Richard Cooper

"The Bike Week is an amazing spectacle," said Richard. "Nate is a great guy and a fantastic ambassador for BMW. He had been a good friend since we first met in the International BMW Boxer Cup series in 2004. He is making a bike available for me and we are entering as many races as the R 1200 S is eligible to enter. I think there are about six, 10-lap races, as well as the Moto-ST Daytona 300 km endurance race, so I will have a lot of opportunities for time on the bike. I love the Daytona circuit and really enjoyed racing here in the eight-hour race last October, so the chance of a ride in the 200 would be a dream come true."

As well as his duties in the factory team, Nate Kern will be incredibly busy flying the flag for BMW Motorrad in a jam-packed schedule of racing during the Bike Week fortnight. Nate was only too happy to help out the `Cooperman'.

"Although I have a lot going on and the budgets are small, I would not be where I am today if people did not help me, so I just wanted to help Cooper, as he helps me with my riding of the Boxer each time we race together," said Nate. "The first weekend of Bike Week will consist of the Championship Cup Series (CCS Regional Pro Series) and the American Sportbike Racing Association (ASRA National Series). Then there is the SunTrust MotoST series - that will consist of Cooper, Thomas Hinterreiter and myself on a BMW Motorcycles of Atlanta R 1200 S! The first weekend will consist of only R1200S racing.