrad BoxerCup was launched in 2001 and held on the same bill as the likes of MotoGP and the Superbike World Championship until 2004. After that, we organised the BMW Power Cup from 2005."

"We suggested getting involved with motor racing with the BMW HP2 Sport. We wanted to develop a presence, and noticed how much people enjoyed seeing BMW at the racetrack. We competed in selected races in the Endurance World Championship with Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport. The first of these was the 24 Hours of Le Mans in April 2007. We also entered the 200-mile race in Daytona in 2008. We lined up there with four BMW HP2 Sport, and finished quite near the front."

"Oh yes, I still remember it very well. The preparations were like riding a cannonball. The homologation was a rollercoaster ride. I aged a lot in that time. There was just so much to do, and we first had to set up our site in Stephanskirchen to be able to work properly there. The first race, on Phillip Island in March 2009, was a poignant moment. It was a heart-stopping start to the season. The bike worked, but we had ‘minor’ technical issues, which developed into a real problem. We worked through the night and, by the time the lights went green for the first free practice, we had not even fit the fairings and we were five minutes late starting the first practice. But we had made it. That was obviously mad. I think the pulses of everyone in the team, and everyone supporting us, were racing."

"First, we had to get to know the bike: how do I set the RR up correctly for a racer? What do we need to do? There are so many factors: engine power, rideability, the way the electronics work. Back then, we decided to make our own electronics. We had to familiarise ourselves with the chassis, as there were so many little things that we had to learn. We brought in some experts, but even experts working with a new vehicle cannot simply shoot from the hip and say: this is how we are doing it. We had to learn, learn, learn, and gather data. With every event we learned something new and were able to put another piece in the jigsaw. Many had no idea how complicated a system of that kind is, and many said it was about time we finished on the podium and started winning. But it was not that simple."

"It was simply fantastic. It was just reward for all the hard work. That first podium was a very good feeling. We all really enjoyed the moment."

"The production development department came up with an incredibly good bike back then, in the BMW S 1000 RR. The basis was so good that, as far as the regulations were concerned, we were very soon there or thereabouts in national championships and international series outside the Superbike World Championship. You were neither able nor permitted to change much, and the basic bike was so good that we were competitive in a relatively short amount of time. With good teams and riders, we were soon finishing towards the top of the results lists. We had so many top results back then – in the IDM, for example. However, what I still find particularly moving was Michael Dunlop’s victory at the Isle of Man Senior TT in 2014, 75 years after Schorsch Meier. That was impossible to predict."

"Yes, but we had to assemble the engine in a cloak-and-dagger operation, because it had to be completely dismantled after the Superbike race, by order of the technical committee. It was a high-tech Superbike engine, and you cannot simply take them apart and tack them back together again. You have to work extremely accurately. Overnight, we stuck a mechanic, Heike Hohenlohe, on a plane with a big holdall full of tools and materials, and sent her to the Isle of Man. She assembled the engine – then Michael Dunlop rode it to victory in the Senior TT. Even today, I still can’t really describe it. It was an unbelievable experience. I wasn’t actually on the Isle of Man, but I followed the race frantically on the live timing – during a meeting of our development group. When he crossed the finish line, I let out a primal scream. Everyone was looking at me and thinking, ‘he’s gone completely mad’. But we had really pulled off the unbelievable. Shortly afterwards, there was a big newspaper advertisement about that triumph. I have it hanging up in my house in the winter garden."

"Oh yes. A contact came about completely out of the blue, wondering whether I could help out. They needed an engine, and they needed power. The problem was that the electronics obviously also had to work for a sidecar. Back then, we had no experience of sidecars. We simply had to get the engine up and running with all the dimensions of this three-wheeler, instead of a motorcycle. We also altered our test bench in Munich, to make space for the sidecar, so that we could then configure the electronics. It was a rather wild set-up, but it was phenomenal how they both let rip on the sidecar. They really did win the world championship title. That was the first FIM world title for a BMW Motorrad engine, and Kirsi was the first woman to be crowned world champion in road racing. I will also never forget how we honoured them at the Race Trophy award ceremony, and how the tears were streaming down Pekka’s face. That was so moving, I wanted to cry with him."

"Every race has its own character, and it is difficult to pick one out. I enjoyed going to Superbike events at great racetracks like Donington Park, a beautiful track nestled in the countryside. But then you also have road races like the North West 200, the Ulster Grand Prix and, of course, the Isle of Man TT, where the people and everything that goes on around the races are an experience in their own right. Then there is the Dakar Rally, the adventure. You go there and every day you ask yourself: Man, why are you doing this? And when it is over, you ask yourself: When can we do it again? Even when I was asked by Hendrik von Kuenheim to travel to the Dakar in South America again with Husqvarna, it was a great experience. I would really struggle to put any one of these on the top step of the podium and to say it was my favourite race."

"It is fantastic what the guys have achieved there – they had a pretty tough start with a completely new model. I also have great respect for the achievements of Marc Bongers and his team. I must also say that I was absolutely delighted when Marc Bongers took charge. He is the right man for the job. He has a feeling, his heart is in the right place, and he is always on the ball. What they have put together there is a tremendous achievement. And they have somebody who is fully and passionately behind motorsport: the current Head of BMW Motorrad, Dr. Markus Schramm. I admire him for the fact that he has that vision and that he believes in motor racing – as well as all the business he has to do, and does do. His heart is in the right place - for motorcycles in general, and not just for motorsport. He knows how important emotions are for a brand, and that competition and brands going head to head is important in this regard. He has created a situation, which allows the guys around Marc Bongers to do their job. The way they are approaching the project and what they are doing is a massive achievement."

"I was in my car and pulled into a car park to watch the race on livestream. That was such a thrill for me, I had tears in my eyes. At that moment, I thought to myself: This can’t be happening, they are really doing it – and they will continue to achieve great things. It won’t be easy, but they’ll do it."

"Yes, of course! I only recently spoke to Werner Daemen on the phone. He is doing great things in the Endurance World Championship. When you see how close they have got to the front-runners in such a short time, what Werner and his people are achieving is fantastic. I am obviously following it, and have arranged with Werner that I will visit them at a classic, when races are possible again. I have the time these days."

"I wish success for BMW Motorrad Motorsport, and hope that they win the world title some time. They will have to fight hard, there is no doubting that, but they are ready for it. I also wish them more success in all the other series. However, the others are not going to slow down to allow BMW to win. The opposition will obviously also always give it their all and have their sights set on victory. However, I hope they have the opportunity to win titles. Everyone has the passion, and that is the soul in a division like this."