HP motor racing, Roppen-Tyrol, A

The Austrian off-road elite and top international riders came together for the second round of the ACC in the Alpine quarry of Roppen/Tyrol.

This rock-hard desert terrain revealed who still had control over their bike after two hours.

BMW team rider Simo Kirssi guided the HP2 with virtuoso skill and at breakneck speed through loose gravel and across countless steep climbs and descents, all scattered with boulders the size of footballs.

Once again the flat twin BMW showed its potential against the powerful single cylinder competition.

Starting from fifth position, Simo worked his way to the front and during the last half fought against last year´s winner Bernie Walzer for third place.

In the end, the Finn on the BMW HP2 Enduro had the endurance required - a small error by Walzer on the last lap cleared the way for Kirssi to gain a more than deserved 3rd podium position, behind Rudi Pöschl and Daniel Stocker on KTM.

Kirssi is now in second position in the ACC overall rankings after several of his rivals had problems with the circuit in Roppen and championship defender Thomas Günther/Germany was forced to give up with a deep cut wound in his face.

The trend is definitely upwards: the next HP2 racing appearance is next weekend at the second GCC race in Walldorf, then there is the legendary Erzberg 2-cylinder race.

1st GCC race in Tollwitz, Leipzig, D

After the sensational results of the races in Italy and Austria, the first race of the Baboons German Cross Country Championship for BMW Motorrad was held at the Tollwitz Sand Pit near Leipzig. Even before the race, appreciation was shown for the fact that BMW factory rider Simo Kirssi was competing on the 2-cylinder HP2.

The physically highly exacting course had been extremely ploughed up by hundreds of motorcyclists in other categories, with deep grooves running throughout. Nonetheless, Kirssi got off to a successful start and geared himself towards the top ten as planned. In spite of an extremely strong field including the current Enduro World Champion and runner-up from Finland, Aro and Tarkkala, Kirssi looked like gaining 8th place.

But Kirssi, who is particularly able to bring out his physical strength in the second half of a race, lost out on his laurels due to a small problem with serious consequences. A loose screw on the rear wheel drive forced him to make an unplanned pit stop. He was able to re-enter the race after the repair had been carried out and even caught up several places after putting on a superb chase, but unfortunately he couldn´t do better than an overall 20th in the professional class.

Bad luck also pursued the leader, KTM rider Samuli Aro: just three bends before the finishing line he ran out of fuel and his fellow country man Marco Tarkkala won the race.

The race of the GCC Series will be held on May 21st in Walldorf, before which the BMW Motorrad Team Offroad will be participating in the ACC race on May 13th/14th in Tirol.

HP motor racing, Reisersberg/Passau, D

After his sensational start and second place finish on the HP2 Enduro at the ICC race in Malandrone/Italy at the Easter weekend, Simo Kirssi this time faced up to the notorious "Hard Enduro" course at Reisersberg near Passau on his factory HP2.

The first race of the Austrian Cross Country Series started in magnificent weather and the mighty Finn was quickly able to work his way into the top ten of the 18-man field of top class motorcyclists in Professional Class 1.With its steep climbs and downhill passages, narrow forest sections, stone and mud hole sections, the route not only demanded everything of the machines but in particular required great endurance and refined riding technique during a race lasting a total of two hours.

Without technical problems, Simo mastered the entire racing distance and once again showed the competitive power of the off-road flat twin, some 70 kilos heavier than the single cylinder sports enduros - even over highly challenging terrain.

The fact that Kirssi finished "only" two minutes behind winner Rudi Pöschl in an outstanding 6th position was partially due to the fact that overtaking and lapping was very difficult with the powerful flat twin machine in the deep grooves and at key technical points.

Simo has set himself an ambitious goal for the first German Cross Country race next weekend on the sand track at Tollwitz near Leipzig: "A place among the first eight on the HP2 Enduro would be really great," said the likeable Finn.

BMW Motorrad 2006

In Malandrone, Tuscany, the BMW Motorrad Offroad managed a virtually perfect start to the 2006 season.

