BMW rider Melandri takes in Germany tour
A couple of weeks after the finale of the 2012 championship in Magny-Cours, BMW factory rider Marco Melandri recently went on a short tour of Germany as part of his PR activities for the company.
On Saturday, Marco visited BMW's "Prototype Mechanical Machining" department in Munich, which manufactures base engine components for motorsport and development - for example the cylinder heads and camshafts for the RR Marco races in the Superbike World Championship - before being one of the top guests at the celebrations to mark the fifth anniversary of BMW Welt in Munich, one of Germany's biggest tourist attractions with more than 2.5 million visitors per year.
On Sunday, he took to the track at the Hockenheimring to put on a show for the DTM, completing a demonstration lap on the BMW S 1000 RR, with which he claimed six victories in this season's Superbike World Championship - more than any other rider.
"My visit to the BMW factory in Munich was very interesting," said Marco. "It is always nice to meet the people who work for you behind the scenes. I also think it is good that they now know me personally. They know what I do, but so far have seen me only on TV. So it was a great visit and I enjoyed the time together with the staff very much. It was also nice to be part of the celebrations at the BMW Welt. It is great to see all the BMW brands under one roof and I was proud to represent BMW Motorrad there."
"Then we went to Hockenheim. It was my first ever visit to a DTM race," Marco continued. My lap on the RR was good fun because for the first time I did not have to push and race under pressure, but could take the time to see the crowd, which was really huge in Hockenheim. I tried to give them some fun doing wheelies and burnouts. I enjoyed it a lot. The race was exciting and it was great to see BMW win it and the titles."
