Always with a cheeky grin on his face, highly motivated, and outgoing: Björn Stuppi is a ray of sunshine, even when things don’t go as planned. Above all, the 33-year-old is a fighter. He never gives up. He ’s heading into 2019 with Buchner Motorsport .
The 2018 season didn't go as the motorcycle dealer from Steißlingen had hoped. Instead of finishing in the top 15, Stuppi ended up in the IDM Superbike 1000 a meager three championship points. Things didn't go entirely smoothly. At the Lausitzring, the BMW driver was hit by a competitor during free practice. The result: a broken right shoulder joint and a piece of bone chipped off his upper arm. If it had been up to Stuppi, he would have kept racing anyway. But the opinions of three doctors and his team manager, Daniel Bergau, convinced him to hold off and rest until the season finale at Hockenheim. There, Stuppi returned to action and scored two points.
The next step comes in 2019. Björn Stuppi is switching teams and, as of this week, is the new Superbike contract rider for Buchner Motorsport. Here, too, the die-hard BMW rider will be riding an S 1000 RR—for now, the familiar model from last year. The brand-new version, which was unveiled at EICMA in Italy, won’t be available until May. “I’ll be making the switch around that time,” says Stuppi, who brings his own motorcycles but has them serviced by Buchner.
As team manager, Marc Buchner expects the new recruit to consistently finish in the points now. And the new recruit, in turn, thinks highly of his boss. “Marc is a good driver himself, and the team is run professionally.” Stuppi laughs: “Besides, Marc is much calmer than I am, and that keeps me grounded.”
Test rides are planned. Until then, Stuppi won’t be suffering from a lack of exercise anyway. On Sunday, he’ll get his new pit bike for off-road riding. In January, he’ll take a fitness test at Ortema in Markgröningen. After that, he’s invited to an enduro training camp in Greece before heading to Portugal with BMW.