In the 2nd round of the Italian Cross Country Championship (ICC), Simo Kirssi missed first place by a hair´s breadth - but the first victory on a BMW HP2 at a cross country race was in the air.

In excellent conditions, the "Flying Finn" finished in an outstanding second place in the overall rankings on his HP2.

In addition to Simo Kirssi, guest rider Gerhard Forster represented the BMW Motorrad Team Offroad and finished in 10th position on a standard HP2 in the Professional Class.

From the start, Kirssi showed what is possible with the HP2 against the single cylinder sport enduros.

From the Le Mans start area he was fourth away on his 3-cylinder flat twin in a field of almost 100.

So things started well, with three Italians ahead of him - two of whom were no problem at all and were forced take a look at Simo from behind shortly afterwards.


Only Matteo Paoletti, leader of the ICC overall ranking to date, defended his position for almost an hour against the sonorous flat twin roar until he too was finally beaten and had to hand over the leadership to Kirssi.


While the top riders in the field took the many table jumps on the rather cross-oriented and narrow track at heights of three metres and lengths of 15 metres, the BMW Motorrad factory pilot flew up to four metres high at lengths of 20 metres.

The fans at the trackside were repeatedly in awe at such impressive jumps and most riders respectfully gave way to this huge bundle of power when they were overtaken or lapped.

The HP2 was the eyecatcher of the race.

After an hour and 45 minutes of the two-hour racing distance, everything seemed to be decided.

Kirssi led with a lead of about 30 seconds over the rider assumed to be in second place.

However, the latter - namely - Denis Pregnolato - was able to close up on Kirssi from nowhere.

After a brief struggle, Kirssi let him pass and had to make do with second place himself.

"I´m very happy with this race," said the taciturn Finn at the end of the race - in other words "almost perfect". The first victory on the HP2 in a cross country really is in the air...

1st International Snow Speedhill

A new winter sports discipline is born: Snow Speedhill.

Held for the first time on March 4th in Götschen, the "Flying Finn" Simo Kirssi once again demonstrated his top-class ability and became "Snow Speedhill King" on his HP2 Enduro.

Chris Pfeiffer, BMW Motorrad´s second company motorcyclist, also made the final and finished sixth.

The enthusiastic crowd was offered a unique motorcycling spectacle. 60 entrants lined up for the start - not just to climb an 800-metre snow slope but also to beat their opponents in doing so. Of course, not everyone could be king, but they all received the applause of the masses.

Due to the great success of the event, biker friends and winter athletes can look forward to a Snow Speedhill again next year.

We will then see if His Majesty Simo I. can defend his crown!

HP motor racing, Baja California 1000, USA

There were 431 entries and only 231 finishers in the 2006 Tecate Score-International Baja 1000, but the BMW Motorrad off-road team was one of them, posting 14th overall in the motorcycle class. The team, consisting of riders Beau Hayden, Ron Bishop, Chuck Dempsey, Tony Megla and Peter Postel, tore the 105 horsepower HP2 Enduro through a treacherous 1047-mile course, racing for twenty-four hours straight to reach the finish line at La Paz.

In a race where just surviving is a victory in itself, the team´s 14th overall win was quite an accomplishment - even more so when you factor in that the 13 bikes that finished ahead of the 1200cc HP2 Enduro were all 650ccs or less.

The race began at 6am in Ensenada, with Beau Hayden tearing off the starting line into the coastal morning haze of dust and fog. Hayden did approximately 215 miles to checkpoint 3, just north of Puertocitos and had this to say about the race:

"I started the 22nd bike out of 26 open pro entries. There was no wind but very thick dust and the sun was in my eyes for the first 40 miles of the race. The dust rarely let up during my stint on the bike. My ride was fairly uneventful as I concentrated hard on not making mistakes or misjudgments in the dust. The bike worked flawlessly and I steadily moved forward through the pack. At one point we moved up to approximately 6th overall around Valle de Trinidad. My highlight of the day was crossing El Diablo dry lake bed where I could open up the bike and let it run."

