With three riders tackling the Althea BMW Racing Team bikes in 2017 it was a challenging season for the Italian based team, but with Jordi Torres a consistent driving force for the team, they were able to have a strong 2017 overall. Joined by Markus Reiterberger in the opening rounds of the season, he was then replaced by Raffaele De Rosa from TT Circuit Assen onwards, meaning they had two riders to contend with.

Torres showed a lot of promise and progress on a bike he struggled with, and he was able to lead the way around Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, until a tyre issue ruled him out of contention for his first podium with Althea in Race Two. Despite this heartbreak, the Spanish rider had some strong finishes in the series as he secured a handful of top five finishes and was a regular top seven securer. Suffering a little with the BMW S 1000 RR, he was able to alter his riding style around the machine in order to get the best results out of the machine. Taking a top nine finish in the world championship standings, Torres’ strongest round was in Portugal where he was able to finish in the top six in both races.

German Markus Reiterberger parted company with the team in April, as he took some time away from racing to focus on recovering from an ongoing back injury. Scoring points in all but one of the opening races of the season, the German rider split with the team following two top 16 finishes around MotorLand Aragon. His best result of a top 10 around Buriram was positive for the German as he battled through the pain.

Test rider De Rosa was drafted in a permanent rider in the Fourth Round at TT Circuit Assen, and a consistent season followed. After winning the European Superstock 1000 Championship in 2016, the Italian took on the task full of passion as he began to tame the WorldSBK beast.  Scoring points in 13 races this season, he was able to break into the top ten around Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, as well as around Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours.

Relive some of the stunning action the Althea BMW Racing Team have enjoyed, all with the WorldSBK VideoPass.