BMW’s Superbike team just finished up a positive three day development test at Jerez on the 2012 version of the BMW S 1000 RR. Even if lap times weren’t released by team, the usual moles reporting that Leon Haslam and Marco Melandri were lapping above the’1’43″ on day 1 and in the low 1.42s on day 2.

The team worked on the chassis and the revised BMW electronics (reportedly they have finally switched to a Magneti Marelli package). Testing including various set-up solutions for the new engine specification (improved rideability and low end torque) and modified frame geometry of the 2012 bike as the aerodynamics have been optimised and modified according to the new 2012 production RR design.

“This test went really well,” said Haslam. “We made some good progress over these three days. We did a lot of development for next season and here we have been able to tick many boxes on our things-to-do-list. We also worked very productively regarding engine mapping and ride dynamic strategies. Overall, the team spirit is really high. We have a few new people in the garage and everyone is working together very well. Now we are looking forward to another three days in Portugal.”

No comment was made by Marco Melandri as he is still probably under contract with Yamaha till the end of the year as he tweeted “Last day in jerez been no easy but in the end we made step haed.thanks to all my boys!” also adding “Sorry but till 1st of january i can’t give u any comment on new bike”

BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director Bernhard Gobmeier said, “We were able to complete an extensive test programme and gather important data and information in all areas of the bike. We have seen that we are on the right track with our 2012 version of the RR. We have another three test days with a packed schedule ahead of us in Portimão next week. The knowledge gained in Spain and Portugal will form an important basis for the ‘homework’ that lies ahead in the coming weeks before the season starts at Phillip Island in February.”

The team is now heading to Portimao on Monday for another three-day test alongside Crescent Suzuki and Aprilia.

Photo source | marcomelandri@twitter.com

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World Superbike BMW Motorrad team will be at Jerez de la Frontera circuit for a three day test with the new 2012 BMW S1000RR (Moto2 teams will also be present).

For Leon Haslam it will be his second season with the BMW Motorrad team, while for new team mate Marco Melandri it will only be his second test on the machine following his debut in the World Superbike post season test Portimao last month, where he finished in 8th.

Melandri was the 2011 runner-up on Yamaha R1, is hyped about the test and tweeted “Off to jerez!! First real 2012 test.. Exited and nervous like first dinner with Manuela.. Happy to find my guys on track!”

BMW and other teams will carry out another test session at Portimao from November 28th to the 30th, the last one before the new WSBK testing ban goes into effect.

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Leon Haslam has decided to stay with World Superbikes BMW Motorrad Motorsport team for another season.

The British rider who currently lies fifth in 2011 standings has opted to stay with German manufacturer, despite some recent rumors that he was tired of fighting against the in-house electronics that the team is using (wanting to check out the differences between his and BMW Italia’s Ayrton Badovini bikes). BMW has dropped a bundle of money into their racing project, but the S1000RR still isn’t up to par as a title contender in it’s third year since their WSBK debut.

According to BMW their second rider will be announced at a later date, as it seems that team mate and veteran Troy Corser could be retiring at the end of this season, while Marco Melandri has been one of the few names bandied around to replace him.

Leon Haslam said: “I am really happy to continue the relationship with BMW Motorrad, and I have full faith in the project. I cannot wait for the next year to start and to fight for the World Championship again. Now I can fully focus on the final three rounds of the 2011 season. I am optimistic to finish the year on a high.”

“We’re delighted to be working with Leon again next season,” says BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director Bernhard Gobmeier. “Leon has impressed us from day one. We value and share his ambition, passion and absolute will to win. I’m in no doubt that we’ll be able to achieve our goals together.”

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While Misano’s warm-up practice was warm and sunny, World Superbikes at Nurburgring was wet and a washout.

With these difficult conditions, lap times were high and BMW’s Leon Haslam came out on top of the timesheets with a best lap of 2.10.764.

Sylvain Guintoli on his Effenbert branded Ducati was second, while Troy Corser took third followed by wet weather specialist Tom Sykes. Following the Kawasaki rider was Maxime Berger, Max Melandri, Jonathan Rea who announced yesterday that he signed on for another season with Castrol Honda and Joan Lascorz.

