The second round of the IDM Superbike 1000 season in Oschersleben turned into a celebration for BMW. In front of 12,500 spectators, the podium for the first race of the Endurance World Championship was entirely made up of riders on the German motorcycle brand. After the second race, a Yamaha rider managed to squeeze in thanks to the last-minute addition of Italian Lorenzo Lanzi. In any case, however, there was no getting past double winner Ilya Mikhalchik (alpha Racing-Van Zon-BMW). The intense battles also drew a TV crew to the track.
The IDM Superbike 1000 was the highlight of the World Championship support program, and the fans were out in force to cheer on their favorites. “The success of the Italian rider, who was signed at the last minute, contributed to the fact that, since the start of the season, four of the five brand partners in the IDM Superbike 1000 have celebrated a podium finish: BMW, Honda, Suzuki, and Yamaha. Only Kawasaki is still missing,” says Matthias Schröter of IDM promoter Motor Presse Stuttgart, adding:
“We’ve already reached a verbal agreement that we’ll be competing in even more IDM classes at German Speedweek 2019 next year.”
Superbike rider Ilya Mikhalchik delivered a flawless performance at the Motorsport Arena in Germany’s top motorcycle road racing class. He secured two wins—leading from start to finish—and took a clear lead in the overall standings. He had previously shared the lead with Bastien Mackels (Wilbers-BMW) after the season opener. Both the Ukrainian and the Belgian had arrived in Oschersleben tied on points. Mikhalchik finished both races with a lead of over three seconds over the competition. After the first race, Mackels and Mikhalchik’s teammate Julian Puffe joined him on the podium. It was a total BMW triumph. After the second race, Mackels was back on the podium, but this time Lorenzo Lanzi (Yamaha MGM) squeezed in between them.
Jan Halbich (Holzhauer Racing Production) remains the fastest Honda rider and sits in fourth place in the standings. Behind him is the first Suzuki. Dominic Schmitter (HPC Power) from Switzerland has edged out Leipzig’s Toni Finsterbusch (Mayer Suzuki) in the internal brand battle. The Kawasaki contingent, featuring Lucy Glöckner (Kawasaki Schnock Team Motorex) and Mathieu Gines (Weber Motos), was under pressure in Oschersleben. The two had opted for a double start in the IDM Superbike 1000 and the Endurance World Championship.
The next IDM event will take place from July 6–8, 2018, at Circuit Zolder in Belgium. Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk filmed a segment on the Oschersleben event. MDR will air the episode tomorrow, June 11, 2018, at 7:00 p.m.