The Althea BMW Racing Team secures a top five SBK finish with Torres, and a Superstock 1000 podium with De Rosa at Aragón

Alcaniz (Spain), Sunday 3 April 2016

A very positive SBK Race 2 for the Althea BMW Racing Team that, with Jordi Torres and the BMW S 1000 RR, crossed the line in fifth place today. Grip problems for Markus Reiterberger meant he closed the race in fifteenth position. In Superstock 1000, De Rosa scored his first podium of the season, finishing third.

Superbike - Race 2 – Torres did not make the best of starts but immediately set out to make up lost ground, carving a path through the field to move up into eighth by lap three. Reiterberger also lost a couple of positions off the line but recovered somewhat through the opening laps. At the mid-race point, the Althea BMW men were lapping sixth (Torres) and thirteenth (Reiti). Thanks to his convincing path throughout the second half of the race, Jordi was able to pass VD Mark on lap thirteen to move into fifth, a position that he defended to the line. An important result for the Spaniard, also in terms of reducing the gap from the winner. Markus unfortunately suffered in a similar fashion to yesterday with a drop in tyre performance, closing today's race fifteenth.

As the third round of WorldSBK 2016 draws to a close, Jordi Torres lies seventh in the general standings with 53 points, Reiterberger positions ninth with 31 points.  BMW is currently fourth in the manufacturer's classification (57 points), with Althea BMW holding the same position in the team rankings (84 points).

Superstock – Race – De Rosa started from sixth on the grid but the race was stopped at the end of lap one when a mechanical breakdown for a rider left oil on the track. The race soon restarted, though shortened to just eight laps. As the race began, De Rosa held sixth place through the first turns before making up two places through the first three laps to position fourth at the mid-race point. Able to make another step in the final stages, the Althea BMW rider earned himself a place on the first Superstock 1000 podium of the 2016 season, crossing the line in third position overall. After this opening race, De Rosa is third in the standings, having earned 16 points at Aragón.

  “Today’s race went well for me. During the sighting lap I already realised that I had more confidence with the front of the bike compared to yesterday. This meant I could be faster right from the start, and tried to stick with the guys ahead of me. After a few laps, I thought I needed to conserve the tyres so I changed by riding style a little, managing the front tyre more effectively, and in this way I was able to complete a good race. I’m pleased, also because we’ve collected a lot more data and I think that step by step we’ll get closer to the front…”

“We improved a little in terms of the setting today. I didn’t feel too bad in the opening laps and was able to keep pace with those immediately ahead of me. In the central part of the race I lost a bit of feeling and the lap times dropped off and, by the end, I had lost a few places and was just trying to finish the race. This weekend has been a disappointing one for me, but we will now concentrate on getting the right feeling back for the next races…”

“The weekend finished well, considering how it had started. I made some mistakes in qualifying which prevented me from scoring a better grid position. The race wasn't easy as, cut to just 8 laps, it was more of a sprint. The key was to stay focused. I lost a position at the start and had a little trouble passing two of my rivals but then I was able to find my rhythm and run a good race. I'm only sorry that, with such a short race, I couldn't reach the two leaders and fight with them but today I'll settle for third... and we'll see each other at Assen in a couple of weeks..."

“A very positive weekend that brought us great satisfaction. I think we completed two great SBK races with Torres, obtaining seventh and fifth place, which I deem very positive at this point. It gives the team confidence and from here we can continue to improve using all the indications we've collected here. These will be put to good use during our next tests on 5-6 April. I'm sorry for Reiterberger who suffered in both races due to the rear tyre, but I'm confident he'll bounce back in the next races. A fantastic third place for De Rosa, who I believe could have done even better if the the race hadn’t been red-flagged as I think this ruined his race strategy, with the race shortened to just eight laps. Third is nevertheless a positive result and good for the championship. I thank the entire team, the BMW engineers and particularly Bertie Hauser who was here with us this weekend."