For the first time in his career, the German sits in the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team on a complete factory bike by the German manufacturer. Placed 13^th in the first race, 12^th in the Tissot Superpole race and also in the second race in Australia, as well as the two 14th and 11th place in Thailand and the 13th place in the overall standings, results don’t quite show the potential of the all-new BMW S1000RR. From the races on European soil there should be more technical updates, where they will take further steps forward.

Markus, the first two race weekends of the new season are over, what's the first conclusion?

"The base of the bike is good. There are always small improvements. I feel well in the team and soon the results will be better, I am convinced. I am satisfied with the work we have done so far. "

The S1000RR is completely new and the possibilities to supply parts in overseas races are difficult. Has there been any updates between the first races?

"Yes, the factory in Munich and my team are all working hard. Updates were among other things in the aerodynamics, electronics and some smaller parts of the BMW S1000RR. We are constantly getting new parts from Munich. "

While Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing - Ducati) dominated the first races of the WorldSBK season, the fight behind him is much closer. Who do you see as your main opponent after the first two rounds?

"They are all great riders, everyone is close together and the level has risen enormously compared to last year. So, I constantly have other opponents, because they are so close to each other. In general, however, they are the riders who are around the positions eight to 12."

With the race at MotorLand Aragon in Spain, the European season starts this weekend, with the "overseas stress" gone. What does that mean for you personally?

"I am pleased that we are back in Europe and I can handle the whole travel stress a bit. I know the tracks from now on, much better than the overseas tracks. And I'm also looking forward to experiencing the WorldSBK paddock with all the things around."

The start of the European season of WorldSBK takes place from 5th to 7th of April at the MotorLand Aragon circuit. It will be interesting to see if Alvaro Bautista can extend his dominance or if he will be defeated for the first time this year. Then we will also see how the new parts will affect the BMW of Markus Reiterberger. Reiterberger has only qualified 13^th at the Spanish circuit in WorldSBK, with a best result of 12^th in Race 1 2017. He won the the STK1000 championship race at MotorLand Aragon last season, also for BMW.

Watch how the tight fight in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship continues, with the WorldSBK VideoPass!