In two weeks, the International Motorcycle Championship will kick off its 2021 season in Oschersleben. That is also when Florian Alt of the Wilbers BMW Racing Team will join the title race in the IDM Superbike 1000 class. Every single championship point is important for Alt. Nevertheless, the 24-year-old will already be missing from the following event in Most, Czech Republic, and will instead participate in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The reason is a future deal in the Endurance World Championship.
The scheduling conflict between the recently postponed Le Mans event and the IDM race in Most has put the Wilbers BMW Racing Team in a bind. The classic race, which is part of the World Endurance Championship, is also scheduled for the third weekend in June.
Florian Alt is scheduled to compete in both series. But where should he race now? Team boss Benny Wilbers has found a pragmatic solution. He says: “There’s a big question mark hanging over the event in Most. The Czech Republic is currently classified as a high-risk area, and there’s a travel warning in place. Le Mans is the safer option for us, and Florian Alt will race in France.”
Before making his decision, Wilbers reached an agreement with Werner Daemen, team principal of the EGS-alpha-Van Zon-BMW team. The Belgian will also be sending his IDM Superbike title contender, Ilya Mikhalchik, into the 24-hour race. Wilbers and Daemen are planning to work more closely together in the World Endurance Championship in the future. They are already working out the details.
“Of course, this deal puts our chances of winning the IDM title at risk,” Wilbers acknowledges, “and we’re sorry to the competition for taking two top riders from the premier class to Most, but as a team, we won’t be completely missing from the grid. In any case, young rider Marco Fetz will be on the starting grid for Wilbers-BMW-Racing. Should the event in the Czech Republic be canceled due to the COVID-19 situation, everything will fall through. Otherwise, Alt and Mikhalchik will continue to battle for the IDM Superbike 1000 crown later under the same conditions.”