Australian dual World Supersport Champion Andrew Pitt has this morning confirmed a two-year deal to ride a BMW S 1000 RR in the World Superbike Championship for the all-new Reitwagen BMW Team, confirming speculation that surfaced last week.
Australian dual World Supersport Champion Andrew Pitt has this morning confirmed a two-year deal to ride a BMW S 1000 RR in the World Superbike Championship for the all-new Reitwagen BMW Team, confirming speculation that surfaced last week.
The Reitwagen BMW Team is the first satellite team to run the new S 1000 RR and the bikes will be prepared in a dedicated workshop at the BMW factory, with Johan ‘Stiggy’ Stigefelt has been confirmed as the team Technical Manager and Australian Peter Goddard will join the team as chassis engineer.
Testing officially begins at Eastern Creek, NSW, Australia in early February followed by a second testing schedule at Phillip Island in Victoria prior to the World Superbike round at the famous circuit.
“After four years I’m very happy to be back in World Superbike and excited about riding for such a dedicated and passionate team,” said Pitt. “The team also includes plenty of very experienced operators and BMW are obviously serious about the World Superbike program, so I think this is going to be a great thing.
“The S 1000 RR is, on specification and results, a competitive machine already and I’m looking forward to testing the bike at Eastern Creek and Phillip Island early in the new year.”
With 47 World Superbike races under his belt and 66 World Supersport races, Pitt will be bringing a wealth of experience to the team.
“I’m looking forward to the challenge of a new bike. I’ve been working hard on my fitness and I’m more motivated than ever to have a successful two-years,” he concluded.
Pitt will spend the next two months at home in the NSW North Coast town of Port Macquarie where he will be joined early in 2010 by teammate Resch. The pair will train together in the lead up to the start of the season, ensuring that both riders are at peak fitness before tackling to 215-plus horsepower BMW S 1000 RR.