It was yet another race that had the spectators on the edge of their seats. The first round of the IDM Supersport 300, held as part of the Gamma Racing Day in Assen, came to a close in front of packed grandstands. Scott Deroue won ahead of his MTM teammate Jeffrey Buis. Since the two riders from the World Motorcycle Championship had started as guests outside the official standings, Colin Velthuizen, who finished third, received full points for the IDM victory. The podium was dominated by Kawasaki.
The remaining spots went to Walid Khan, Ruben Bijman as the top Yamaha rider, World Championship guest rider Dion Otten, Angelo Licciardi, and Toni Erhard (KTM). As expected, the race wasn’t decided until the very end. The rain-soaked second qualifying session had thrown a wrench in many riders’ plans for securing a good grid position, forcing them to play catch-up. IDM winner Velthuizen was nowhere to be seen in the early laps until he suddenly joined the fray at the front in the sixth lap. It was a tight race: In the seventh lap, the Kawasaki rider was 0.081 seconds behind Khan, who was followed by Buis just 0.208 seconds further back. In the final lap, the order was shaken up once again. Erhard, the top German rider, gained two more positions to finish eighth, overtaking Rick Dunnik and Melvin van der Voort. Licciardi crossed the finish line just a hair’s breadth ahead of Erhard, further extending his lead in the overall championship.
Further back in the pack, too, there were some top-notch battles. Julia Hämmer, Nina Schubrikoff, and Mieke Abbink, in particular, put on a show with their constant position changes. On the ninth lap, Hämmer overtook local hero Abbink, only to lose two positions again just one lap later. Even though she was beaten by her Dutch rival in a photo finish, Yamaha rider Hämmer was rewarded with three points for her spirited ride. Everyone could hear her cry of joy. These were the first IDM points ever for the Swabian rider. In qualifying, the German MGM Racing Performance team—with Hämmer, Schubrikoff, and Nick Fischer—had been set back four places per rider on the starting grid due to missing tire stickers.