Closing out the top ten were Jakub Smrz and Mark Aitchinson. Pole man Carlos Checa was just 13th, prefering to do only a few laps and save himself for the races. Max Biaggi did not take part in the practice. The injury that he picked up on Friday to his left foot, has now become a full fledged fracture after yesterday’s Superpole when one of the metatarsals cracked while shifting, his taking part in today’s double header is now seriously in doubt.

Continue reading: Leon Haslam leads in wet warm-up practice at Nurburgring

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Leon Haslam will be sporting a special one-off design on his Arai RX-7 GP when he races at Silverstone in the ninth round of the World Superbike season in favour of children’s charity SPARKS (Sports Aiding medical Research for KidS) and he’ll also be giving the charity £10 for every championship point he scores in 2011 (he currently has 137).

The stunning design features a blue base with yellow stars – the colours and theme of SPARKS itself – and wrapping around the lower portion is an infant’s hand reaching out and holding an adult’s finger. A large yellow star on the back has a young eye peering out, watching out for the chasing pack and according to Haslam was designed by a friend of his, a tattoo artist by the name of Lee and sprayed by Arai designer Pierre.

Haslam is happy to be involved with the charity, and is very pleased with his one-off Arai: “I first played golf in a SPARKS event in 2003 and it’s a great organisation. The work they do through medical research really has made a difference for thousands of children and families and continues to do so. I scored 376 points in 2010 but I’d rather score what Max Biaggi scored with 451, win the Championship and hand over a bigger cheque to SPARKS! I love the unique paintwork on my Arai RX-7 GP for Silverstone, too. Of course it looks superb, but at the same time underlines the mission of help and support that SPARKS gives to kids beautifully.”

Continue reading: Leon Haslam to wear a special helmet design for WSBK Silverstone round

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Leon Haslam was at the Mugello circuit yesterday, watching the testing and getting a good look at the Marc VDS CRT entry, but before heading to Italy and the upcoming eighth round of the World Superbike Championship at Brno, the BMW superbike rider took part in this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed with legendary John Surtees.

Surtees and Haslam took part in the hillclimb on old and new BMW motorcycles. Surtees, who is the only man to have taken world championships on two and four wheels, used a BMW Type 255 Kompressor, while Haslam rode a BMW S 1000 RR that he uses in the World Superbike championship.

“In life you have relationships with people, but you also have relationships with machines. Some relationships are not so good and others are a bit special. This relationship is a bit special,” said Surtees who actually restored the 1939 bike before selling it back to BMW. “If BMW were to give the machine away again, I would have it backI also have a very long relationship with BMW and a collection of BMW cars. So I still have my original 507.” Surtees was delighted to ride “his old friend” again at Goodwood and certainly did not cruise, but raced up the hill at high speed: “It might sound silly, but you do this to satisfy yourself. And you want to make the machine happy.”

Continue reading: Leon Haslam and John Surtees do the hillclimb at Goodwood Festival of Speed

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New Arai RX-7 replica helmets are available. Using the same Monster HJC R-PHA 10 Ben Spies replica helmet by Aldo Drudi, we get new Cal Crutchlow and Leon Haslam replicas. The Crutchlow helmet is based on the same RX-7 GP model the British has been wearing in this year’s MotoGP and last year’s Superbike season. The colours are typical of Monster Energy and include extra graphics by Aldo Drudi with flame lines and a glittery finish.

The Leon Haslam replica helmet is the same RX-7 GP model that the rider used when he came second in last year’s Superbike championship, and the same model that he’s using again this year. The design is also by Drudi and has a black gloss background and huge white “H” that adorns the front curvature of the helmet. Asymmetric floral graphics complete the design. Both replica helmets have a five-year guarantee and in sizing from XS to XXL, they costs about 949 euros each.

Crutchlow and Haslam replica helmets by Arai

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First qualifying practice at a sunny Monza saw Leon Haslam take the provisional pole. The English rider lead for most of the session until first Eugene Laverty and then Max Biaggi grabbed it away from him. Haslam wouldn’t be denied and in a last lap lunge in the dying seconds reclaimed the top of the chart with a best lap of 1′42.934 and pipping Biaggi by a mere 0.019s.

The reigning World Champion will no doubt be relieved that his Aprilia even without the controversial gear driven camshaft and a certain ‘fuel pump’, the RSV4 is still the fastest bike out there (clocked at 332,5 km/h and 2km faster than last year’s record) and he’s still highly tipped to win at least one, if not both of this weekend’s races.

