Test rides had been planned, but all activities at Jens Holzhauer’s Honda team are currently on hold. IDM Superbike 1000 rider Alessandro Polita has been in home quarantine for two weeks after testing positive for COVID-19. Team boss Holzhauer has been battling the virus for a week and is confined to bed. Two motorcycle mechanics from his company have also fallen ill.
“Even after two weeks, I’m still testing positive. But I have no symptoms or other problems,” reports Alex Polita. It is the loneliness that weighs on the Italian. He has currently moved in with his parents to protect his family—his partner and their daughter, Ida. Isolation is easier at his parents’ house, although even there it is exhausting enough to get a glass of water or make a trip to the bathroom without coming into contact with anyone. “The days are long, despite the video calls with my daughter and friends,” Polita laments. “I spend a lot of time on social media, watching movies and TV shows.” Incidentally, Polita’s father has also contracted COVID-19 and is receiving oxygen. His mother tested negative.
“The fact that test rides on the Honda CBR 1000 RR-R are being delayed as we prepare for the upcoming IDM Superbike 1000 season is unavoidable due to my illness, but Polita is looking ahead and says, ‘Better days are coming.’”
Team manager Jens Holzhauer can only hope for the best. The Honda dealer from Wittenberge has been hit harder, and initial assessments suggest he has contracted the British variant of the COVID-19 virus. He has been bedridden for a week and is suffering from a dry cough, among other symptoms. Holzhauer and Polita fell ill independently of one another; the two have not seen each other in weeks.