Althea BMW Racing Team announced Saturday that its S 1000 RR WorldSBK pilot, Markus Reiterberger, has decided to take a break from the WSBK Championship.Reiterberger didn’t fully recover from nasty high-side crash at Misano last season, his debut year with Althea BMW Racing Team. The 23-year-old German sustained two fractures to the T10 and T12 vertebrae, and has struggled since. So far this season his best finish was 10th at race 2 in Thailand.
Althea BMW reports that Reiterberger has “struggled to return to the same levels as before the accident, both physically-speaking and in terms of his performance on track.”Markus ReiterbergerThis prompted Reiterberger to take a break, effective immediately, with hopes of fully recovering before returning to racing.“After serious consideration, I have decided to step away from participating in WorldSBK,” Markus Reiterberger says. “We made a strong start last season but then couldn’t keep up the good results. I have therefore opted to refocus on making a complete recovery and on my racing career. I am very thankful for the experience in WorldSBK with Althea BMW Racing Team and I am now very much looking forward to new challenges.“I feel the need to thank my sponsors for having allowed me to take part in the world championship, BMW Motorrad for their trust and passion, and my appreciation also goes out to the whole Althea BMW Racing Team crew for their work. I was very much encouraged by the positive reception from my friends, family and fans – I am very thankful for that. It was always my dream to participate in WorldSBK and with the experience I’ve gained, I will work very hard to return to the championship.”Althea BMW Racing Team reports that Markus will be replaced by Raffaele de Rosa as of the next race weekend at Assen.
