Florian Alt will return to the IDM Superbike 1000 as a guest rider for two races at the season finale in Hockenheim from September 28 to 30, 2018 . His French team, Viltaïs Yamaha Racing—with whom the 22-year-old competes in the World Endurance Championship—is building a special Yamaha R1 for him in accordance with IDM regulations, with support from Yamaha Germany. A start at the Lausitzring had originally been planned but was canceled at the last minute due to scheduling conflicts. Nevertheless, the team at Viltaïs remains optimistic that they can perform well even without extensive testing. Logistical support is being provided by Marcel Bach’s IDM team MPB, which also competes on Yamahas.
Florian Alt, who 2017 IDM Superbike 1000 Runner-Up, was not entered in the top class of German motorcycle road racing this year. “That makes me all the more excited about my return. The finale at Hockenheim is always something special; everyone wants to show one last time what they’re capable of. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to do any serious testing, so I’ll be jumping right in at the deep end and competing in a race on Pirelli tires for the first time this year. I’m usually a Dunlop test rider. Still, we don’t just want to participate—we’re very ambitious!”
Alt and Viltaïs Yamaha Racing have already agreed to extend their contract for 2019 with regard to the World Endurance Championship. And the Gummersbach native is set to make his contractually agreed appearance at the World Superbike round in Magny-Cours. What lies ahead for him in the IDM is still up in the air, but Viltaïs Yamaha Racing is clearly just getting a feel for things at Hockenheim.