Written by Martin Hodgson
When it was first conceived the Sultans of Sprint race series provided the perfect place for the custom bike builders of Europe to compete in a fun but competitive environment. Fast forward to 2019 and while the teams still party harder than Charlie Sheen, the desire to be the fastest has seen the bikes go to all new heights. With the final round of the series at the Glemseck 101 just days away, Philipp Ludwig of Germany’s Kraftstoffschmiede unveils his midyear update of his radical racer, ‘Achilles’. Teaming up with designer Krzysztof Szews from Man & the Machines, they’ve gone all out on the BMW R1250 RS in the hope of ending the year on top!

From a small town outside of Munich, Philipp runs his workshop Kraftstoffschmiede and was one of the first competitors in the Sultans of Sprint series, setting out to beat founder Sébastien Lorentz. The Frenchman ran a bike called Lucky Cat and showing the playful side of the sport Phil came to the track to take him on with an old R series BMW called Cat Killer. But as the series grew more competitive, the need for speed saw the Kraftstoffschmiede team step up with a more modern machine based on an R850R known as ‘Hercules’.
By the start of 2019, Phil had revealed his latest weapon, a BMW Motorrad powered BMW R1250 RS, but not resting on his laurels he and Kris have returned from midseason testing with an updated ‘Achilles’ ready for a crack at the ...