Jonas Folger (Bonovo action by MGM Racing) also won the fifth race of the short IDM Superbike 1000 season. His lead over Ilya Mikhalchik (EGS-alpha-Van Zon-BMW) was 7.503 seconds. The Bavarian didn’t find out until he crossed the finish line that his fastest lap was actually three-tenths of a second faster than his pole position lap. For Folger, getting up to speed on the Yamaha YZF-R1M on a track he hadn’t driven before was no walk in the park. “It’s in bad shape,” he noted, adding: “I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to call this a bumpy track. The surface has long since seen better days. For a newcomer to the track like me, that’s obviously a nightmare. Because of all the bumps, we had an incredibly hard time tuning the electronics.” But Folger also said right away: “The track conditions are the same for everyone.”
Consequently, there were no major outliers in the order of the riders as they crossed the finish line. Mikhalchik was pleased that the gap to Folger at the Lausitzring hadn’t grown any wider yet. The Ukrainian is not yet able to tap into the full potential of the BMW S 1000 RR, as he himself said. His crew was struggling with the tires.
Florian Alt (Wilbers-BMW) prevailed in the next heat against Erwan Nigon (Kawasaki Weber-Motos Racing), Vladimir Leonov (EGS-alpha-Van Zon-BMW),
Dominic Schmitter (Hess Racing) and Marc Moser (Bonovo action by MGM Racing) finished the race.
The 24-year-old from Gummersbach remarked, “We’re all significantly faster than last year.”
"Schmitter and Leonov were tough to pass." Schmitter has made his mark several times already this short season, but the Swiss Yamaha rider hasn't quite managed to make the final leap onto the podium yet.
Riding as a lone Kawasaki rider, Nigon achieved his best result of the season so far with a fourth-place finish. Moser has a very good, experienced teammate in Folger, as Folger’s victories also provide a basis for data that helps the other riders on the team. When the pages and curves from the data recordings are overlaid, the lines can be compared with great precision. This allows them to identify key areas for improvement. Alex Polita (Honda Holzhauer Racing Promotion) experienced major problems with traction during the last two laps. The mood at Honda is subdued at the moment.
Race 1, IDM Superbike 1000
1. Jonas Folger (GER), Yamaha, 16 laps in 26:23.852 min
2. Ilya Mikhalchik (UKR), BMW, +7.503 sec
3. Florian Alt (GER), BMW, +19.931 sec
4. Erwan Nigon (F), Kawasaki, +22.448 sec
5. Vladimir Leonov (RUS), BMW, +25.551 sec
6. Dominic Schmitter (CH), Yamaha, +26.146 sec