After finishing as runner-up in the 2018/2019 World Championship, securing two victories in 24-hour races, and achieving several podium finishes in the FIM Endurance Superstock World Cup, Team GERT56 is reorienting its focus. GERT56 is withdrawing from the endurance racing scene and will compete in the IDM Superbike 1000. The debut will take place this coming weekend at the 2020 IDM finale in Hockenheim. Toni Finsterbusch will be riding the BMW K67 (2020 model).
The private team’s decision is no surprise: ever-longer race distances, more distant destinations, and winter races are simply unsustainable in the long run. “There were many reasons that led us to make this change right before the finale of the 2019/2020 FIM Endurance World Championship, which is being held on the same weekend as the IDM finale,” says team boss Karsten Wolf, adding: “We have already informed our sponsors and partners and received positive feedback.”
A new era is beginning for the team at Hockenheim—except for Toni Finsterbusch. He raced a Suzuki in the IDM Superbike 1000 in 2018 and 2019, finishing sixth overall in his first year and eighth the following year. He then moved to GERT56 to compete in the World Endurance Championship. With the team from Pirna, Saxony, he competed in a race at Le Mans, two EWC tests at Oschersleben, and two tests at Hockenheim in preparation for the IDM season. The 27-year-old will race on a BMW S 1000 RR equipped with components from the team’s new suspension partner, WP Suspension.