With Haslam taking to top spot and Biaggi directly behind him, Eugene Laverty was pushed into third and 0.331 from the top spot. Ayrton Badovini for BMW Italia is continuing his excellent form at Monza with his fourth place followed by Jonathan Rea and Noriyuki Haga on another Aprilia.

Continue reading: WSBK Monza: Leon Haslam pips Biaggi in QP1

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Ah, the perks of being a Superbike racer, besides getting to ride and compete on the best bikes, you get to travel the world, you’ve got fans and you can eye the hot brolly girls and you even get top notch driving lessons on cars as Leon Haslam and Troy Corser did when the completed a personalised driver training session in Munich.

The two BMW riders switched from their Superbikes to a BMW 330i for the BMW Driving Experience with instructor Jörg Weidinger who began the “driving lesson” at the BMW Driver Training centre at Munich Airport by gaining an impression of what each of the top motorcyclists was capable of. He then selected appropriate exercises, which were tailored to the individual needs of Leon and Troy.

“You can tell that they are both used to pushing a vehicle to the limit. That was no problem for them,” Weidinger remarked. “They were not the only ones enjoying themselves out there – I was too. You can tell that they are hungry to learn. They asked questions and took advice on board in order to improve and get faster.”

Continue reading: Troy Corser and Leon Haslam get the BMW Driving Experience

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The World Superbike championship is returning to Donington Park this weekend for round two of this 2011 season after taking a year off due to important renovations to the track.

The Brit pack will be out in full force minus James Toseland, who will miss the first of two home races that take place in Great Britain after breaking his wrist during testing at the Motorland Aragon circuit last weekend.

Jonathan Rea should be fully recovered from his injuries picked up at Phillip Island last month and ready to take on points leader Carlos Checa, as is Leon Camier who’s over his debilitating bout of glandular fever, but is still taking it easy on the fitness side, not wanting a setback.

Leon Haslam should also perform well if his BMW won’t give him any problems as he knows the circuit like the back of his pocket, lives close by and his dad Ron runs a racing school at the Leicestershire circuit. Eugene Laverty will try to better his 4th and 15th place results after his debut in World Superbikes, while Tom Sykes will try to repeat his 2008 2nd place podium when he raced as a wildcard, but this time with his official Kawasaki.

For more from the Brits check out the video.

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Confirming all the predications and expectations, Carlos Checa won the first race of round 1 at Phillip Island. The Spaniard completely dominated the race, blitzing the field after the first two opening laps to cruise to big margin victory of 4.3 seconds over Max Biaggi.

Max Biaggi was the only rider who’s race pace could have matched Checa’s, but after taking a couple of laps to shake off Eugene Laverty who was then running in second, the Aprilia rider could only watch Checa ride away in the distance and settle in for solid second place.

The battle for the third was definitely more exciting, with five riders all vying for the last spot of the podium. Eugene Laverty, Marco Melandri, Leon Haslam and a resurgent Jonathan Rea and Michel Fabrizio battled it out, but is was Haslam controlling his squirming BMW who crossed under the chequered flag before the others.

Continue reading: WSBK Phillip Island: Carlos Checa blitzes the field in race 1

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Jorge Lorenzo may have left Dainese for Alpinestars, but the Italian company will sponsor not only Nicky Hayden, but also Leon Haslam.

We obviously missed the fact (shame on us) that the BMW rider during the Eastern Creek test had given up his Spidi sponsored leathers to don Dainese leathers, boots and gloves and protections.

Haslam’s leathers are fitted with D-Air technology, which has helped ward off couple of broken shoulders and collarbones, including a certain Marco Simoncelli who spent a lot of time crashing rather than riding at the beginning of last season.

Leon Haslam:

“I’m very happy to be rejoining Dainese. Having visited the Dainese headquarters it’s clear that the heritage of motorcycle racing and safety protection is synonymous with the Dainese name. I’m also very much looking forward to having the D-Air technology - I just hope I don’t need it! The technical guys at Dainese are excellent and the suits I’ve tried so far are extremely practical, lightweight and - following my small crash at Cartagena two weeks ago - offer the necessary protection. I hope with Dainese, BMW and my other partners that we are also all celebrating success at the end of the 2011 World Superbike Championship.”

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