Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport is entering uncharted territory: This weekend (24th to 26th August), the FIM Superbike World Championship makes its debut in Russia. The new "Moscow Raceway" is the venue for the eleventh of the 14 rounds that make up the 2012 season. The circuit was opened in July and is located in Volokolamsk, about 80 kilometres west of Moscow. In order to acquaint themselves with the track, BMW Motorrad Motorsport and factory riders Marco Melandri (ITA) and Leon Haslam (GBR) will take part in the official Infront test at the "Moscow Raceway" on the Wednesday prior to the race weekend. BMW heads to Russia leading the Manufacturers' Championship. Ten race weekends into the season, the Bavarian manufacturer has 316 points to its name – a lead of 13.5 points over its closest rival Aprilia. Marco is currently second in the Riders' Championship with 263.5 points – just 10.5 points behind leader Max Biaggi (ITA). Leon is sixth in the Riders' Championship with 170 points. Between the two of them, Marco and Leon have already scored 433.5 points for Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport this season. The team will celebrate an anniversary in Russia: the first race at the "Moscow Raceway" will also be the 100th race for BMW Motorrad Motorsport in the FIM Superbike World Championship. The goal for the weekend is to increase the lead at the top of the Manufacturers' standings and close the gap in the Riders' Championship.Moscow from the rider's point of view:Marco Melandri:"This will be my first time in Russia. I have never been there before, so it is going to be a new experience. It is a brand new circuit, but I know a little bit about it as I watched a car race on TV. The track looks good and very nice. There is a very slow section, a very long straight and long braking. It looks like it is going be very good fun and it seems to offer many overtaking opportunities.We will use the test to learn the circuit and to start work on the set-up. We will be 100 per cent focused and work hard to make best use of the sessions on this new circuit ahead of Superpole and the races. Our goal is to challenge for the top positions again in Moscow and to get as many points as possible."Leon Haslam:"I have never been to Russia before and it is always exciting to visit new countries. It is a good addition to the championship; as a World Championship it is great to go to as many countries as possible. It is also exciting to race on a new circuit. We first have to learn the track, but we have a test there in the week leading up to the race, so I am looking forward to Russia. When you go to a new track, your pace is not so fast at first and you initially have to concentrate on your riding and getting used to the circuit without changing too much. As you get faster you can concentrate on the bike's set-up. There are some circuits, which you get used to very quickly and the set-up of the bike is very similar to that used on the previous race weekend. However, some circuits are very unique and you need a totally different set-up and to ride the bike very differently. In Russia, we will know after the first few test sessions how much work we have to do. We obviously want to push to win every weekend, and at Silverstone I felt that we were back to where we want to be. We had a front row start and were challenging for the race win. It went in the right direction; it was just another weekend of bad luck for me. We will keep pushing on and then luck will hopefully be back on my side."Moscow from a technical point of view:Andrea Dosoli (Head of Race Operations): "We are all looking forward to the next race. The Russian event is very important, not only for the Superbike World Championship but for motorsport in general. It is amazing that Russia is given the chance to share the unique emotions that only motorsport can offer. The Superbike World Championship is growing and expanding its boundaries. The Moscow race is a clear example of this. It will be a tough challenge from a sporting and logistic point of view. It has required a lot of hard preparation from the teams and the organisers. We are sure that it will be worth it. The riders and the crews will experience a new race track, so we have to be one hundred per cent focused from the first day on in order to learn the circuit and find the best possible set-up for the bike. The races on Sunday will be very important for the championship and we will do our best to leave the Russian BMW fans with a happy memory of their first World Superbike experience."Moscow from Pirelli's point of view: The Russian circuit is a new track, not only for the riders who will race there for the first time, but clearly also for Pirelli. Precisely for this reason, the Wednesday prior to the races will be dedicated to tests which will allow the riders to test an SC1 and SC2 compound solution on both the front and rear. On the other hand, for the race weekend, besides the rain and intermediate tyres, there will be a total of six slick solutions, three for the front and as many for the rear. On the front, Pirelli have the standard SC1 (N1159) and two SC2 solutions – the P773 and the N508, already used in various races this year. For the rear, in addition to the SC2 N1157, the riders will be able to choose from two solutions with compounds in the SC1 area: the already well known and popular R302 and the brand new R347, an SC1 development solution which has never been used before.Background: When the FIM Superbike World Championship makes its debut in Russia, it will be at a new, ultra-modern racetrack. Only a few weeks have passed since the official opening of the "Moscow Raceway". The facility is located about 80 kilometres west of Moscow in Volokolamsk, right on the New Riga Motorway (M9), which links the Russian capital with Riga in Latvia. The Russian's first developed a love of motorsport 100 years ago, and motor racing has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity in the largest country in the world since the fall of the "Iron Curtain".Work on the "Moscow Raceway" was opened on 1st October 2008 by former Formula One driver David Coulthard. The circuit was officially opened on 15th July 2012 with a race in the World Series by Renault. On 18th July the FIM gave the "Moscow Raceway" the green light to stage international motorcycle races. The Superbike World Championship races will be the first world championship races to be held on the new track. One week later, the FIA GT1 World Championship will make its debut in Russia. At the heart of the facility is the 4.070-kilometre racetrack, which offers a total 26 different layouts. These include the 2.5-kilometre sprint and 1.3-kilometre super sprint variants, which can be used at the same time. The Superbike World Championship will stage its races on the 3.932-kilometre FIM circuit variant. The "Moscow Raceway" is located on a slope and the layout follows the natural terrain and includes a number of uphill and downhill sections. The total difference in altitude comes to 22 metres. The circuit features many corners and offers a fascinating mixture of fast and slow sections. There is also a kilometre long straight, which leads gently uphill from the technically demanding western section of the circuit into a left-hander and back onto the start/finish straight. Factory riders Marco Melandri (ITA) and Leon Haslam (GBR) will once again be able to count on the performance of the BMW S 1000 RR's engine here. The "Moscow Raceway" also features VIP and meeting rooms of all sizes. The grandstands currently offer seating for up to 30,000 fans, while a further 10,000 spectators can be accommodated on the natural banks around the circuit. The grandstand capacities are to be increased in the future. The architect responsible is renowned German Formula One circuit designer Hermann Tilke. The responsibility for preparing, operating and marketing the facility also lies with a German: Hans-Jörg Fischer, whose company Speedway Dienste GmbH supervises racetrack projects around the world. The 120 million Euro project is financed by a private Russian investor, Rustem M. Teregulov. The visit of the Superbike World Championship is of huge importance to Russia, with the contract initially set to run for ten years. Communication BMW Sports - www.press.bmwgroup-sport.com -
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