The 2019 Bennetts British Superbike Championship opened this Easter weekend at Silverstone on the National circuit giving the Tyco BMW team a first glimpse at the pace of the all-new BMW S1000RR in a competitive pack, following a compact pre-season testing programme.
After a solid start during race one in the superbike class, both Christian Iddon and Keith Farmer got caught up in racing incidents, dropping them back down the field and then having to fight their way back up the order, demonstrating the potential of the S1000RR as further development continues during the season. Christian and Keith currently sit 13th and 15th respectively in the Championship standings.
Despite showing promise, Andy Reid was victim to a little bad luck in the Superstock class when he was tagged by another rider and forced out of both races in Saturday’s double-header. Race two was more promising for the Northern Irish Rider as he crossed the line in twelth place.
The team remain focused about the potential package of the BMW S1000RR and head to Oulton Park for an official test ahead of round two of the Bennetts British Championship at the Cheshire track 4-6th May.
We leave Silverstone a little frustrated although to be fair the potential shown by each of our riders this weekend on the 2019 S1000RR exceeded our expectations considering our limited pre-season preparation schedule. Christian had the pace for top six in race one when a small technical problem halted his progress. In race two both Keith and Christian showed pace strong enough for the top six however a small error cost each rider the opportunity to fulfill that potential. It’s very early days with the new BMW S100RR and we can’t wait to be shown it’s full potential.
Philip Neill – Team Manager
The weekend started really positively, we were fast almost immediately. I have felt good all weekend, I was never outside the top eight any of the sessions so that was really good. We had a few niggly issues during race one and dropped back from sixth. The boys worked really hard and by race two we were back on track and up to fifth, but a near collision ran me off track, then a missed gear on the following lap knocked me back a few places. We are leaving the first round with a few points on the board and looking forward to the Oulton test ahead of round two.
Christian Iddon – #21 British Superbike
All in all it’s been a positive weekend on the new Tyco BMW S1000RR. We had a little knock on Saturday which knocked my confidence a little, but to come back to 15th from 26th on the grid following a six grid penalty shows we have good race pace with good tyre life. Race two I started a little further up the grid but a few errors on my part saw me run off track a few times which is fustrating, but I made my way up to 12th and to be in the 54s throughout the whole race proved really positive. The bike feels great and I’m looking forward to moving on to Oulton Park and seeing more progress.
Keith Farmer – #33 British Superbike
It’s great to be back racing again. Saturday didn’t exactly go to plan getting taken out by another rider but today we dialled in a solid finish. The new S1000RR has lots of potential so I’m looking forward to making improvements as the season progresses. Thanks to everyone who took time to come and say hello and thanks to Turk and the Tyco BMW team for a big effort.
Andy Reid – #67 National Superstock 1000