During the IDM tests in Valencia, Markus Reiterberger surprised everyone by setting the fastest times in the rain. Yet the three-time IDM Superbike champion had never been a fan of wet tracks in the past. The 28-year-old Bavarian from Team BCC-alpha-Van Zon-Racing knows the reason behind his newfound speed: it’s the new Pirelli rear tire.
In the FIM Endurance World Championship, where Reiterberger races on Dunlop tires, he has long since overcome his former fear of the rain. “We’ve tested so many laps in the rain that it doesn’t bother me anymore. Now, our IDM tire partner Pirelli has also released a compound that makes it feel as if we’ve always been able to handle the rain just fine. We’ve found a really great setup for the bike on wet surfaces.”
On the second day of testing at the wet Circuit Ricardo Tormo, Reiterberger set the fastest time of the day among all the riders present. “Things went even better on the third day, and I clocked a time of 1:46.7 minutes on the new Pirelli tires. Since conditions remained fairly consistent over the three days, we were able to complete a perfect wet-weather test.”
The three-time champion of the IDM premier class explains: “I’ve always used the dry-weather setup on the BMW M 1000 R, making a few minor adjustments to the spring preload and a couple of other settings. Now we’re completely overhauling the suspension.”
Reiterberger will keep his bike from last year for the 2022 season; it will be rebuilt. The engine isn’t a production model but will be delivered directly from BMW headquarters. “In a factory-backed team like Werner Daemen’s, there’s a bit more support than in the small team I was on last year,” notes the title favorite.
For the upcoming test at the Lausitzring, however, Reiterberger is hoping for dry conditions, “so we can find the optimal setup for that as well.” Although he is highly regarded with three titles in the premier class, he himself says, “In dry conditions, Florian Alt is a force to be reckoned with.” The competitor from North Rhine-Westphalia topped the timesheets on the first day of practice in Valencia. “And then,” Reiterberger adds, “you never know if some unknown quantity might pop up out of nowhere and surprise us all.”