Tim Reeves has taken control. The seven-time Sidecar World Champion and his passenger Mark Wilkes (Adolf RS 1 Yamaha) are dominating the IDM standings: seven consecutive wins, and there’s no end in sight. The competition is barely even concerned about their dominance anymore. Reeves is in a league of his own.
The fact that Josef Sattler and Uwe Neubert (Adolf RS 1 Kawasaki) finished second behind the superstar in the first race at Most was the result of a spectacular comeback. The Germans had to start from the back of the grid because they hadn’t taken their places in the lineup on time. The motorcycle kept stalling in the pit lane. So the Bavarian-Saxon duo charged after the field, climbing all the way up to second place in the 600cc class. Sattler would have loved to overtake the 1000cc sidecars still ahead of him, but the bike’s gear ratio was too short. However, Sattler still maintained a comfortable safety margin over the next 600cc sidecar, ridden by Jakob Rutz and Björn Bosch (LCR F1 Yamaha).
Mike Roscher and Anna Burkard (LCR F1 BMW) won the separate class for 1000cc sidecars. This also meant a change at the top of the standings. The pair took the lead from the Swiss duo Andres Nussbaum/Manuel Hirschi (LCR F1 Suzuki), who finished fourth this time. The Saxon immediately passed on his victory champagne. The recipient was Thomas Reiterberger, father of World Superbike rider Markus Reiterberger. They know each other. “Thomas occasionally tunes up the engines for me,” explains Roscher.
John Smits and Gunter Verbrugge (RCN F1 Yamaha) finished second in the race, while Scott Lawrie and Emanuelle Clement (LCR F1 Suzuki) came in third. The British-French duo celebrated their first finish in the points this season—and did so by immediately securing a spot on the podium.
The race was stopped early after ten of the scheduled eleven laps had been completed. Helmut Lingen/Carolin Zimmermann (LCR F1 Suzuki) had rolled their bike. Both were taken to the hospital for observation.
The Bete des Vosges team was involved in a serious accident during yesterday's time trial. Current update: Driver Michael Ouger and co-driver Sebastien Seret remain in the hospital. According to a statement from Ouger's wife, their condition has stabilized.