When Ricardo Brink joined the IDM Superbike 1000 in 2018, he was initially just another Dutch rider on the timesheet. Two years have passed since then. Brink is now 22 years old, showing a rising performance curve, and should no longer be underestimated in the battle for podium spots in the IDM’s top class. The construction worker from the SWPN team completed the first test day of 2020 at Assen on a brand-new Yamaha YZF-R1M.
Eleventh overall in 2018, seventh in 2019. Plus podium finishes at the Lausitzring and in Assen. The top riders should keep Ricardo Brink in mind. Not always, but more and more often. “We’ve taken another step forward,” the 6-foot-1-inch rider from IJsselmuiden firmly believes after the first roll-out. “The competition in 2020 is extremely strong, but I’m physically fit enough to challenge for a spot in the top five, because I did a lot of motocross over the winter. And the new bike felt really good during the first roll-out. I hadn’t ridden the Yamaha for eight months prior to that. The last time was at the IDM finale in Hockenheim. In two weeks, we plan to test at the Lausitzring. That’s the plan, anyway.”
Ricardo Brink is still often underestimated. Yet even setbacks can’t slow him down. In 2015, he suffered a serious back injury at his home track in Assen. But he was back by the end of the season. More than six months after his accident, the then-ONK Supersport 600 rider immediately returned to finish fifth in the race. He was immediately offered a contract for the following year.