Gauteng racer Greg Gildenhuys, who is chasing his third consecutive SA Superbike title on the 'official' BMW S1000RR, has been offered a ride in the Superstock 1000 race in the final round of the World Superbike series at Magny Cours in France on 7 October for the factory-backed BMW Motorrad Italia team.
The 23-year-old from Boskruin will replace injured Italian factory rider Lorenzo Baroni on the team's second BMW S1000RR. Baroni's French team mate Sylvain Barrier is currently second in the championship with 113 points, six behind countryman Eddi La Marra, on a Ducati. He has four wins to his credit so far this season, including in the last round at the Nurburgring in Germany on September 9.
GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY
Rob Holder, motorsport manager for BMW Motorrad SA, said: “This is a golden opportunity for Greg to make an impression in the top echelon of world production motor cycle racing.
“We had originally negotiated a ride for Greg on a customer BMW S1000RR with the Italian factory team; then Baroni was injured and the team offered Greg his place on the factory Superstock machine for the final race of the season.”
Gildenhuys follows several other top South African riders into the World Superbike arena, notably Lance Isaacs, Sheridan Morais, Ronan Quarmby, Mathew Scholtz and David McFadden but, according to Holder, is the first to be offered a full factory ride by a leading team.