The Althea BMW Racing Team prepares for the first European round of the World SBK season, taking place at Aragón

The Althea BMW Racing Team, together with its riders Jordi Torres and Markus Reiterberger, is ready for the third round of the Superbike World Championship, and the first European round, taking place this weekend at the Spanish track of Motorland Aragón. The Spanish circuit, located roughly 280 km from Barcelona and 100 km from Zaragoza, has hosted the Superbike series each year since 2011. For Jordi, who hails from Rubí in Barcelona, the upcoming event is also his home race. In 2015, the Spaniard performed admirably in both of the Aragón weekend’s races, crossing the line in fifth and fourth position. He will therefore be very motivated to do just as well this season, in front of his home crowd. Markus on the other hand will be racing at Motorland Aragón for the first time in the Superbike category, as a 2016 rookie, but the talented German is nevertheless determined to improve on the results he scored on board his BMW S 1000 RR in the latest round, which took place at the Thai circuit of Chang two weeks ago. After the first two rounds of the World Championship, which took place at Phillip Island (Australia) and Buri Ram (Thailand), the two Althea BMW riders find themselves in seventh (Torres) and ninth (Reiterberger) position in the general standings with 33 and 28 points respectively. As well as participating in the Superbike series, the Althea BMW squad will also line up in the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup this weekend, in the first of nine scheduled events. The squad entrusts its BMW S 1000 RR to Italian Raffaele De Rosa, a rider who also competed with the Althea team in last year’s Stock 1000 championship, obtaining very strong results, including six podium finishes, to finish the season third overall. “I already have experience of the Aragón track as I raced there in Superstock in 2011 and 2012, also on the BMW. So I know the track well and really enjoy racing on it, particularly the central section, which I feel has some similarities with Laguna’s Corkscrew. We are coming from what were two very good races for me in Thailand; I finished fifth and seventh, despite the difficult hot conditions, and I felt that we were very strong from mid-race onwards, we just need to improve in the first ten laps or so. After the first two rounds I’m feeling very good with both the bike and the team and so I feel we can do well at Aragón and fight with the frontrunners.” “We come to Aragón really wanting to do well. It’s a ‘complete’ track, with a mix of fast and slow corners and this can help us to further develop the BMW. We’re at a good point and Motorland can allow us to make that step that we need to take in order to be more competitive. It will be important to be fast right from the first session, to optimise the work and be well prepared for the races. After the first two rounds, we know where we need to focus to improve. I’m keen to race at home, as this always gives me extra motivation. I think we have everything in line to be able to run with the fastest guys, and that’s our aim.”

“Well last season it was all new for me when we got to Aragón but despite that we were able to fight for the podium, just missing out and finishing fourth. This year we head there with more experience and references and so I’m feeling confident. We’ve completed various tests during the winter and I can say that they went fairly well but we’ll only really know how we are doing when we get to race day. I think the Stock 1000 category will be even more competitive this year, with the inclusion of some ‘new’ teams and riders and that means it’s going to be tough but I believe we’ll be there in the mix. Aragón is also a track I enjoy and so I’m keen to get started now!”