For Ilya Mikhalchik, everything is back on track. The 22-year-old Ukrainian from the alpha Racing-Van Zon-BMW team made up for the setback at the season opener by winning the first IDM Superbike 1000 race at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben. At the Lausitzring, the defending champion had been leading the second race when he was forced to retire due to an electronics problem with his new BMW S 1000 RR. He had won the first race. However, the 25 points weren’t enough for the defending champion to take the lead in the overall standings. He had to settle for fourth place. His teammate Julian Puffe is currently in the lead.
After the first race in Oschersleben as part of the FIM Endurance World Championship, Mikhalchik’s situation has already improved significantly. Thanks to his victory, he has already moved up to second place in the standings. However, Puffe still holds the lead. His lead now stands at eleven points. The tall German finished third behind Dominic Schmitter (Yamaha).
Schmitter was completely overwhelmed by his success. “I had hoped for a podium finish, but I never expected to take the lead at one point.” During test runs two and a half months ago, the Swiss rider suffered three comminuted fractures and a joint fracture in his right hand, along with numerous muscle tears. “That was the worst accident of my career,” the Yamaha rider insisted. During the operation, which lasted several hours, 18 screws and two plates were inserted into his hand. “I’d like to thank my doctor very much for positioning the plates exactly so that I can accelerate and brake.” Schmitter is registered as a regular starter in the IDM, but will still only compete a total of three times. He’ll be back at Assen and Hockenheim. The Swiss rider has also entered the Swiss Championship, which he’ll compete in in its entirety.
Because Schmitter crossed the finish line ahead of Puffe, the latter (who had started from pole position) lost even more points. The rider from Schleiz has had a rough few hours. The 23-year-old had crashed during the second qualifying session. The new S 1000 RR was badly damaged from the impact. The team had considered preparing the spare bike for Puffe for quite some time but ultimately decided against it. The risk of not having a bike available in case of incidents during qualifying or the first race seemed too high. The battered motorcycle was rebuilt. The mechanics worked on it until half past three in the morning.
Erwan Nigon (Kawasaki) finished fourth. The Frenchman has a busy schedule in Oschersleben. He’s also competing in the Endurance World Championship this weekend. Pepijn Bijsterbosch (BMW) is doing the same. The Dutchman kept his green rivals behind him for a long time, but ultimately had to drop back.
IDM Superbike 1000 races are anything but boring. Ricardo Brink’s comeback alone was absolutely spectacular. The Dutch rider chased down the entire field after making a mistake in the first corner. Instead of turning in, he careened straight into the gravel. His reward: 11th place after 18 laps.