"It was a tight race up to this point where I would get passed in the very rough areas of the course where there were big whoops and ruts and I would blow back by them in the faster sections. We did a tyre change at pit 3 (mile 185) and three or four riders passed me there. A few riders also passed me during a whoop/rock section prior to checkpoint three and I handed the bike to Ron in 10th place overall."

Averaging just above 42 mph, the team navigated hundreds of waist-deep water crossings, extremely rocky sections of boulder fields, pitch black night conditions, lava rocks, washouts, and tons of deep, deep silt, not to mention the numerous other surprises that the Baja throws at riders. From local traffic, roaming cattle, and hurricane-ravaged terrain, the hazards were ceaseless, but the team endured to capture a genuinely remarkable result. After Hayden´s first leg, Baja legend Ron Bishop-a veteran of every single Baja 1000 ever run-handled his section smoothly and then Chuck Dempsey took the helm. Chuck had this to say about his section:

"I rode as safely as possible in the whoops because they were pretty big and sandy. I wanted to save the bike for when I got to the fast roads. This was my 21st year racing in the Pro Class down in Baja and I´d have to say that the HP2 Enduro is the fastest bike I have ever ridden in my life. I started passing guys right off the bat which surprised me - when I got on the roads it was like taking candy from a baby."

"The middle of my section was fast," Dempsey continued, "but the last 20 miles were tight and rocky so I knew I had to get there as fast as possible before all the guys would pass me back, and then we headed into the night. I turned on the headlight and it lit up for about three seconds, and then turned off. That´s when I knew I was in trouble because Baja is pitch black when there´s no moon. I rode as fast as I could, even though I couldn´t see much in front of me. That was a handful on the HP2 Enduro when you can´t even see your own fender - and that´s when everybody started passing me back."

I tried riding next to other riders, but they were not happy with that since I had passed them earlier. So about seven miles from HWY 1 I saw a group of 30 or so Mexican locals standing and drinking beers watching the race, so I pulled up to them and grabbed a flashlight right out of their hands and took off. I guess I owe them a flashlight! I started to ride holding the flashlight with my clutch hand - it wasn´t much but it was better than nothing."

"I was so happy to see my BMW team waiting for me at HWY 1. It seemed like I rode 50 miles that night with no light. From there we jumped on HWY 1 and I rode behind the chase truck to where Tony was waiting for us with new lights. We did another wheel change and the new race lights were installed on the bike, after which Tony took off to complete his section."

Megla reports: "I was the rider from San Ignacio (mile 554) to Loreto, (mile 776) and from Insurgentes (mile 855) to checkpoint 9 (mile 943). In San Ignacio the bike showed up late because of a blown headlight fuse in the wiring harness. This was the pit where we had to change to the stock headlight with the Baja lights. I left San Ignacio about 6:45pm and tried to make up as much time as possible. We had dropped back to around 38th overall. The course from here was fast graded roads, sandy roads, and tidal flats with a few muddy spots on the Pacific coast before it turned inland to the town of La Purisma.

"From La Purisma it was a lot of old washed out rocky roads to the Gulf side of the coast. The last 60 miles into Loreto was the toughest part of my section. Some parts were brand new road freshly cut just for the race. It was twisty, tight, and technical with a lot of sand washes and rocks - first and second gear for long sections."

"I passed about eight riders - three with broken bikes - and had a trouble-free ride. I arrived in Loreto at 11:45pm, then jumped into our chase truck and drove to Insurgentes for the next section. Peter Postel was scheduled to ride the HP2 Enduro from Loreto, but a slight change occurred.

"The original plan was for me to ride from Loreto to the finish," said Postel, "however, Tony came in and said he was feeling great, so the decision was made for me to push hard through the next section to stay ahead of the Trophy trucks and then he would get back on the bike. We checked the bike when he pulled in, and the rear tyre was completely gone so we changed it there. The amount of spectators was unbelievable, even at 1am."

