'Encouraged' Pitt scores on Reitwagen debut

Andrew Pitt has praised Reitwagen BMW after he was able to score points on the team's World Superbike Championship debut at Phillip Island.

The Austrian concern only made its first public appearance during testing at Phillip Island a week prior to the opening round of the season, but the privateer operation showed encouraging form out of the box to, at times, get on the pace of the factory BMW team.

Indeed, Pitt re-emphasises the standard nature of the bike in its current form, insisting that two 15th place finishes represents a 'big achievement' at this stage in the team's development.

"It probably doesn't seem like much to the outside world but to get into the top fifteen is a big achievement," the double World Supersport Champion said. "The team have worked so hard with the material we've got and I wanted to finish both races at the very least. To get some points is a bonus because I don't think people understand just how standard our bike is at the moment.

"Of course, none of us are getting carried away, because there is a lot of work to do and a long journey ahead. We are just at the start, but this weekend has been very encouraging."

Adding that he felt comfortable trailing the factory-prepared Aprilias for a time, Pitt thinks Reitwagen BMW have a promising future at World Superbike level.

"In one of the races today, I ran a few laps together with Max (Biaggi) and Leon (Camier) and it was interesting because there were only a couple, of areas where they were better. If we can improve in these areas then we really could begin to surprise a few people.

"Overall, I think we should all be very pleased at what we have done this weekend and now look forward to making further improvements next time out."

Pitt's team-mate Roland Resch didn't compete after breaking his collarbone during qualifying.