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BMW technical chief sums up S1000RR progress

The BMW S1000RR machine was a welcome addition to the WSB class in 2010, the German four-cylinder machine showing itself to be quick and powerful, following its own path of unique development. Team Manager Rainer Bäumel spoke to us about the way the project had progressed for BMW, and what the team had learned in the first season of WSB competition as an all-new factory effort.

Many of your chassis parts are very conventional, Öhlins suspension, Brembo brakes and so on, but not all of it?

"Not all of it. We made a lot of tests with different offsets and steering angles and we made some real improvements there for sure. Ruben is now riding with the Öhlins factory forks, but only Troy is riding with the material we used from the Kyalami tests in the winter. We also worked a lot on swinging arm stiffness - side stiffness and torsional stiffness. Also on the rear suspension linkage, we were able to get more traction. We have used three specifications of rear swingarm, our own designs."

What about electronics, which are unique on your bike?

"We worked a lot on electronics this year, first on the quality of the system and then a lot on software. Traction control, wheelie control and we are still working a lot on that."

What about the engine specification?

"We brought two new specifications of the engine through the year, from the mechanical side. More torque, more power, more rideability. The series bike has a ride-by-wire system and we optimised that to give more rideability as well. We worked a lot on the gearbox to reduce friction. We just made the gears go in quicker and easier."

This was your first year in WSB, so how did your team and way of working evolve? Is everything in-house now?

"We still have the individual ‘teams' for each part of the bike, but we are all working together in our team headquarters in Rosenheim. We sit literally side-by-side. Instead of the teams bringing something new and saying ‘try this' we are now able to say to each of them, ‘give us that'. After every race we sit together with the crew chiefs and they say what is wanted, then we decide which direction we want to go in. Then we make a schedule and we know that for the next race, or for the next test, we will have this, this and this."

You also have a dedicated test team now, yes?

"One very important aspect is that we installed a test team in August. We found out until July that we always brought new material directly to the races, and therefore we had to use Friday to use and try the new material. We have Steve Martin as a permanent test rider, but other riders also test so we have some different ideas, and other aspects that find of the bike."