In an extremely thrilling race, Dirk Geiger (18, Mannheim) on a KTM secured victory by a margin of 0.066 seconds over his teammate Lennox Lehmann (14, Dresden; both of the Freudenberg SMC WorldSSP Academy) on a KTM. The team led by Michael and Carsten Freudenberg from Bischofswerda celebrated a one-two finish at Hockenheim.
Geiger is already the sixth winner of the season in the seventh race of the IDM junior series. This underscores the high level of competitiveness in the IDM Supersport 300 this season. The top seven riders at Hockenheim crossed the finish line within one second of each other.
After his first IDM victory, Geiger said: “The race was pretty close. But this is a great result for the whole team.” This shows that the collaboration between the two Saxon teams, Freudenberg and Prüstel, has paid off in terms of promoting young talent.
For Mannheim native Dirk Geiger, his victory at the Motodrom in Baden is a home win. The 18-year-old rider is using the break in the Junior World Championship, where he competes for PrüstelGP, to participate in the IDM’s junior class. In his fifth IDM race, he secured his first race win.
His teammate Lennox Lehmann, last year’s overall winner of the ADAC Junior Cup, will have to wait for his first IDM victory. In the fiercely contested race, he even took the lead at one point, but ultimately fell short in a photo finish.
However, with his second-place finish, the Dresden native moves up behind Rick Dunnik (18, NL, Zuwi HD-Racing) on a Yamaha. The Dutchman Dunnik is satisfied with fifth place. With this result, the Lausitzring winner secures important points for the championship, in which he now leads by eleven points. Aside from Lehmann, only Colin Velthuizen (16, NL, RT Motorsports by SKM-Kawasaki) on a Kawasaki still has a chance at the championship: however, he is already 19 points behind Dunnik.
Velthuizen’s teammate Marvin Siebdrath (16, Wildenfels, RT Motorsports by SKM-Kawasaki) capped off his strong season with another podium finish, coming in third. “It’s important to keep up right from the start,” says Siebdrath, explaining the unique racing strategy in the IDM Supersport 300. “You have to position yourself well on the final lap.” The Sachsenring winner once again succeeded brilliantly in doing just that at Hockenheim.
Ahead of the decisive race, the young Saxon sits in fifth place in the championship, right behind his teammate Colin Velthuizen. With Geiger, Lehmann, and Siebdrath, it’s the first time in a long while that only German riders have stood on the podium.
The second race will start at 4:00 p.m.
IDM Supersport 300 Hockenheimring, Race 1
Results
Distance: 13 laps (3.692 kilometers) = 48.00 km
1. Dirk Geiger (Mannheim, Freudenberg SMC WorldSSP Academy), KTM in 21:56.625 min. (131.234 km/h)
2. Lennox Lehmann (Dresden, both Freudenberg SMC WorldSSP Academy), KTM, + 0.066 sec.
3. Marvin Siebdrath (Wildenfels, RT Motorsports by SKM-Kawasaki), Kawasaki, + 0.107 sec.
4. Ruben Bijman (NL, Team SWPN), Yamaha, + 0.132 sec.
5. Rick Dunnik (18, NL, Zuwi HD-Racing), Yamaha, + 0.208 sec.
6. Colin Velthuizen (NL, RT Motorsports by SKM-Kawasaki), Kawasaki + 0.356 sec.
Fastest lap: Thom Molenaar in 1:39.520 (133.553 km/h)
Standings (after seven of eight races)
IDM Supersport 300
1. Rick Dunnik, 102 points
2. Lennox Lehmann, 91
3. Colin Velthuizen, 83