BMW scores at Daytona
Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport HP2 riders Richard Cooper and Brian Parriott have finished 5th and 6th respectively in the 2008 Daytona 200.
Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport HP2 riders Richard Cooper and Brian Parriott have finished 5th and 6th respectively in the 2008 Daytona 200.
Honda mounted Formula Xtreme champion Joshua Hayes won the 69 lap race, with Chaz Davies Kawasaki second and team mate Steve Rapp third. However, after the post-race celebrations had finished, Hayes was disqualified because of a technical infringement – and Chaz Davies was awarded the victory.
Berti Hauser – Director of Motorrad Motorsport :
"The news is fantastic for sure. To get two riders in the top ten in such a famous race is a big achievement indeed and is a testament to our great team and their never-say-die attitude. 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. We learned a lot here because the procedure for the Daytona 200 is nothing like an Endurance race, but the team adapted to this superbly and we want to dedicate our success to Thomas Hinterreiter."
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 15 finish was the goal, but I was hoping for a top ten result, so to get fifth is amazing – 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. 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 has put in."
Results 2008 Formula Extreme Daytona 200
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
