Paul Fröde is the champion of the IDM Superstock 600. This was decided by the DMSB Appeals Court in Frankfurt on December 10, 2020. The appeal filed by his rival Jan-Ole Jähnig was dismissed.
Jähnig (Team Freudenberg SMC World SSP Academy, Yamaha YZF-R6) and Fröde (ADAC Sachsen e.V., Honda CBR 600 RR) competed in the IDM Superstock 600 race at Hockenheim on September 27, 2020. After the race, Fröde lodged a protest against race winner Jan-Ole Jähnig on the grounds that there was no tire sticker on his motorcycle and that it had been affixed only after the race in the Parc Ferme.
The DMSB regulations state: “For the Superbike 1000, Supersport 600, Superstock 600, and Supersport 300 classes, the series organizer will provide a sufficient number of tire stickers, which are required for qualifying sessions, warm-ups, and races (including restarts). In general, tire stickers are not required during free practice or for rain tires. The tire stickers must be affixed to the left sidewall of the tire.”
Furthermore, the following is stipulated:
“A first violation of the starting procedure will be penalized with a three-position grid penalty; a repeat offense will result in disqualification.”
Based on these clear rules, the race stewards decided to demote Jähnig by three positions in Race 1, which cost the Thuringian driver the title.
Jähnig filed an appeal. However, according to the DMSB ruling, it was not filed in the proper form or within the required time frame. According to the German Motorcycle Sports Act, Jähnig failed to notify the race commissioners of his protest within one hour of the decision being announced. The appeal was dismissed as inadmissible.