Rick Dunnik (18, Netherlands, Zuwi HD-Racing) on a Yamaha leads the Supersport 300 rookie class heading into the IDM finale at Hockenheim. The Dutch rider claimed the top spot with his race win at the Lausitzring. Last year’s runner-up heads into the championship decider as the favorite.
Dunnik has worked hard to earn his successes in the IDM Supersport 300. The blond-haired rider isn't one for show and shine. The 18-year-old talent hails from Staphorst in the province of Overijssel, located 20 kilometers north of Zwolle.
The speedy Dutchman isn’t one for big talk. He prefers to let his actions speak for themselves: fast lap times and tangible results. And he doesn’t even need the best equipment to achieve good results. He proved that last year at the season opener at the Lausitzring, when he finished second behind guest rider Koen Meuffels on a Yamaha in the less powerful Cup spec.
But this season, the competition in the IDM Supersport 300 has become even tougher. “The level of competition is much higher. Now there are ten riders who can win a race,” Dunnik emphasizes. So far, five riders have shared the six race wins among themselves. Will a 15-point lead be enough to secure the title?
His father, Harm, makes sure that the approximately 52-horsepower Yamaha is perfectly prepared for competition.
He was a racer himself and founded his own team in 2008. His son Rick has been among the riders he has coached since his early minibike days. At the age of nine, the youngster celebrated his first title as the local Junior A champion.
Starting in 2013, the family team continued competing in the Molenaar Honda NSF 100 Cup. After two overall victories, Rick Dunnik first moved to the ADAC NEC Moto3 Cup and then to the European Talent Cup (ETC) in 2017. However, those two seasons proved to be a dead end for the Dutch rider.
Last year, he moved to the IDM and got back on track for success. He delivered his strongest performances at the Lausitzring and Hockenheim. At the season finale, he scored 45 out of a possible 50 points. Dunnik celebrated his first IDM race win at Hockenheim and finished second in the other race. There could hardly be a better recommendation for this year’s finale.