Two BMW Motorrad->ke1398 riders delighted the audience with their extraordinary performances during the 4th round of the 2010 French Superbike Championship held at Le Mans in the south of France. The two astonishing S1000RR riders, Erwan Nigon and Sébastien Gimbert, proudly won first and second place on the said match, allowing one of the BMW riders to be eligible for the champion title at the final round in Albi at the end of the month.

Thanks to their successful battle at the opening of the French Superbike Championship, the BMW Motorrad team is still in the race garnering fantastic double victories with very high scores. These results allowed the two BMW riders to receive the first two places after the 4th round.

Qualifying for the 1st and 2nd place positions over a line of motorcycle riders from Ducati->ke622, Kawasaki->ke299, Suzuki->ke371, Yamaha->ke301, and Honda->ke291, the two BMW France teammates were both fired up for the first 15-lap Superbike race of the day.

The start of the race was the #7 RR rider, Erwan Nigon's shining moment as he raced out just in front of his teammate Gimbert. The second lap left Kenny Foray crashing out of contention leaving the two BMW riders to compete for the win against Kawasaki rider, Julien Da Costa. After a series of 3 laps, Sébastien Gimbert passed Nigon and took the lead. At that moment, Gimbert was unstoppable. He achieved his first double victory of 2010 by over four seconds, while teammate Nigon finished in second place. These podium finishes left Gimbert with 239 points and Nigon with 250.

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Sébastien Lorentz, BMW Motorrad France’s Marketing Manager, thinks that BMW will has a great season ahead of them with the S1000RR's good standing.

“We’re delighted to celebrate our first victories on French racetracks with the BMW S1000RR and to be occupying the top two spots in the championship after the first four races. Even though we’re enjoying these victories, it’s clear to the team’s technicians that there are still a lot of improvements possible with the bikes, so we’re hoping to continue to develop these bikes and get better with each of the remaining 10 races. I’d like to thank the Michelin Racing Service and all our technical partners for their support especially UP Racing and PFP Racing / Öhlins France, as well as BMW Motorrad Motorsport – and especially Kurt and Marc – for their support in helping us to achieve these results with lots of good advice and ECU programming! The team will next be in action at the Le Vigeant race track on 15th and 16th May, where we will again be aiming to show sports bike riders and racing enthusiasts what BMW Motorrad’s S1000RR is capable of. Le Vigeant is one of the favorite tracks of our rider Erwan Nigon”, the manager proudly stated.

As the races dwindle down and the points keep racking up, fifty points remain up for grabs at the 2010 French Superbike Championships that will be held on September 26th at the Albi circuit. These two victories definitely made the BMW Motorrad team's life a lot easier. Regardless of which BMW rider secures the win in Albi, BMW will definitely be walking away with a championship.