Beemer Schemers!
Published: 14th May 2007
Author: Jonty Edmunds
With a five-time world MX champ on the team, Europe's largest motorcycle manufacturer have arrived in the World Enduro Championship
The World Enduro Championship looks set to change in a major way. Not because of new rules introduced by the FIM. Not because the series is planning on visiting Australia, Iceland or Estonia. And not because half of the world's top trials riders have decided to give the series a go. Nope, the WEC is set to change because BMW - Europe's largest motorcycle manufacturer - have joined the hunt for WEC glory.
Technically, BMW haven't actually joined the championship trail on a full-time basis just yet but the Bavarian company have certainly stepped forward with intent. And if the development of their new 450cc four-stroke Sportsenduro bike continues to go well possible full-time participation in the WEC in '08 could be on the cards. And that can only be a good thing for the WEC.
BMW's participation in the second round of the WEC series wasn't a case of 'they came, they saw and they conquered' but to be fair it was never likely to be. Instead it was more that they came with the definite goal of continuing the development of their new bike while competing in high level international competition. They didn't make wildly optimistic proclamations about how great their new bike was and how well they were going to do. Instead they efficiently and professionally went about the business of competing and learning.
BMW were extremely open about the fact that trying to get results certainly wasn't why they were participating in Spain. With the bike featuring numerous weird and wonderful technical features and innovations - many not seen before on an off-road competition bike - and with the 'project' still relatively young, 'racing as a tool of development' was the soul reason they were present.
The arrival of any new manufacturer into the WEC, like the arrival of any new manufacturer into any motorsport championship, always brings with it a certain amount of hype. But when the manufacturer in question is one as large as BMW the level of interest shifts into overdrive. BMW might well be a small player in the enduro market at present but as a big, big competitor in other sectors of the motorcycling market their arrival was greeted with the appropriate amount of interest and scrutiny.
What was encouraging about the BMW Motorrad Motorsport team's arrival in Spain was the way in which they were welcomed into the international enduro paddock. With a degree of uncertainty always surrounding the arrival of anything or anyone new, the general opinion of the paddock was that their arrival was most certainly good for the series. And with good reason too. With BMW's commercial and promotional reach spreading far beyond the enduro market, news of their new bike - and by association information about the World Enduro Championship - will now filter into the road sector. This ability to make the wider motorcycling world aware of the WEC is another of the plus points associated with BMW's arrival. In addition many see this injection of new blood as something that will keep all the other manufacturers on their toes.
So what of the bike's performance? With development rider Sascha Eckert returning to WEC competition having been retired for two years and Joel Smets taking part in his first ever WEC event, the likelihood of stellar finishes was always going to be slim. So the team's day one results of 13th and 15th were pretty much par for the course really although the fact that both riders finished the day - and in the points - pleased the BMW top brass that had travelled to Puerto Lumbreras to oversee the bike's debut.
Day two didn't go quite as well as Smets withdrew from the event with an electrical problem. But with Sascha finishing in 17th position the fact that at least one of the two bikes had reached the finish was of obvious relief to the team.
BMW's participation in the second round of the WEC was a case of the German manufacturer dipping their toe into what for them was previously unexplored waters. Always planning to 'learn and then return', the BMW Motorrad Motorsport team will make two further WEC outings this season - the next in Italy at the end of May followed by the final round of the series in France in mid-September. From there decisions will be made regarding the bike's future and the possibility of a full scale attack on the World Enduro Championship.