BMW Motorrad Motorsport: Daytona 200
 Sensational
BMW Duo in top seven!
Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport riders Richard Cooper and Brian
Parriott finished a sensational sixth and seventh respectively
in the Formula Xtreme Daytona 200. 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. Current Formula Xtreme champion
Joshua Hayes (Honda) won the 69 lap race, with Chaz Davies
(Kawasaki) second and Steve Rapp (Kawasaki) third.
Richard Cooper - 6th: "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 sixth 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 - 7th: "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 seventh 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. Sixth and seventh 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 a 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."
Results
1. Joshua Hayes, Honda, 69 laps
2. Chaz Davies, Kawasaki, 69 laps
3. Steve Rapp, Kawasaki, 69 laps
4. Larry Pegram, Ducati, 68 laps
5. Martin Cardenas, Suzuki, 68 laps
6. Richard Cooper, BMW Motorrad Motorsport, 67 laps
7. Brian Parriott, BMW Motorrad Motorsport, 67 laps
8. Bobby Fong, Suzuki, 67 laps
9. Bostjan Skubic, Yamaha, 67 laps
10. Steve Atlas, Honda, 66 laps
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