EURO MOTO Superbike riders Markus Reiterberger and Hannes Soomer are taking on even more responsibilities. BMW Motorrad Motorsport has confirmed that the German and Estonian riders will compete as factory riders in the FIM Endurance World Championship (FIM EWC) on the #37 BMW M 1000 RR.
Former World Superbike rider Michael van der Mark, four-time IDM champion Markus Reiterberger, and Spanish champion Steven Odendaal—who hails from Australia—make up the core trio of the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team. Hannes Soomer is the fourth rider. There is only one goal: to win the title for BMW.
Last season, the team led by manager Werner Daemen had already come close to winning the world championship trophy. In the final—the Bol d’Or in France—the team was less than 30 minutes away from claiming the title. But then a technical glitch set them back. In the end, they finished third in the world championship. The disappointment was immense. The title “World Champions of the Hearts” offered little consolation.
Luck plays an important role
While this marks the next step in Soomer’s endurance racing career as a full-time driver, Reiterberger is a veteran of the team. He has been part of the project since its debut in 2019/2020 and says: “Last year, we came very, very close to winning the world championship. We fell short of the title by 25 minutes. We didn’t get it, but that automatically makes it our mission to win it now. And I think our chances are good. We’ve improved a bit more in many areas. I think it’s realistic that we can do it, but we all have to give our best, work well and stay focused, and of course have the necessary luck—or at least avoid bad luck. Because endurance is always a combination of everything.”
And “Reiti” adds: “We also want to bring the championship title back to BMW in the EURO MOTO. I’ve already done it four times and am excited to have another shot at it. I’ll have to adjust a bit at first, because in recent years I’ve always been active in the World Superbike Championship as a test rider for BMW. I’ll need to get back into the swing of things with the EURO MOTO version. But we still have a few tests lined up during preparation.”