Sport – BMW S1000RR: the hypersport of all records? – Used BMW

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BMW S1000RR: the hypersport of all records ?

Sport - BMW S1000RR: the hypersport of all records? - Used BMW

To almost everyone’s surprise, the BMW S 1000 RR has become the scarecrow of the Hypersport category. Sophisticated and overpowered, the German has a series of successes and has even just exceeded the 325 km / h mark in a configuration close to the original !

From the first laps on its handlebars on the Portimao track (Portugal), the BMW S1000 RR had literally stuck the editorial staff of Site (read our): against all expectations, the German sportswoman had revealed herself like a real bomb, making fly the "sport-tourism-BCBG" image of the propeller brand shattered !

Resounding feats

With at the time the strongest power in its category (193 hp against 200.1 announced for the new Kawasaki ZX-10R 2011), the first Teutonic Superbike is endowed with good tracker skills, that an unprecedented combination of assistance electronic (ABS, anti-wheeling and traction control) allows you to operate with finesse.

But let’s be frank: before this first contact, nobody expected BMW to perform at such a high level of performance for its first foray into the contested hypersports segment….

And yet, thanks to a subtle balance between pure power and sophistication, the Munich ball quickly forged a sacred reputation: champion of France Superbike in the hands of Erwan Nigon (six pole, seven wins and six podiums) and in the championship Spanish Stock Extreme with Javier Fores, the S1000RR mainly flew over the European Stocksport 1000 with Ayrton Badovini: eight poles, nine wins and a second place in ten races !

Without forgetting World Endurance, where the BMP 99 team set several lap records and pole position at the Bol d’Or and the 8 Hours of Doha. On the other hand, in the World Superbike, the Behème struggles to win: only a pole and a third place came to reward the efforts of the team from across the Rhine for its second season in the WSBK.

The reason for this slow rise in WSBK can be explained by BMW’s lack of experience in the premier class of production sports cars, the relative talent of the official drivers (Corser is aging and Xaus often on the ground), and the very high degree of preparation authorized by the World Superbike regulations.

This madness of greatness in world Superbike, sometimes close to MotoGP, makes it possible to erase the weaknesses of the less performing production sports cars with changes that are as radical as they are costly. But it minimizes the importance of the intrinsic qualities of more accomplished motorcycles….

However, the main assets of the S1000RR lie precisely in the operability and the extension of its engine in its original juice: two elements which explain its wide domination in competitions where the preparation is more succinct..

Thanks to the experience gained in Formula 1, BMW has built an ultralight (59.8 kg), modern (variable intake) 999 cc inline four-cylinder engine (variable intake, titanium valves actuated by pawls, Ride-by-Wire accelerator, four injection maps) … and above all wickedly effective from 7000 rpm !

Over 325 km / h with a barely modified S1000RR !

This mechanical aggressiveness associated with a contained weight (204 kg dry and 206.5 kg with Race ABS) also make the BMW one of the most popular hypersports for attempts to set speed records..

In the United States, an S1000RR prepared by Pit Bull and KWS Motorsports set new records during a meeting organized by the East Coast Timing Association (ECTA). Over one mile – just over 1,600 meters – an S1000RR fitted with high compression pistons, modified camshafts and connecting rods and racing gasoline fueled to the phenomenal speed of 202.06505 mph, or 325.192 km / h !

Apart from this preparation, the German wore its standard fairing and exhaust and therefore met the requirements of the "1000cc Production" (P / P) regulation imposed by ECTA.

Also entered in the "1000cc Modified" category (MPS / G), it then reached 203.62452 mph (327.701 km / h). To grab those few kilometers per hour, the S1000RR was equipped with a "Zero Gravity" screen, a more aerodynamic front fender and a LeoVince exhaust line. In the end, not much in terms of performance: as a reminder, the maximum speed recorded by a MotoGP prototype is 349.3 km / h, with the Honda RCV212 at Mugello in 2009 !

Crowned with all these successes, the S1000RR will now have to defend its status as a surprise outsider … Taken aback by the daring German approach, the Japanese should soon react: Hypersports powered by a four-wheeler. in-line cylinders have – so far? – always been the specialty of the Land of the Rising Sun…

Stung, Kawasaki has also launched its counter-offensive with its new ZX-10R (read our) while Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha should quickly take the Greens … and therefore BMW.

Because in the meantime, the S1000RR can boast of having upset the established order: a cultural revolution that will undoubtedly remain as the most striking of its records. !

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