The BMW Motorrad Race Trophy will see rule changes for 2015, including the addition of more series.
The Race Trophy is a competition for BMW-based roadracing teams around the globe. Racers compete in regional championships like the Canadian Superbike series or in events like the Isle of Man TT or FIM Endurance World Championship to accumulate points. Last year, CSBK racer Jordan Szoke was doing very well in competition for the Race Trophy before an injury sidelined his season. He ended up finishing in 14th out of 69 entries.
The scoring period for the 2015 series will actually start Nov. 17, 2014; this is to accommodate racers in the Brazilian Superbike Championship and South African Motorcycle Championship. Scoring closes Nov. 22, 2015.
The future of CSBK racers in the Trophy contest is a little unclear. The Canadian series is still listed as one of the eligible series. However, for now, the CSBK series is limited to seven races (including two doubleheaders). The website for the Race Trophy series says “In 2015, every rider can score a maximum of 500 BMW Motorrad Race Trophy points in a minimum of eight races.” Does that mean a racer must ride eight races to qualify? It’s not clear, but if that’s the case, riders in the World Endurance series would also be in trouble.
In any case – 400 points are up for grabs for racers, per series. Say a rider took place in the Alpe Adria Road Racing Championship, the Australian-Asian and Malaysian Championship or the new American series (all added this year): They could rack up points in all these series, but they won’t be added together. They’ll all be separate totals. If they want to reach 500 points (the maximum), then they’ve got to get 400 points in a single series, then add the rest by earning the championship title (40 points), earning pole positions (maximum 30 points) and displaying the BMW Motorrad Motorsport stickers on their bike for the entire season (another 30 points).
Saying they’re happy with the increasing popularity of real road racing, BMW has combined the Macau GP, the IOMTT, the North West 200 and the Ulster GP into one series for the purposes of counting point totals.
There’s a whole host of other rule changes, allowing riders to discount poor results, and other tweaks. If you’re interested, you can see them here.
