All-New BMW Motorrad South Africa Motorsport Team for 2013

All-New BMW Motorrad South Africa Motorsport Team for 2013

After winning three straight South African Superbike championships  with the BMW S 1000 RR, BMW has raised the bar even higher with the  announcement that it will contest the 2013 championship with the  all-new BMW HP4 lightweight four-cylinder superbike.

By Gerald Ferreira5 February 20134 min read

After winning three straight South African Superbike championships  with the BMW S 1000 RR, BMW has raised the bar even higher with the  announcement that it will contest the 2013 championship with the  all-new BMW HP4 lightweight four-cylinder superbike.

South Africa Motorsport

Midrand-based BMW Motorrad Motorsport will field two machines for  Chris Leeson Jnr and Ryan Ottens.  Leeson, 23, was South African 600  cc champion in 2007 and finished third in the 2012 Superbike  championship behind the BMW S 1000 RR machines of Greg Gildenhuys and  Nicolas Grobler with four race wins.

Gildenhuys, 23, will contest the 2013 World Superstock 1000  Championship for the BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet Team.

Both riders have received their bikes and begun testing.  “I love my  bike already,“ said Leeson, owner of a signage company in Walkerville,  south of Johannesburg.  “It’s a winner – the best bike I could be on.“

Ottens, 24, was fifth in last year’s national superbike championship  on a privateer BMW S 1000 RR entered by the Ottens family-owned BMW  motorcycle dealer, Northside Motorcycles in Fourways, Johannesburg.

“This is my first factory ride and it couldn’t be on a better bike,“  said a delighted Ottens.  “It will be the most technically advanced  superbike on the grid, so I’m really looking forward to the season  ahead.  I intend having some fun.“

“The BMW HP4 is an exciting new version of the RR, which remains in  the BMW range and which Greg Gildenhuys rode to three consecutive  South African Superbike championships,“ said Rob Holder, general  manager of BMW Motorrad in South Africa.

“It’s not just a better-equipped RR.  It features innovations and  components not previously offered on a production BMW superbike and  has been homologated to meet World Championship Superstock 1000 rules.

“A unique new feature is the Dynamic Damping Control (DDC), which  allows adjustment of the bike’s suspension on the fly.  This is a  truly race-ready machine.  We’re very happy with our new team and the  prospect of Chris and Ryan competing for a fourth successive BMW championship.“

The opening round of the 2013 South African Superbike Championship  will be at Kyalami on February 23.

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