Dion Otten celebrates his first IDM victory. The 15-year-old Honda rider from Assen was 0.075 seconds faster than his compatriot Victor Steeman on a KTM in the first race of the IDM Supersport 300 . Although the 18-year-old from Lathum set the fastest time in practice, he was demoted to fifth on the grid due to a missing inspection sticker on his Pirelli standard tire.
Riding the only Honda in the field, Otten manages to prevail against the combined competition from KTM, Yamaha, and Kawasaki. “After my test run at the Dutch TT in Assen, I feel even more comfortable on the Honda,” Otten reports. At Zolder, he wins a thrilling neck-and-neck race against Steeman by the narrowest of margins.
The lead changed hands several times during the 12-lap race. On the penultimate lap, Victor Steeman was ahead of Otten. “I noticed that he had to brake earlier,” said Otten, who passed Steeman at the start of the final lap. “He made another move in the last chicane, but I was able to hold him off,” the Honda rider said, describing the thrilling finale.
Steeman keeps a poker face after crossing the finish line. A cold also makes him even more taciturn. Contrite, he states: “It wasn’t a close race because I was faster than him. But my brakes let me down. Hopefully we’ll get that fixed in time for the second race.” In the absence of the two World Championship riders, Jan-Ole Jähnig and Max Kappler , Steeman hopes to boost his points total in the IDM junior class.
Toni Erhard on a KTM finishes as the top German rider, placing third overall. The 17-year-old talent from the Kiefer Racing Team experiences some anxious moments before the start. “The engine is revving too high, and we can’t find the problem,” reports the rider, who is sponsored by the ADAC Sports Foundation. “If we don’t find the cause, we won’t be able to start.” But shortly before the race begins, the electronic glitch is traced, and Erhard is able to take his place on the front row of the grid.
In the race, Erhard trails the two Dutch contenders at the front. However, the driver from Schwarzenberg in the Ore Mountains wisely stays out of the battle for the lead and safely secures the points for third place. Max Schmidt, the 2017 ADAC Cup champion, isn’t so lucky: He drops out three laps before the finish.