Team Reitwagen BMW rider Andrew Pitt finished both races at the opening round of the World Superbike Championship in the points, despite using a standard S 1000 RR engine in his superbike.
Against the odds, the team only had 17 days to prepare the bike for the race meeting and they did a fantastic job. With hard work by the team and the experience of Andrew and Chassis Engineer and ex rider Aussie Pete Goddard, Andrew managed to ride very close to the pace of the more developed factory bikes.
Andrew Pitt, It probably doesn’t seem like much to the outside world but to get into the top 15 is a big achievement. The team has worked so hard with the material we’ve got and I wanted to finish both races at the very least. To get some points is a bonus because I don’t think people understand just how standard our bike is at the moment. Of course, none of us are getting carried away, because there is a lot of work to do and a long journey ahead. We are just at the start, but this weekend has been very encouraging. In one of the races today, I ran a few laps together with Max Biaggi and Leon Camier and it was interesting because there were only a couple of areas where they were better. If we can improve in these areas then we really could begin to surprise a few people. Overall, I think we should all be very pleased at what we have done this weekend and nowlook forward to making further improvements next time out.
Andrew has now returned to Port Macquarie, NSW, to continue training before leaving for Europe in a few weeks time.
Andrew Pitt, It was a great weekend all up, and I always enjoy catching up with family and friends in Australia plus of course the Aussie fans are fantastic. I also enjoy the power of the S 1000 RR over a supersport bike and had fun smoking up the rear tyre whenever possible with a few nice slides!” To follow Andrew’s progress or email him fan mail visit his website: www.andrewpitt.com
2010 WSBK CHAMPIONSHIP, Round one, Phillip island Australia
RACE ONE 1 91Haslam L. (GBR) Suzuki GSX-R1000 34'13.435 (171,442 kph) 2 84Fabrizio M. (ITA)Ducati 1098R 0.004 3 41Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 0.769 4 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 10.201 5 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 1000 F. 10.782 6 50 Guintoli S. (FRA) Suzuki GSX-R1000 11.079 7 7 Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 11.208 8 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 16.522 9 11 Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 20.291 10 57 Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 26.352 11 2 Camier L. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 1000 F. 29.775 12 76 Neukirchner M. (GER) Honda CBR1000RR 30.155 13 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX 10R 31.951 14 67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 31.957 15 88 Pitt A. (AUS) BMW S1000 R 55.082
RACE TWO 1 7 Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 34'16.428 (171,192 kph) 2 91 Haslam L. (GBR) Suzuki GSX-R1000 0.307 3 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 0.434 4 50 Guintoli S. (FRA) Suzuki GSX-R1000 0.837 5 41 Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 3.453 6 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 11.530 7 11 Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 12.026 8 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 1000 F. 13.068 9 35 Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 14.401 10 52 Toseland J. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 14.707 11 2 Camier L. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 1000 F. 14.743 12 67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 14.851 13 57 Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 15.143 14 25 Brookes J. (AUS) Honda CBR1000RR 30.947 15 88 Pitt A. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 41.855
PROFILE Andrew Pitt
Website: www.andrewpitt.com
Racing number: 88
Date of birth: February 19, 1976.
Birthplace: Kempsey NSW, Australia.
First race: 1994 Oran Park, NSR250 Formula 2
First win: 1994 Oran Park, NSR 250 Formula 2 (won first ever race)
World Supersport debut: 2000, Australia, Phillip island First World Supersport win: 2002 Australian, Phillip Island.
Total World Supersport wins: seven
Total World Supersport podiums: 21
World Superbike debut: 2005, Qatar, Losail
First World Superbike win: 2006, Misano
Total World Superbike wins: 1
Total World Superbike podium places: six
World Championship Titles World Supersport Champion 2001 – Kawasaki, 2008 - Honda.
Career Highlights –
1996: second Australian 250cc production Championship
1997: Victorian Supersport Champion
1998: 2nd Australian Supersport Championship
1999: Australian Supersport Champion, second Superbike - Kawasaki
2000: 10th World Supersport Championship - Kawasaki
2001: World Supersport Champion - Kawasaki
2002: 5th World Supersport Championship 26th MotoGP World Championship - Kawasaki
2003: 26th MotoGP World Championship - Kawasaki 2004: 27th MotoGP World Championship - Moriwaki 12th World Supersport Championship - Yamaha
2005: 8th World Superbike Championship - Yamaha 2006: 5th World Superbike Championship - Yamaha 2007: 17th World Supersport Championship - Honda 2008: World Supersport Champion - Honda
2009: Sixth World Supersport Championship – Honda