In the smallest IDM class, Jan-Ole Jähnig is currently fourth overall after the two opening races of the season at Oschersleben. At Donington, the defending IDM champion from Thuringia also scored points again in the Supersport 300 World Championship. That series is the KTM rider’s top priority this year for the Freudenberg Team.
In qualifying in the British Midlands, he had already secured a spot on the second row of the grid. Everything went like clockwork for the 2017 German champion. During the race, the field then spread out considerably. There were many small groups as well as riders riding alone on the track. In a class that relies on slipstreaming, these are difficult conditions for gaining positions. That was the goal for Jähnig’s teammates Luca Grünwald and Max Kappler. In the end, Grünwald managed to finish in the top 10 in 10th place. Kappler crossed the finish line in 16th place.
Jähnig, the youngest rider on the team at 17, spent the entire race in the first major group. Up to seven riders battled for positions behind the podium spots. In the end, Jähnig crossed the finish line in seventh place. This propelled the 2017 IDM Supersport 300 champion into the top ten of the World Championship standings in one fell swoop. He said with a grin:
“All in all, I handled the track well. There were two spots where I had trouble. That made it difficult to close the gap to second place during the race. Sure, I started in fourth place and would have liked to finish there, but considering how the race went, I’m satisfied with seventh place and happy with the result.”