27.09.19
Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours
Rain loomed on the opening day of Round 11 in Magny – Cours, which inevitably resulted in a wet FP1. Both Markus and Tom spent majority of the session adjusting the set-up of their BMW S 1000 RR’s which left both riders out of the top 15 due to missing crucial dry spells of the session.
In typical French fashion the weather did not improve and in FP2 we endured heavier rain. Despite the weather, the BMW duo of Tom Sykes and Markus Reiterberger used the FP1 session to it advantage as the changes made from the earlier session reaped its benefits in FP2 as both riders found themselves into the top 7 - although no times were improved due to the weather conditions.
Tom Sykes and Markus Reiterberger will again battle it out tomorrow as they head into FP3, Qualifying and the first race of the weekend where they will be pushing for podium positions – whatever the conditions.
Shaun Muir - Team Principal
"The first session was really a lottery, Tom was posting top 3 / 4 times when he was out on track but with the unpredictable weather it meant both Markus and Tom missed a dry spell in the session which resulted in the final position.
Second session both riders did really well, Tom got into a good rhythm and posted some competitive times which landed him in P2. Markus equally tried a different rear shock setting which helped his confidence a lot, he stayed out through the session and chipped away at his time and ended FP2 in P7 which was a much more telling time for the day.
Overall we are pretty happy, we can head into tomorrow with a lot of confidence in Tom and Markus and hope for some better weather."
Tom Sykes (GBR)
"I’m happy with how todays gone, we made a few changes at the end of FP1 which meant we sat out the remaining few minutes, resulting in us falling down the pecking order. This afternoon in the wet conditions we carried on working and found a good set-up for the BMW S 1000 RR, in the cold and greasy track conditions I felt comfortable with the feedback of the chassis and in the end found some good pace.
The boys have worked hard in last few weeks and I’m certainly happy with the modifications we have made, so overall satisfied with the progress made here on day 1 at Magny – Cours."
Markus Reiterberger (GER)
"The first session we had a few issues which meant we couldn’t set a fast time, however in the second session we made some changes and I felt comfortable on the bike despite the rain being a lot heavier than this morning. We finished P7 in FP2 and for a while we were running at the front, all be it with only a few riders on track but still we could gauge how fast we were with these guys. Tomorrow we still need to find some pace as 4 seconds to the top is too much, but at least we found the right direction to work in for tomorrow."