"South of San Javier, there was a lot of water left over from the hurricanes. Postel went on to say, "I believe there were about 27 water crossings. Also the course was extremely rocky, riding over boulders for miles. I passed six other riders in this section. Then going out to the highway, there was lots of single lane silt. From there to the finish there were big silt beds to the ocean, some so deep the cylinder heads were dragging. This was an area to just get through and survive. "

Postel did just that, before handing off to Megla, who had this to report: "When Pete arrived he was completely soaked from all the water crossings. I got back on the bike at around 2:30 in the morning. In this last section I made a wrong turn when the locals took down the course markings and I went about five miles off course. Once I was back on course there were miles and miles of deep silt. The ruts in the road filled in with the silt and the road looked hard until the bike just drops out from underneath you and the ruts almost completely stop you. I arrived at mile 943 at about 4:30am and gave the bike back to Peter."

Postel finished about 100 miles later in La Paz, bringing the BMW Motorrad off-road team to the 14th overall position in the motorcycle class, and sixth in class 22 (Pro/Motorcycles over 251 cc). This strong finish on a motorcycle as large as the HP2 Enduro in conditions as challenging as the Baja 1000 is nothing short of amazing.

"I very much enjoyed racing the BMW and truly appreciate the strong efforts put in by BMW, my teammates, and Baja Bound, said Hayden. "The HP2 Enduro certainly drew its share of attention at Tech/Contingency and at the start people were constantly surrounding the bike, asking many questions."

"The HP2 Enduro is a blast to ride!" added Postel. "You just have to respect it and ride it accordingly. I can´t wait to ride it again. It was truly a unique experience."

HP motor racing, HP2 Enduro finishes

A pair of BMW HP2 Enduro motorcycles finished 3rd in their respective class. In fact the BMW Motorrad Team Baja Bound scored a third-place finish in the top-ranked Class 22 (Open Class) as well as the Team Mexico finished third in Class 30 for riders over 30 years of age.

Drawing the last class starting position, Jimmy Lewis, belonging to the BMW Motorrad Team Baja Bound, began the first leg of the race just after 6:35 a.m. on Friday morning. Riding out from Ensenada in front of many of the 300.000 fans that lined much of the course, Lewis was soon passing competitors through the very technical first miles. After some handovers and approx. 18 hours drive, Donationi, also member of the famous Team Baja Bound, blazed through some 150 miles of darkness as the course headed back toward Ensenada. Lewis took over for the final 30 miles of the race to the traditional finish line inside the baseball stadium, finishing the journey he began some 20 hours before.

"The HP2 Enduro survived a very tough Baja 1000," said Berthold Hauser, General Manager Motorsports of BMW Motorrad. "Each rider reported very difficult conditions, but they also told that they had a lot of fun riding the race. A third-place finish is a great result, but to see that each rider enjoyed the experience is equally gratifying and is proof of the HP2 Enduro concept."

After thr race, Jimmy Lewis was strongly in love with BMW Motorrad´s new High Performance brand. The HP2 Enduro embodies the spirit, passion and technology of more than 80 years of BMW Motorrad motorcycle manu-facturing.

The HP2 Enduro bike of the BMW Motorrad Team Baja Bound will be shown at the International Motorcycle-Show in Long Beach, California from December 9th through 11th.

Altogether, the final results were the best finish in the race by any European manufacturer.

HP motor racing, Motopark Volary, CZ

International Cross Country Finals.

The last race in this year´s cross country season confronted all participants with new challenges.. In Volary, Czech Republic, the cross country promoter BABOONS had set up a circuit of approximately 4 kilometres which could hardly have been more varied.

The BMW Motorrad Team Feil and HP2 rider Simo Kirssi were surprised to find that the circuit consisted of a supermoto track, an indoor supercross facility and a classic off-road terrain section, each in approximately equal thirds.

The correct choice of tyre was crucial here. After a perfect start, Kirssi came away in second place and shortly afterwards was one of the first to turn into the tarred supermoto track. Here, the young Finn stretched the HP2 Enduro to its limits in practically every situation. With extreme banking and spectacular drifts he was able to consolidate his second place up until the subsequent off-road section of the course. "Yes, it really was a new situation for me. But it´s great fun to burn through the bends on the HP2," said Kirssi in the interview after the race.

