The Dutchman is the only IDM rider who won last year's race, which was dominant Markus Reiterberger. An immune deficiency later forced the 28-year-old to take a break. But Danny has fully recovered over the winter months and is in top shape. For endurance training, he “racked up endless kilometers on his bike,” as he puts it, and he was also a regular at the gym. He didn’t neglect his motorcycle riding either. He trained on a 300cc bike in a cordoned-off area of an industrial site.
Whenever the thermometer climbed above eight degrees, I was there.
Standard tires are causing delays
Danny de Boer began his racing career at a young age in motocross and switched to road racing in 2002, where he has consistently performed strongly in various championships ever since. One of the highlights of his career is undoubtedly his 2016 IDM Superstock 1000 class title. To prepare for the season, de Boer will compete with a wild card in the Superstock 1000 European Championship from April 20 to 22 at his home track in Assen, the Netherlands. From there, he will travel directly to Oschersleben for the IDM pre-season test, which will be held from April 27–29, 2018, ahead of the first race weekend of the new season.
Team manager Michael Galinski explains why it took so long to finalize the lineup and make the announcement:
We had already signed a contract with Dunlop. We've achieved a lot together over the past two years, but now we’re on Pirelli tires due to the new one-size-fits-all tire regulation. To be honest, I struggled a bit with the decision to even compete, but I ultimately decided to go on the offensive again this season. In Danny, we have an absolute top-tier rider who is certainly capable of fighting for the podium in every race. We’re looking forward to this new challenge with him and will do everything we can to provide him with the best-prepared equipment in the pit.