Unpredictable weather, new team lineups, and the fans in the stands added an extra dose of excitement to the races at the International German Motorcycle Championship (IDM) at the Lausitzring. Two races were held in each of the five classes, and the standings were shaken up with two events remaining before the finale. Motor Presse Stuttgart, the event promoter, had put together an enticing mix of action both on and off the track.
In the top division IDM Superbike 1000 The battle for the title is once again wide open. After Ilya Mikhalchik (alpha racing-Van Zon-BMW) secured pole position, everything seemed to indicate that the Ukrainian would dominate at Lausitz as well. But the victory by his biggest rival, Bastien Mackels (Wilbers-BMW), in the first race threw a wrench in those plans. Mikhalchik, however, won the second race and even managed a faint smile. The rivals at the top are now separated by just 13 championship points. Mikhalchik’s teammate, Julian Puffe, is in third place. 
In the IDM Superbike 1000 class, five motorcycle brands are represented with high-performance bikes that deliver over 200 PS: BMW, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, and Yamaha.
There’s no doubt that BMW will take the 2018 title. Nevertheless, the situation remains exciting after several new riders made their debuts. The roster had undergone major changes before the Lausitzring race. As a result, Dutch rider Danny de Boer secured a tenth- and an eighth-place finish for Kawasaki. For Honda, however, things didn’t go according to plan. A faulty camshaft sensor forced the Italian rider to retire from both races. There was one woman in the field: Sarah Heide, riding a Suzuki, earned her first IDM point in Germany’s top motorcycle road racing class.
In the IDM Supersport 600 Max Enderlein, riding the Freudenberg Team’s Yamaha, remains the one to beat. The Saxon holds a 57-point lead in the overall standings over second-place Marc Buchner and could theoretically afford to miss two races without losing his top position. Buchner had won the first race; in the second, he crashed on the first lap. Christian Stange (Kawasaki) and newcomer Dennis Lippert (Yamaha) made it onto the podium. Enderlein’s biggest rival so far, Kevin Wahr from Nagold, struggled mightily at Lausitz. He crashed in practice, and his motorcycle wasn’t ready in time for qualifying. Wahr had to start from last place and, after a comeback, managed to limit the damage with finishes of tenth and seventh. Nevertheless, the incident dropped him from second to fourth place in the standings.
In the separate Superstock 600 Class For the riders on production-based motorcycles competing in the same class, both victories went to Stefan Ströhlein for the first time.
In the IDM Supersport 300 The gap between the leader, Victor Steeman of the Netherlands, and Toni Erhard of Saxony has shrunk to four points. In the nail-biting finale of the second race, Steeman missed out on his third victory of the season by just 0.011 seconds. For Erhard, it was his first win. Third place went to Steeman’s compatriot Dion Otten, riding the only Honda in the IDM junior class. His gap of over 15 seconds behind the top two underscored the exceptional class of the two leaders on KTMs. Jan-Ole Jähnig, who otherwise competes in the 300cc World Championship, had won the first race. In the second race, the rider from Thuringia crashed.
Bennie Streuer and Gerard Daalhuizen (LCR F1 Suzuki) claimed two victories in the IDM Sidecar from the Lausitzring. That was all the Dutch team could do to defend their title. They now have a 30-point lead over the second-place team of Josef Sattler and Uwe Neubert (Adolf RS 1 F1 BMW). But the two don’t know if that will be enough. Streuer will miss the next IDM race in Assen in two weeks due to a scheduling conflict with the World Championship. His sponsors would rather see him in Yugoslavia.
The IDM weekend on the track was rounded out by the Twin 700 Cup and the Suzuki GSX-R 1000 Cup. There were no breaks. Things were also hopping in the infield during the public award ceremonies in the paddock, the pit walk, and the autograph session. And KTM even had test bikes on hand, which visitors could use to explore the surrounding area in the Lusatia region.