On the classic cross country section, Simo Kirssi left nothing to chance either. Fast leaps, hairpin turns and "washboard" tracks made heavy demands of man and machine. Then came the entry into the hall. With one table after another, there was a thorough remixing of the field through to the end of the lap. In these sections, Kirssi´s enormous stamina paid off. The HP2, not actually designed for the demands of a supercross circuit, had no problems whatsoever. With the machine´s powerful torque, the flying Finn was even able to fly over large tables with a very limited run-up. Due to his spectacular performance, Kirssi quickly became the spectators´ favourite as the laps went by. He engaged in particularly breathtaking duels with his friend and arch-rival Thomas Günther on the 450 Husaberg, with one or the other alternately coming out top.

Simo achieved his lap time virtually to the second on every round and was able to hold his second place consistently. Not until the last quarter of the race did he reduce throttle somewhat and briefly stop in the pits for a technical check before taking home his overall second place with supreme ease.

As Simo said after the race: "I´ve now been riding the HP2 Enduro for a year in all racing conditions and on all kinds of race tracks here in Europe. But every time I still feel the bike has a lot more potential than what I am currently able to get out of it. In the winter we´ll have more time for training and working on improving details, then we can really look forward to the new season."

Incidentally, Simo Kirssi´s excellent placing in Volary puts him in a sensational overall second place in the European cross country rankings. Congratulations!

HP motor racing, Eckolstädter Offroad Arena, D

There was plenty of good news but a little bad news too for the BMW Motorrad Enduro-Team Feil at the final race of this year´s German Cross Country Series in Eckolstädt, near Apolda. On the one hand, Simo Kirssi easily achieved his target for the season - to be placed among the top ten; however, he and his team would have liked to have performed better on the final day.

It all started well. The popular Kirssi pulled away from the Le Mans start in second place and showed what he was made off from the very beginning. With the powerful BMW HP2 Enduro he was really able to pull out all the stops on this super fast track. The bike´s superb directional stability turned out to be perfect for the tough ground conditions in Eckolstädt. After ongoing rainfall during the night, the course at the former rocket base was sodden and slushy.

HP motor racing, Lahnberger Drift Course, D

In the penultimate race of the German Cross Country Championship on September 11th in Lahnberge/ Wolfshausen, Simo Kirssi on his HP2 was once again both "king of hearts" as well as king of the show. At the end, the "silent Finn" clearly had mixed feelings: he did reach a ranking amongst the top ten with ninth position - as had been his stated aim - but he could also have done a lot better.

At the start of the two-hour race over the sandy track approximately 4 kilometres long, everything went smoothly. In Le Mans manner, Kirssi went into the first few bends in fourth place. As usual, he started by taking a good look at the track and his opponents and letting a few "firebrands" pass: after about thirty minutes in the drizzle he was placed sixth. Again and again, the young offroad professional displayed his motorcycling skill as his HP2 flat twin roared out of tight hairpin bends - completely redefining the concept of acceleration on a loose surface.

However, he was then hit again by bad luck - something which had almost been forgotten in the last few races. The spring strut was no longer working as it should and Simo Kirssi had to go into the helper´s area.

This unanticipated interruption cost Kirssi about ten minutes (approximately two laps) and it was clear that he would not be able to make up this time before the final flag came down. But this was exactly what spurned Kirssi on: unleashed once more, he worked the throttle and set about taking the field apart from behind.

The Frenchman Arnaud Demeester, currently leading the series, was to feel the consequences of this wild chase. Kirssi hung doggedly to his rear wheel to the applause of his many fans at the trackside, and the popular Finn finally managed to overtake Demeester on the penultimate lap, actually taking another 14 seconds off him by the end of the race.

"I was actually satisfied with my race up to the interruption," said Kirssi afterwards, although he had previously said he did not expect the circuit to be to his liking. In purely arithmetical terms according to lap times, he could have made fifth position, but 9th just about fulfils the season of target of being among the top ten in the series ranking, where Kirssi is currently 8th.

