BMW MOTORRAD:

The twelfth round of this year’s Superbike World Championship takes place at the Enzo e Dino Ferrari circuit in Imola, Italy, and will be the first time the series is at the track since 2006. Since then, modifications to the circuit have been made, especially on the approach to the chicane before the front straight. The top teams tested the new layout in mid-July and the revisions to the track drew mixed comments. Troy took a runner up spot in 2005, but Ruben has even better memories of the circuit as he took a superb double victory there in 2003.

Troy
Although we have tested at Imola this year – on the new layout – there is still lots to learn and do. For me the new approach to the front straight is not as good as before and the final chicane could cause problems. I am looking forward to riding my bike again as I believe that we have made really good progress recently and I want to see how this progress continues in Imola. Hopefully the weather will be better than the Nurburgring and we will get a good crowd and a good result.

Ruben
My physiotheraphy and rehabilitation has gone very well and I think I will be able to race in Imola. Just before Imola, I will get on a bike and see how my leg behaves and how it feels when I get off the bike. In the normal scheme of things, I should really not be on a bike at all before Portimao, but everything has gone well so far and I am very eager to get on my bike and race. I saw the progress at Brno before I crashed and I am itching to get on my bike and see how much progress the team have made since then. There is no absolutely final decision about Imola yet, but I am very, very hopeful.

Berti Hauser (Director – BMW Motorrad Motorsport)
Hopefully, our normal team will be back in action at Imola and it will be a pleasure to have Ruben back and interesting to hear what he says about the bike since Brno. Until he rides the bike, we do not know how strong he will be, but we know that his rehabilitation has gone very well and we know how keen he is to get on the bike again. These last three races are very important to all of us and we are aiming to end the last part of the season in very positive frame of mind and build on that for next season.