International Dealer News IDN 147 February/March 2019 | Page 17

news ROOM BMW WSBK team chooses Supersprox BMW returns to the World Superbike scene in 2019 with an official factory team, managed by UK based SMR Racing. The 2019 bikes will be piloted by Tommy Sykes and, coming from a dominant win in European Superstock 1000, Markus Reiterberger. BMW will use Supersprox sprockets for the factory machines - “further solidifying the relationship between BMW and Supersprox, who have supported the BMW development team in the German IDM series”. Supersprox General Manager DJ Maughfling says: “We have been working hard to develop sprockets with better chain disengagement performance. Traditional sprockets tend to be thin and weak at the tooth tips, because they follow DIN/ASA/JIS standards from the turn of last century. Today’s bikes have over 200 bhp and traction control, delivering new levels of power through the final drive. “Our highest performing sprockets have shallow angles at the tip of the tooth and larger diameters for the rollers. This helps reduce friction and heat build-up in the chain - we all understand that friction reduces power, and, in this situation, less is certainly more.” Maughfling says that with a view to finding the optimum performance, whilst maintaining the strength, Supersprox will be testing different compounds throughout the 3-year contract, and variations will include the dual material Supersprox-stealth and even a carbon fibre composite with aluminium teeth and a carbon core. Supersprox is well known as the inventor of the patented hybrid sprocket, combining steel teeth and aluminium core. In 2018/2019, the company gained a further five additional world titles including the World Endurance Cup and the Dakar Rally, both using the Supersprox- stealth original design. www.supersprox.com European patent #03792104.6, US patent #7,481,729 B2 17