HP motor racing, Goldbacher Stadion, D

The 5th race of the German Cross Country Championship in Goldbach near Aschaffenburg, Germany, marked the highlight so far of this year´s GCC series; not only did several 1000 spectators crowd the track, but with his 9th place in the professional class, Simo Kirssi rode to his first top 10 placement on the BMW HP2 Enduro. The 26 year-old Finn got off to a flying start and was in 4th position coming out of the first bend on to the very narrow and demanding course. The field of starters was even more high-calibre than ever before in this series. For example the well-known cross specialist Bernd Eckenbach put in an appearance and also the multiple Enduro all world champion Giovanni Sala on the newly-developed 950 KTM showed up ...

After the start the field of riders got sorted as usual. Simo kept an eye on his opponents and guarded a firm position in the group between 5th and 10th place. The course in Goldbach gave the spectators ideal opportunities to follow the race. In a valley hollow covered with fruit trees, the MSC Goldbach had designed a track which fully met Cross Country demands. There were tight winding sections with hidden jumps and also a few short full speed straights.

Once again the HP2 proved that it can cope with any sort of terrain. It handled the two hours of racing without any problems. Once again Simo was the crowd´s darling. "Near-perfect", said HP2 rider Kirssi after the race and his 9th position. "I got on very well here. Apart from a slight ground contact after about two thirds of the distance I had no problems at all. In one hairpin bend it was extremely dusty and I wasn´t able to see the track properly. Thank God the HP2, wasn´t damaged."

The "duel of the giants", as the meeting of the two 2-cylinder bikes - the BMW HP2 Enduro and the new KTM 950 - resulted in a clear victory by points for Simo Kirssi. He had taken up the challenge to defeat the world champion in aggressive style. And he proved that he was the stronger rider on the HP2. At no time did he leave Giovanni Sala even the slightest chance.

This season´s objective for the HP2, namely to be among the top 10 at the end of the season, is drawing ever closer. Of seven races there are still two left with Lahnberg and Eckolstädt , and Simo Kirssi is currently in 10th place overall. And the current trend is towards single digit placements as the season proceeds.

HP motor racing, Motodrom Höchstädt

At the demanding 4. race of the German Cross Country Championship in the Franconian ADAC Motodrom in Höchstädt, Simo Kirssi on the BMW HP2 managed to convince even the very last sceptic. The flying Finn did battle the whole time in the top group of the Professional Class and rode to his first GCC series top ten placement among the high-calibre field of racers. And it could have been even better.

Following an unusually poor start, Kirssi slotted in at twelfth position in the first round. In typical Kirssi style he did not go all-out right away to get to the front of the pack, but after a third of the distance played his best card, namely his consistency and physical condition, thereby leaving five further competitors behind him.Meanwhile Simo Kirssi has become a sympathetic figure in the GCC and the crowd once again carried him on a wave of excitement. Football-style "La Ola" waves accompanied the seemingly disadvantaged HP2 Enduro and its rider.

The track was all but easy. Its heart-piece was a rock-hard cross track featuring murderous jumps. Then there was a big forest section with difficult root and stone covered uphills and downhills. At the bottom, the route took the riders across a slippery meadow.

"This time everything was going quite well" said the modest Kirssi after the race. "The HP2 had to prove its all-round talent here today." In the course of the race the Finn had ridden up to 7. place. He couldn´t move much further ahead since the German Champion Arne Domeyer was already one minute out front. However, Kirssi was also almost a minute ahead of his pursuers. Then another stroke of bad luck threw him back. A technical defect on the rear suspension slowed him down so had to more or less nurse his bike to the finish line on the last kilometres thereby losing three places and valuable championship points.

At the next GCC race on July 17th, 2005 in Goldbach there will be a showdown. No less than the multiple Enduro World Champion Giovanni Sala on the 950 2-cylinder KTM will challenge the Finn on the BMW HP2 Enduro.

BMW performance speaks volumes

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