Big potential, small reward for out-of-luck BMW EWC team

After topping the qualifying order with a new lap record effort from Illya Mykhalchyk, hopes were high for a second victory in this season’s EWC as the 100th-anniversary Bol d’Or got underway at 15h00 CET seven days ago.

But hope soon turned to frustration for the ace Belgian squad after a powertrain issue meant an early exit for the #37 entry.

“The race week was hectic but very good,” Werner Daemen, BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team’s Team Manager said. “In the beginning, everything was very positive, the pre-Bol test, testing, practice, qualifying. The team did a tremendous job; the tyres were good. We claimed pole position and the start of the race was really good. I think that everybody could see that we were fighting for the lead in the first hours. But then we unfortunately had the technical issue.”

German rider Markus Reiterberger, who partnered Mykhalchyk and Jérérmy Guarnoni in the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team line-up, added: “We were very well in the mix over the week. We claimed the first pole position for our team and the bike was very well balanced and working great. It had a superb start and during the first stints, we had a really good feeling on the bike. We said that this is exactly how a 24-hour bike needs to feel. Unfortunately, we got another technical issue. The team tried to repair it but we had to retire.”

Photo: Facebook.com/bmwmotorradmotorsport/

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