Even though the big IDM season opener at the Red Bull Ring had to be canceled, Bastian Ubl, like so many of his competitors, continues to prepare meticulously for the championship. The 19-year-old from Ingelheim has big plans for the IDM Superstock 600. After finishing 17th overall last year, he now aims to make it onto the podium.
A podium finish? “Yeah, why not,” says Ubl confidently. “I’ve been working toward it, and it’s my goal.” At Zolder, the Yamaha rider finished eighth. And Ubl would be the last person to give up. When he broke his scaphoid bone in Assen and was therefore unable to compete in the IDM finale at Hockenheim, he stepped up to the track announcer’s microphone as co-host for his class and shone with his impressive expertise. The machinist was completely in his element rhetorically, as if he had never done anything else.
His rookie season on the track, on the other hand, was a real rollercoaster ride. “At Most, I messed up the first qualifying session because of a slow tire change. In the second session, I had to clear the 115% barrier in the pouring rain. But I managed it.”
Bastian Ubl is known for springing surprises. Even before the coronavirus crisis, he was testing in the south of France and was 2.5 seconds faster than last year. He now has a 2013 Yamaha R6 from last season. Things are constantly moving forward. Only the virus is throwing a wrench in the works. “But health comes first,” says Ubl, assessing the situation correctly and supporting the postponement of the IDM season opener indefinitely. Since the gyms are closed, he goes jogging outdoors every day.