VOL. 55 ISSUE 2 JANUARY 16, 2018 P31
BMW DROPS 1.3 PERCENT IN U.S. SALES
B
MW Motorrad has revealed it is down 1.3 percent in
overall U.S. sales with 13,730 bikes being delivered to
consumers in the 2017 model year.
The company was hit by seven recalls last year, as well
as the gigantic fork recall that affected the R 1200 GS, but
BMW was still upbeat about the 2017 sales as they pointed
out the rest of the motorcycle market was "was down 3.2
percent and its relevant competition was down 6.3%" ac-
cording the press release issued on January 10.
The company did have some good Christmas news as
riders gifted themselves 1270 new BMWs, compared to
925 units in 2016—a massive 37.3 percent gain.
"We are proud to report these impressive results despite current market conditions," commented
Michael Peyton, Vice President, BMW Motorrad North America. "BMW Motorrad USA achieved all-time
record sales in November (27 percent gain), while December 2017 was our best December since 2004
and our fourth consecutive month of sales growth."
According to Peyton, strong year-end results were driven by the ever-popular BMW R 1200 GS Ad-
venture, which accounted for 15 percent of December sales volume. CN
BMW's sales are
down for 2017, but
not by much.
PUIG APPOINTED REPSOL
HONDA TEAM MANAGER
F
ormer 500cc Grand Prix winner Alberto Puig will take over the reins of
the factory Repsol Honda MotoGP squad, replacing the departing Livio
Suppo.
Puig is no stranger to the Repsol garage, having served as Dani Pedro-
sa's personal manager from 2003 to 2014, going on to manage to Asia Tal-
ent Cup and the British Talent Cup until the conclusion of the 2017 season.
The Spaniard has endured a somewhat fractured relationship with cur-
rent World Champion Marc Marquez and his entourage, especially man-
ager Emilio Alzamora, especially during his tenure as Pedrosa's manager
when Alzamora and Puig we both obsessed in safeguarding their respective
rider's data from each other during Marquez's rookie year of 2013.
Puig's relationship with Pedrosa has also been strained recently, after he
made a series of comments on Spanish television about Pedrosa's lack of commitment
and approach.
His first order of business will be to secure new contracts for both Marquez and Pedrosa
for the 2019 season and beyond—Pedrosa's contract will be largely performance- and moti-
vation-based as he is now in the twilight of a professional career that started back in 2001 in
the 125cc category—while Marquez is known to be courted by Red Bull KTM, although he
has repeatedly stated he is happy at Honda and wants to continue riding for HRC. CN
Alberto Puig
is back in
MotoGP—and
this time he's
got the prime
job at Repsol
Honda.
