BMW S1000RR racers ridden

Published: 07 July 2011 Updated: 20 November 2014

What happens when you take one of the most powerful, best-handling sportsbikes, loaded with the latest electronic rider aids and turn it into a racer?

To find out, BMW let us ride four S1000RRs, back-to-back at Monza. We got familiar with the track on a bog-standard road bike, then tried Lorenzo Zanetti’s BMW Team Motorrad Italia FIM Superstock 1000 Cup machine (last year’s championship winner), Ayrton Badovini’s (James Toseland’s team-mate) privateer BMW Team Motorrad Italia World Superbike and Leon Haslam’s factory BMW Motorrad Motorsport World Superbike.

We got four laps on each version of the BMW S1000RR, which served as a taster of what the race bikes might be like in the heat of the battle.

To read about what these fantastic bikes are like, check out the July 6 issue of MCN. In the meantime here’s a few unedited video clips of the bikes being ridden by MCN Senior Road Tester Michael Neeves to enjoy.

By Michael Neeves

MCN Chief Road Tester - Neevesy’s been an MCN Road Tester since 2002. He’s reviewed everything from mopeds to Rossi’s Yamaha M1, and plenty in between He covers tens of thousands of miles a year on the world’s roads and racetracks in his role with MCN, and when he’s not working he’s still on two wheels, racing both modern and classic superbikes for a variety of teams. To cement his position as one of the most influential motorcycling journalists on the planet, Neevesy spent many years as an Elite Instructor at the Ron Haslam Race School, based at the famous Donington Park race circuit. He regularly presents videos on riding tips and road safety, working alongside the likes of Highways England to deliver a strong and consistent message.