Rico Penzkofer confirms Macau GP was his last race
German rider Rico Penzkofer says his 17th place finish at the Macau Grand Prix last month was a fitting end to his career.
Penzkofer, a regular at the Isle of Man TT, gave the new BMW HP4 its race debut in the Far East and was holding 11th place until he made a slight error at Lisboa.
But the veteran racer said was unperturbed by his final position of 17th in the last ever race, pointing out that: "After all, I rode races for 17 years."
Penzkofer made his debut at the Isle of Man TT races in 2009 and claimed a best result of 12th in the Senior race that same year.
Following his retirement, he intends to focus on his role as a team manager in the Endurance World Championship and at several road race meetings in 2013.
Reflecting on his last race at Macau, he said: "I had a real good start, but did a little mistake in the Lisboa bend.
"That's why I dropped from 11th to 17th in the order again.
"Anyway, I saw the chequered flag at my farewell in Macau and this is something to take with me.
"It was a pleasure to give the BMW HP4 its race debut and to ride it around Macau," he added.
"The era of the HP4 is just beginning, the one of Penz as a rider ends here."