BMW MOTORRAD BOXERCUP 2004
30 May 2004 - BMW Motorrad GB

Britain’s youth contests international BoxerCup series

Youth, talent and enthusiasm are prerequiMotorrad Great Britain team contesting the international BMW Motorrad BoxerCup 2004 series. Richard Cooper (20), Barry Burrell (17) and Calvin Hogan (18) are the three riders that will ride the team’s BMW R1100 S race bikes in the prestigious eight-round championship.

The 2004 BoxerCup will be Richard Cooper’s third year in a series that is staged alongside the elite MotoGP championship (excluding the opening round at the Daytona 200). Richard’s impressive riding ability, while still a teenager, helped him secure a race win on his debut year at Spa. He then repeated the feat in the UK round of the 2003 series at Oulton Park. Last year Richard finished sixth overall – ahead of many world-class riders.

Barry Burrell had his first taste of international racing when he joined the BoxerCup series last year and showed his youthful ability by taking the race lead at the Oulton Park and Assen rounds. Impressively, he also secured the lap record at Assen. ACU Academy graduate, Calvin Hogan is the UK team’s new recruit and is excited about testing his precocious racing talent on the international stage for the first time.

Mark Fisher of Pidcock BMW will once again manage the UK BoxerCup team: “We are really looking forward to the start of the series,” said Fisher. “Now that Richard and Barry have a good understanding of the bikes and European circuits, they are eager to start the season and give it everything they’ve got. Calvin has had a couple of test rides on the BMW and is really excited about racing on the European circuits.

“Richard spent two years learning the circuits and has achieved some good results. We are hoping that this year we will see more of the UK team on the podium and aim to bring home the championship trophy or the YoungStar award at the end of the season.”

The popularity and continuing appeal of the successful series means that the BoxerCup races attract a number of VIP guest riders such as ex-GP star and series ambassador Randy Mamola. The racing, of course, is always spectacular and the sight of up to 40 evenly matched BMW R1100 S machines barrelling around the world’s most demanding circuits is utterly breathtaking.

BMW Motorrad Great Britain team will be supported and sponsored by BMW Motorrad Great Britain, BMW Financial Services, Pidcock BMW, Racepaint UK, Bandit Accessories, NWS, the ACU Academy, Goodridge, Wurth and Shoei.

BMW powers International BoxerCup to its fourth year

Crazy lean angles; sparks fizzing from titanium cylinder heads; mellow thumping base notes reverberating off steel Armco; up to 40 BMWs barrelling into the first turn six abreast; racers fighting for space, machines touching, and bumping – unintentional contact in a sport like no other. This is the BMW Motorrad International BoxerCup, a motorcycle one-make racing series that is arguably the most successful ever devised. It certainly has the best-ever prize fund. The winner of this year’s series will drive home in a new BMW M3. A Z4 sports car will go to the runner-up, and the third-placed finisher will be presented with a top of the range BMW motorcycle.

Devised as a one-make series in 1999, the BMW BoxerCup proved its competitive spirit in France and Belgium as a support race to MotoGP. In 2001, the series went international – at eight of the world’s most famous race circuits – and has become a crowd pleaser in its own right. True to its origins, the BoxerCup still supports the MotoGP World Championship.

The machines used in the televised series are BMW R1100 S road-configured sports bikes, as near identical as possible, and capable of more than 150 mph. They have captured the imagination of race fans across the world because of the close and unpredictable racing they engender and the “extreme” riding techniques employed by some of the riders. For example, in the 2002 series, seven riders from seven nations won seven races.

Celebrities and VIPs have become an essential ingredient in the BMW Motorrad BoxerCup series. Past riders have included former GP stars such as Kevin Schwantz, Luca Cadalora, Jurgen Fuchs, Jorge Martinez and, of course, Randy Mamola – BMW’s BoxerCup ambassador. In addition, several respected motorcycle journalists have participated in the UK rounds of the series that have previously taken place at Donington Park and Oulton Park.

The popular and spectacular International BoxerCup race series has brought with it a demand for a more race-oriented R1100 S Sport road bike, much to the delight of fans of the machine. Finished in BoxerCup colours, this year’s limited edition big flat-twin has been cosmetically redesigned, is technically closer to the racing version and has an equivalent power output.

New features include three-colour paintwork (blue/red/white), white instruments, handlebar mounted mirrors (for quick removal), raised suspension, Metzeler tyres, dual ignition, and a sound-optimised Laser rear silencer. Add a 5.5-inch rear wheel with 180/55 ZR17 tyre, blue and white front and rear rims, a carbon-fibre reinforced plastic cylinder head cover and an engine spoiler (from the race model) and you have one of the best race replicas money can buy. The 2004, R1100 S BoxerCup Replica will be for sale in BMW Motorrad dealers from 13 March for £9,200 on-the-road.

The heady mix of experience and youth guarantees another fascinating international series that will visit eight countries in 2004. The opening round will headline the Daytona raceweek in the USA and the other rounds will support the prestigious MotoGP World Championship . Last year, BMW Motorrad Great Britain fielded the youngest team in the series, which comprised of two teenagers and the “experienced” 20-year-old Richard Cooper – winner of the British round. In 2004, BMW Motorrad GB will once again give youth its head and with riders Richard Cooper (20), Barry Burrell (17) and new recruit Calvin Hogan (18). Mark Fisher of Pidcock BMW, the established Nottinghamshire BMW Motorrad dealership, will manage the team.

Such was the impact made by the young Brits in last year’s championship that the organisers, in a desire to encourage more young talent, have integrated a special competition into the series to find the newest YoungStar. All the novice wildcats, under 21, will fight for additional points in each race to ultimately win the title, along with a brand new Mini Cooper. Sparks will fly...

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