Luca Grünwald, one of the podium contenders in the IDM Supersport 600 class, will miss the upcoming IDM round in Assen (September 6–8, 2019). The Bavarian from Waldkraiburg injured his right and left ankles during motocross training. His ligaments have also been affected. The Kawasaki Schnock Team Motorex just can’t catch a break. Grünwald had also been forced to sit out the first two rounds due to injury, but then made a spectacular comeback. The 24-year-old secured a victory in Schleiz. Unlike the injured Troy Beinlich and Sarah Heide, however, Grünwald is expected to be back in action for the season finale from September 27–29, 2019, in Hockenheim.
Troy Beinlich (NUTEC-RT Motorsport by SKM-Kawasaki) broke his left lower leg last Saturday at the Stoppelcross in Neundorf. What was intended as training for the IDM race in Assen turned into a disaster for the seventh-place finisher in the IDM Supersport 300 standings. Beinlich was riding completely unspectacularly through a left-hand turn on the slippery track when the rear of his bike broke out.
The 16-year-old underwent surgery at Jena University Hospital. His leg will be stabilized with an external fixator for five days. “The pin goes in on Friday,” reports Beinlich, who is currently getting around in a wheelchair and has to call it a season early. The pin will stabilize the tibia. The doctors treating him estimate that Beinlich’s injuries will take at least three months to heal.
For Sarah Heide, the only woman in the IDM Superbike 1000 class, the rest of the season is also over. “After my crash at the Nürburgring, I injured my right knee again. It only became really clear when I couldn’t ride at all on Sunday during the next race in Schleiz,” says the 31-year-old from Team Suzuki Laux ADAC Sachsen. An MRI provided clarity: a contusion of the tibial tuberosity, bleeding into the bone, extensive tears in the posterior medial meniscus and anterior lateral meniscus, and cartilage damage on the inner and outer joint surfaces as well as behind the kneecap. Heide underwent meniscus surgery on August 21. Despite initially considering a risky start at the season finale in Hockenheim at the end of September, Heide has now decided to call it a day for the 2019 season.