At the Sachsenring, 15-year-old Lucy Michel (Elterlein-Schwarzbach, Team Laux) will compete in her first Supersport 300 race on a Yamaha. The “Saxon Flea,” who was named Rookie of the Year in the ADAC Junior Cup last year, is joining Stefan Laux’s team in the IDM junior class.
Michel is taking over for Sarah Heide, who switched from the IDM Superbike 1000 to the IDM Supersport 300 this season. But Heide had some bad luck at the season opener in Assen. After a broken chain in the first race, she crashed hard in the second race following a highside and sustained some very painful bruises in the fall. In addition, a joint in the little finger of her right hand was shattered in the crash.
Since her serious finger injury needs time to heal, the 32-year-old is now making way for Lucy Michel on her Yamaha. The young rider from the Ore Mountains will thus compete in her first race on her home track since the season finale at the Hockenheimring nearly a year ago. There, she finished the season in fourth place in qualifying during the final race of the ADAC Junior Cup.
But team boss Stefan Laux is keeping expectations in check regarding her surprise IDM debut: “She should just get out there and have fun,” he told the online portal Speedweek. “We don’t know yet what will come of it.” By the way, Michel’s mentor is former IDM Superbike rider Lucy Glöckner, who celebrated a victory in the Superstock class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (World Endurance Championship) this weekend with her team GERT56.