After a tough weekend at the natural race track in Schleiz and a four-week break, Toni Finsterbusch’s spirits were clearly lifted at the Lausitzring last weekend. Even though the extremely bumpy asphalt there made it much harder to set up the Mayer-Suzuki . But Finsterbusch wasn’t the only one facing this challenge—everyone else was too. “Of all the IDM tracks so far, the Lausitzring is the one I’m most familiar with thanks to my time in the Superstock European Championship,” he said. “Of course, it would be better without all the bumps. The trick is getting the electronics and suspension to work in harmony.”
The Saxon rider held back during the first practice session. The cooler weather had also left the track wet in places. It wasn’t until the second session that things really got going. With the sixth-fastest time, Finsterbusch secured a spot on the second row of the grid. “Yeah, not bad,” he said matter-of-factly, “the races are likely to be a lot tougher than qualifying.”
Finsterbusch was right. After the start of the first race, he held on to sixth place. But five other competitors were hot on his heels, having formed a tight group. It happened on the final lap. Of all people, Dominic Schmitter stopped by. The GSX-R 1000-Driver from the HPC Power Team is Finsterbusch's biggest rival in the internal Suzuki battle to determine who is the brand's best rider. Finsterbusch tried to fight back, but fell short by half a bike length at the finish.
For the second race, we made some final adjustments to the suspension and electronics. “I was faster than in the first race. The bike was more stable and easier to ride overall. Toward the end, I had a few seconds’ lead over the riders behind me.”
In the IDM Superbike 1000 overall standings, Finsterbusch is seventh with 75 points. Schmitter has 90 points and is fifth. Two events, each featuring two races, remain on the schedule.