Philippines receives its first BMW HP4 Race

MANILA: BMW HP4 Race is a true pinnacle of engineering. BMW Motorrad has given its all and then some more to build this machine. Now, the Philippines has received its first ever BMW HP4 Race whose owner is Emil Banno, a member of Euro Monkeys.

The bike was handed over the Emil at a small ceremony held at the Clark International Speedway. Along with Emil and other BMW Motorrad’s representatives, Mark Wilson, California Superbike School instructor, was also present at the ceremony. He was assigned the job to help Emil to configure and adjust the bike to suit his preferences through BMW Motorrad’s technicians.

Speaking about his new superbike, an excited Emil said, “I’m a big fan of BMW. Technology-wise, it’s the most advanced [race> bike that we could have.” He later took the new bike out for a spin at the race track.

There are only 750 hand-built units of the iconic BMW HP4 Race. Now, thanks to Emil, one of them is here in the Philippines. Emil’s bike carries the number 197 out of the total 750 units. The bike weighs just 147 kg and has got 215 horses for you to control. To put things into perspective, the new BMW G310 R weighs 165 kg. So, you can get a drift of how maniac the HP4 Race can get. Hitting the 300 kmph mark is no problem for this bike.

Also present at the ceremony was Raniel Resuello, former PSBK Champion. He showcased a few technologies of the HP4 Race to the media persons present. He said, “That data logger (points at the 2D panel) is the same thing they use in the World Superbike Championship WSBK. If you were to purchase the standalone system, it would cost Php 700,000.”

Commenting on the usability of HP4 Race parts to ‘normal’ sports bikes in the future, Mark Wilson said, “Somethings like the geometry and some electronics for sure, but I don’t see in my opinion carbon or WSBK technology of this level. Like the swing arm for instance. That swing arm from Suter Engineering is worth 17,000 Euros. I don’t think that it is practical for mass production and I think it would be a long time before this technology can be seen on [standard road> production bikes.”

BMW Motorrad Philippines has confirmed that its technicians are well trained to handle the HP4 Race and do its servicing here only. This is another good news for Emil. We congratulate him on his new prized possession and wish him good luck.