While IDM Superbike newcomer Jonas Folger is currently putting his Yamaha through its paces at the Red Bull Ring, Florian Alt, who is returning to the class, is still waiting in the wings. The Wilbers-BMW rider’s first tests are scheduled for June. Nevertheless, he’ll be getting on the S1000 RR for the first time as early as next week, even if those first few meters—for a video clip—will be limited to the grounds of his team boss Benny Wilbers’ facility.
The Gummersbach native, who just turned 24, is very hopeful—following the easing of COVID-19 restrictions—that there will indeed be an IDM season in 2020, even if it is a shortened one. According to the entries, it was set to be the best season in years, with a strong field and top riders from all over the world. The question that remains is whether all the foreign riders will be able to compete. Entry permits for top riders such as defending champion Ilya Mikhalchik from Ukraine, Alex Polita from Italy, and Erwan Nigon from France are a key topic of discussion. For Alt, one thing is certain: “If only German riders could compete, the race wouldn’t make any sense. It wouldn’t be an international championship either.” And he estimates that there will need to be at least ten days of testing beforehand. “None of us have been on a motorcycle for at least three months, and we need time to really get used to the bikes.”
His favorite to win the title is Jonas Folger. But will the Bavarian be able to handle a Superbike right away after his time in MotoGP? Alt, who has raced in both the Moto3 and Moto2 World Championships, knows more about this: “In the World Motorcycle Championship, they ride prototypes, and a MotoGP bike like that is much harder to handle than a Superbike, which is built for the masses. Besides, Jonas knows the R1 at least as well as any other rider. For quite some time now, he’s had one made available to him by Mandy Kainz, the head of the Yamaha Austria Racing Team from the World Endurance Championship. And Jonas has the raw speed anyway.”
He also has Ilya Mikhalchik and Julian Puffe on his list, “because the Ukrainian can train more than anyone else at the family-run Race Academy. And when Julian is mentally strong, he’s a force to be reckoned with. The new Honda is supposed to be amazing.”
And where does Florian Alt see himself in the midst of this shark tank? “I’ve ridden nothing but Yamahas since 2016, but I’m looking forward to the BMW and am in the best position to compete at the very front. Benny Wilbers and the team know the bike inside and out; the crew is working with meticulous precision.” In his two appearances last year, the team’s rider at the time, Bastien Mackels, secured two second-place finishes on that bike. Alt finished as runner-up in the 2017 IDM Superbike 1000 class. There’s still room for improvement. And Alt, who at 72 kilograms and 189 centimeters tall has the physique of a model athlete, is in top shape.