He’s done it again. Jonas Folger also claimed victory in the first IDM Superbike 1000 race at the Sachsenring. His dominance was clear. At the finish line, the 27-year-old Yamaha rider from Team Bonovo Action powered by MGM Racing was 15 seconds ahead of the chasing pack, who provided a rollercoaster of emotions. Florian Alt (Wilbers-BMW) and Yamaha rider Dominic Schmitter (Yamaha) rounded out the podium.
Folger was perfectly prepared for his triumphant run. The tire choice had already been decided after free practice. The team took no risks during qualifying. Since the Sachsenring requires a lot of setup work on the electronics, the bike’s performance had already been tuned to the circuit’s twisty layout during free practice. “Apart from these technical aspects, I was also able to contribute quite a bit from a riding perspective,” said Folger. “I was able to apply a lot of my experience with the MotoGP bike. The line selection is very similar on both machines here. I wasn’t sure beforehand whether it would be so easy to adapt.”
Nevertheless, Folger didn't take the race in Germany's top class lightly, but he lamented: "It's a shame I didn't have anyone to race against."
Things were all the more chaotic in the group behind them. Dominik Schmitter (Yamaha), Florian Alt (BMW), Vladimir Leonov (BMW), Ilya Mikhalchik (BMW), and Bastien Mackels (Yamaha) were locked in a fierce battle. Schmitter had been aiming for second place, but made a mistake on the penultimate lap and finished third. The Swiss rider’s take: “It was an awesome race. The track is unique, fast, and blind. Everything has to be just right.” The team had made significant changes to the geometry of Alt’s S 1000 RR. Alt was happy to finish in second place. “I hadn’t been to the Sachsenring in five years. The BMW is new. The front wheel was unstable.”
Leonov made way for defending champion Mikhalchik, who accepted the invitation. In theory, the Ukrainian could have finished at least fourth. But he ran into technical problems in the penultimate lap. The BMW’s drive system failed. Mikhalchik gritted his teeth, fought until the very end, and managed to salvage ninth place.
Many Yamaha and BMW motorcycles were bunched up at the front of the pack. In sixth place, Erwan Nigon’s green Kawasaki broke into the top ten. In eighth place, Alessandro Polita’s red Honda provided a splash of color.
The race had to be restarted twice. Philipp Gengelbach crashed on the second lap of the first attempt. His Suzuki burst into flames—the race was stopped with a red flag.