Great Success at Daytona 200. Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport i

[totalmotorcycle]

Great Success at Daytona 200. Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport in Top Six.
Monday, March 17th, 2008 - BMW Press Release - http://www.bmwmotorcycles.com/ - Total Motorcycle - http://www.totalmotorcycle.com



Munich. Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport riders Richard Cooper and Brian Parriott finished a sensational fifth and sixth respectively in the Formula Xtreme Daytona 200 aboard their BMW HP2 Sport. Both riders had heart-stopping moments on the opening lap, with Parriott crashing, but both brushed aside the difficulties and carried on to record impressive finishes. Rico Penzkofer was hit from behind on the opening lap and crashed, almost taking out team mate Cooper in the process. He suffered heavy bruising and was unable to remount his bike and continue. Nate Kern had crashed in the morning warm-up and injured his right hand, but decided to try and start the race. But on the opening lap, he couldn't feel the throttle so he was forced to pull out. This years edition of the legendary Daytona 200 race was won by Chaz Davies (Kawasaki) after the disqualification of Joshua Hayes (Honda) due to a violation of the AMA technical rulebook.
Richard Cooper - 5th
I can't tell you how surprised, but happy I am over this result. This is my fourth time at Daytona and every time before I've had some misfortune or other. On the first lap, I nearly hit Rico, when he was nudged from behind. I managed to brake hard and just missed him, but it was pretty close! After that the race settled down and I had no problems whatsoever. I knew that a top fifteen finish was the goal, but I was thinking more of a top ten result. So to get fifth is amazing and particularly as this place is so special for me. The pit-stops were perfect and the bike was a dream and that's down to all the hard work the team put in.

Brian Parriot - 6th
That was a pretty eventful race for me, starting with the crash on lap one! I think it was because the tyres might have not been warm enough, because I lost the back end without warning and was thrown up into the air and onto the windscreen, before falling. I went over to the bike, made sure all the levers were OK and started off again. I suppose I was a bit lucky, because a bit later on the course car came out and I was able to recover some of the ground I'd lost. The rest of the race was good and throughout it I felt I learnt more and more about the bike and got more and more comfortable. In fact, I felt that the bike was better then it had been all week. There were a couple of 'close moments' during the race, but pretty much normal stuff anyway. My ribs were a sore after the race, but I'm completely satisfied with the result today. Before the race, I believed that a top ten was definitely possible, because I had looked at last year's race and the lap time, so I had an idea of how we would do. But to get sixth is a tremendous result and a just reward for all the hard work the team have put in.

Nate Kern - DNF
Of course I am disappointed because I felt I could've got a good result here today. I crashed in the morning warm-up and badly hurt my right hand. I don't think I broke anything, but it was really sore. I decided to try to make the start and see how it felt, but once I got off the line and went through a couple of turns, I realised that I couldn't feel the throttle at all! So, for the safety of everybody, I pulled in. Congratulations to Richard and Brian though for doing such a good job and sorry to all my mechanics after all the effort they made this week.

Rico Penzkofer - DNF
I am very disappointed with the crash. I think I was bumped from behind - there are marks on my tailpiece - and I couldn't control the bike and fell. That was that for me and I was pretty angry because we've put in so much good work this week and it would've been great to bring the bike home and get another strong finish for the team.

Berti Hauser (Director of BMW Motorrad Motorsport)
At the moment I feel the result is bit of a dream. To get two riders in the top ten in such a famous race is a big achievement indeed. Fifth and sixth are fantastic results for us and a testament to our great team and their never say die attitude. They work so hard and they all work for each other. Richard used great strategy and thoroughly earned his result and I'm proud of the way he conducted his race today. Brian crashed in the beginning, but showed his fighting spirit and made a super result. Rico's crash was not his fault, because he was hit from behind, and I know he's sorry that he couldn't finish the race. Nate tried his best to start the race, but he knew that his hand wasn't up to it and he made the right decision to pull out. The bikes ran like Swiss watches (or Bavarian bikes) today and we learned a lot because the procedure for the Daytona 200 is nothing like an Endurance race. The team adapted to this superbly and we want to dedicate our success today to Thomas Hinterreiter.

Daytona 200 results
1. Chaz Davies, Kawasaki, 69 laps
2. Steve Rapp, Kawasaki, 69 laps
3. Larry Pegram, Ducati, 68 laps
4. Martin Cardenas, Suzuki, 68 laps
5. Richard Cooper, BMW Motorrad Motorsport, 67 laps
6. Brian Parriott, BMW Motorrad Motorsport, 67 laps
7. Bobby Fong, Suzuki, 67 laps
8. Bostjan Skubic, Yamaha, 67 laps
9. Steve Atlas, Honda, 66 laps