Markus Reiterberger sums up the first half of the FIM Endurance World Championship season

Two of a total of four events on the calendar of the World Endurance Motorcycle Championship are already in the past and with Le Mans and Spa Francorchamps these were also two very important events.

The Bugatti Circuit in Le Mans, with its history, is one of the most traditional and prestigious race tracks and is usually the opening event of the season. As always, the conditions for the 24-hour race were anything but ideal, but the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team with Markus Reiterberger did its best and, despite crashes and a few additional pit stops, finished fourth and only just missed out on the podium.

At Spa Francorchamp, the home race of the Belgian-based team, the conditions were similarly far from ideal. Nevertheless, Reiti and his colleagues Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) and Steven Odendaal (RSA) managed to prove themselves once again with second place. The three regular riders remained confidently in the saddle of the BMW M 1000 RR and showed that a victory or even the title is a very realistic goal.

After the long break, they will head to another traditional race track in Japan in August laying in third place in the overall standings. The eight-hour race in Suzuka is used by many teams to bring in riders from other championships and so Reiterberger and his team-mates will have to assert themselves against calibres such as Johann Zarco (Honda) or Jack Miller (Yamaha) from the MotoGP World Championship. However, thanks to the perfectly harmonised cooperation during the first two events, everyone is pretty sure that it is not at all unrealistic to bring home the big trophy.

Markus Reiterberger:

I am generally very satisfied with the progress so far and the changeover in the team. The new components, chassis and tyres are also working really well. The entire team structure has changed very positively and the interaction has become much more harmonious. At Le Mans we saw that we are capable of winning races. We were able to confirm this once again at Spa. In Le Mans it was really difficult not to crash due to the conditions, but we had the pace to be right at the front. In Spa we finished second in similarly difficult conditions. I think the motivation for a win or even the title is very high for us. In any case, the time is finally ripe for it. It could be more difficult again in Suzuka. It's never easy there. But, as always, we will do our best. However, we always have a good feeling at the last event in Le Castellet. The track suits us and the bike and the chances are very good. We have been on a steady upward trend for years and that gives us a very good and positive starting position. I'm looking forward to the second half of the season with my colleagues and my team.