What a dramatic race that was! Riders from three different manufacturers stood on the podium: BMW, Kawasaki, and Yamaha. The first IDM Superbike 1000 race as part of the International ADAC Truck Grand Prix had everything that makes a motorcycle race exciting.
Ilya Mikhalchik and pole-sitter Julian Puffe (both driving alpha Racing-Van Zon-BMWs) pulled away at the front. The 23-year-old from Schleiz initially took the lead. When his front wheel dipped slightly in the short section of the Nürburgring, the Ukrainian—who is also the defending IDM champion—overtook Puffe.
The heated duel—Mikhalchik and Puffe were separated by a single point in the overall standings heading into the race—came to a premature end on lap 16. Mikhalchik pulled out: a technical issue with his S 1000 RR. The 23-year-old was furious. Puffe watched his rival drop out right in front of him and secured his second win of the season. “I was lucky with both wins. Ilya dropped out with a technical issue every time. Otherwise, he would have won.” Puffe had been irritated during the race by a noise from his BMW that he couldn’t identify. “After about eight laps, the bolt came loose from the exhaust mount. The exhaust was scraping against the bike. It was a totally weird feeling. But I didn’t realize what was going on until I crossed the finish line.” Ultimately, though, the only thing that matters is that Puffe is back in the lead in the standings. At least until tomorrow’s race at 2:50 p.m., he holds a 24-point lead over Ilya Mikhalchik.
Erwan Nigon (Kawasaki Weber-Motos Racing) rode a solo race behind them, with a large gap to the front and plenty of breathing room behind him. It was the fourth podium finish for the Green team this year. Marc Moser (MGM Racing Performance, Yamaha) finished third. The 25-year-old had announced his intention to secure podium finishes at the start of the season but had been plagued by bad luck until now. The fact that third place also propelled him into the top ten of the IDM Superbike 1000 felt like a breakthrough for him.
Moser was caught up in the most thrilling battle of the race, which also involved Alex Polita (Holzhauer Racing Promotion, Honda), Jan Mohr (BCC Racing Team, BMW), and Toni Finsterbusch (Suzuki Mayer). Not a single lap went by without a change in position.
But things went wrong for Daniel Kartheininger (HPC-Power Suzuki). He was slowed down by a technical issue. Teammate Kevin Sieder crashed. Regardless, Suzuki-Laux rider Sarah Heide came to a stop just a few meters away.