The long summer break is over. The International German Championship (IDM) heads to Zolder, Belgium, for its next round. From July 6 to 8, 2018 , the asphalt will be roaring in and around the province of Limburg. All IDM classes will be represented, along with the manufacturer cups as part of the supporting program. The absolute highlight is that Suzuki has also incorporated the first GSX-R European Meet into the IDM, and superstars Kevin Schwantz and Alex Rins will be coming to Circuit Zolder .
The break lasted nine weeks for the IDM Classes: Supersport , Supersport , and Sidecar lasted. Only the IDM Superbike 1000 In the meantime, he made a guest appearance with two races as part of the Endurance World Championship in Oschersleben, where quite a bit happened. Ilya Mikhalchik (alpha Racing-Van Zon-BMW) now has three wins under his belt and arrives at Zolder as the clear leader in the top class. The Ukrainian leads the championship by 14 points over the Belgian Bastien Mackels (Wilbers-BMW). For Mackels, winning this weekend on his home track is extremely important. First, the 32-year-old needs to close the gap on Mikhalchik. Second, Mackels is the local hero on this track. It won’t be easy, though Julian Puffe, currently the highest-ranked German rider and Mikhalchik’s teammate. The Schleiz native is aiming for the podium so he can finally put his fourth-place finishes behind him. Four of the five brand partners in the IDM Superbike 1000 have celebrated a podium finish so far: BMW, Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha. Only Kawasaki is still missing.
There have been a lot of developments in the other IDM classes as well. Many riders have been testing, and the deck has been reshuffled for Zolder. In the IDM Supersport , changes to the regulations have even gone into effect in the meantime. Various modifications are helping to further align the different engine concepts in the junior class, which increases the level playing field. Four KTM riders are currently dominating at the top. The Austrian motorcycle brand has been supporting the IDM Partner Pool since 2018.
This time, the supporting program will be spiced up not only by the Suzuki GSX-R 1000 Cup and the Twin 700 Cup, but at the same time, the first Europe-wide gathering of all GSX-R riders will take place. The special guests are none other than Suzuki icon Kevin Schwantz, the 1993 500 cm³ World Champion, and Alex Rins, the current Suzuki rider in MotoGP. Kevin Schwantz is famous for his legendary quote about braking before corners: “If you see God, you have to brake.” The Texan will be at the Stunt Area by the Suzuki tent on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. Autographs At 6:00 p.m., Suzuki brand ambassador Schwantz will be a guest at the IDM Paddock Talk. The IDM Promoter Motor Presse Stuttgart has shown what’s possible. The show will be filmed live on the podium stage in the paddock in front of the audience. There will be another autograph session on Sunday at 12:40 p.m. In addition to Kevin Schwantz, current MotoGP rider Alex Rins has announced he will be there. The Spaniard celebrated his second-place finish last weekend in Assen.