Who will take the lead in the IDM’s premier class? Even before the International German Motorcycle Championship (IDM) races in Most, Czech Republic, that was the big question in the IDM Superbike 1000 class. Ilya Mikhalchik (EGS-alpha-Van Zon-BMW) was unable to defend his lead, as the Ukrainian was absent from the second round of the season. Like his rival Florian Alt (Wilbers-BMW), the two-time title winner was fulfilling his commitments in the Endurance World Championship.
Marc Moser (Bonovo action by MGM) secured pole position, but the Dieburg native was dogged by bad luck in both races. Dominic Schmitter (Hess Racing) won the first race ahead of Frenchman Valentin Debise (Kawasaki Weber-Motos Racing) and Belgian Bastien Mackels (Team SWPN). Visually, however, Luca Grünwald (Kiefer Racing) appeared to be the first to cross the finish line. But the Bavarian was disqualified after the technical inspection. The reason: His BMW, with over 200 horsepower, was too light. Although it fell short of the required minimum weight of 170 kilograms by less than a full kilogram, the regulations are binding.
Valentin Debise won the second race ahead of Dominic Schmitter. Luca Grünwald took third place and had every reason to celebrate. At the end of the day, this meant that in both races, three riders from three different nations stood on the podium. After the second race, there were even three different motorcycle brands represented. Schmitter’s victory put Yamaha in the lead in the standings. Debise’s win catapulted him to second place overall, and Mackels is third. 
The dethroned Mikhalchik, for whom only the title matters, slipped to ninth place in the standings. The man from Kyiv must now consistently set the fastest lap times if he still wants to win the championship. And he must do so in a class where the manufacturers are battling for prestige and the competition at the top is getting tighter and tighter. This is also underscored by Bastien Mackels’ new absolute lap record, which nevertheless wasn’t enough to secure him a podium finish in the second race.
In der IDM Supersport 600 kommt es zum Gleichstand an der Spitze zwischen Patrick Hobelsberger (Bonovo action by MGM), dem Doppelsieger von Most, und Valentin Debise (Kawasaki Weber-Motos Racing). Das in zwei Klassen startende französische Multitalent war zwar als Spitzenreiter in der 600er-Liga nach Tschechien gereist, doch auf der trockenen Strecke im Autodrom war kein Kraut gegen Hobelsberger gewachsen. Im ersten Lauf waren gleich zu Beginn drei seiner größten Gegner bei einer Kollision in der ersten Kurve ausgefallen. Der zweite Platz ging an Yamaha-Pilot Thomas Gradinger. Der Supersport-WM-Pilot aus Österreich und Hobelsberger-Kumpel will sich nach der Trennung vom WM-Team in der IDM für ein WM-Comeback fit halten. Marcel Brenner aus der Schweiz wurde nach einem sehenswerten Fight mit Valentin Debise Dritter.
In the second race, Hobelsberger dominated once again, but had Martin Vugrinec (ferQuest UNIOR Racing) right on his tail—a rider who had been among those affected by the collision in the first corner of the opening race. The Croatian is a tenacious competitor, currently fifth in the IDM standings, and aims to continue competing at the front of the pack. Max Enderlein (M32 Racing) celebrated third place after an unlucky season opener three weeks ago and was understandably relieved to be back on track. Yamaha firmly dominated the podium in both races.
In der Nachwuchsklasse IDM Supersport 300 gab es zwei absolut sehenswerte Rennen. Walid Khan, der seit anderthalb Jahren nicht mehr auf dem Rennmotorrad saß, gelang mit seinem Sieg auf der KTM ein echter Coup. Khan hatte sich in einer Sechsergruppe nach Foto-Finish durchgesetzt. Titelverteidiger und Teamkollege, der erst 15- jährige Lennox Lehmann, wurde Zweiter vor Micky Winkler (Kawasaki Weber-Motos Racing). Auch im zweiten Rennen musste das Foto-Finish entscheiden. Diesmal kam Lehmann mit dem Mini-Vorsprung von 0,0017 Sekunden vor seinem Teamkollegen Dirk Geiger ins Ziel. Luca de Vleeschauwer (Füsport RT Motorsports by SKM-Kawasaki) sah die schwarz-weiß-karierte Flagge als Dritter. In der Gesamtwertung baute Lehmann als Führender seinen Vorsprung nach vier Rennen auf 31 Punkte aus.
In the IDM Sidecar class, the first victory went to guest riders Mike Roscher (D)/Anna Burkard (CH) in the 1000 cc sidecar class after an exciting race featuring false starts, pit lane drive-through penalties, and even more overtaking maneuvers. Due to the now very small number of vehicles in this displacement class, there is no longer a separate classification for it. The 600cc sidecars have definitively overtaken them. Full points went to Josef Sattler (D)/Luca Schmidt (D). Austrian Michael Grabmüller and his new passenger Nicolas Bidault from France were delighted with third place and their second-place finish in the standings. The top two positions remained unchanged at the finish of the second race, but this time Markus Schwegler (D)/Ondrej Kopecky (CZ) took third place on the podium.
“These are the kinds of races we want to see,” sums up IDM Series Manager Normann Broy. “Spectacular battles and plenty of action on the sidelines make the championship exciting. You never know in advance who will win, and that’s what makes it so special. For the first time in a long while, we were able to welcome spectators, even if the numbers were limited. But they really cheered on our riders.”
The supporting program will feature the Superstock 600 Cup, the Twin Cup, and the Pro Superstock Cup, promising top-notch entertainment.