This weekend, only one thing matters: scoring as many points as possible in the IDM Superbike 1000. Anyone who failed to capitalize on the absence of title favorites Ilya Mikhalchik (EGS-alpha-Van Zon-BMW) and Florian Alt (Wilbers-BMW) had only themselves to blame. The two BMW riders were fulfilling their commitments in the World Endurance Championship at Le Mans, which is being held concurrently with the IDM race in Most. The podium after the first race was filled with riders from three different countries. And their motorcycle brands were also completely different.
Luca Grünwald snatched the victory in the first race. The Bavarian from the Kiefer Racing Team was relieved. He said, “It’s been a year and a half since I won my last race.” But it was all for nothing. Although Grünwald received his trophy at the awards ceremony, his victory was later revoked. The motorcycle was one kilogram lighter than the permitted minimum weight. That meant disqualification.
Dominic Schmitter (Hess Racing), who had returned from the first lap in seventh place, secured second place in terms of finishing position. This meant he had achieved his goal. The fact that he was later awarded the victory boosted his points total even further. Schmitter is now the new leader in the IDM Superbike 1000 overall standings, and Yamaha has taken the lead from BMW. Schmitter, however, found the first corner extremely dangerous. “Someone ran into the back of my bike there—it’s completely bent,” said the 26-year-old from Switzerland.
Pole-sitter Marc Moser (Bonovo action by MGM), who was aiming for the win, was knocked out of the race in that corner by Pepijn Bijsterbosch. For him, the race was over before it had even begun.
For a long time, it looked like Bastien Mackels (Team SWPN) was headed for a podium finish, but the Belgian was ultimately edged out by Valentin Debise, who claimed his first podium finish in the premier class for Kawasaki in the Czech Republic. The Kawasaki Weber-Motos Racing team had been working on the ZX-10R late into the night. Team boss Emil Weber seemed fairly confident before the race that a trophy was within reach despite the eleventh starting position. He has gotten to know the Frenchman better by now and understands what makes him tick. “He’s like a racehorse that you lock in the gate, let loose, and then have to catch again.” Debise was classified in second place.
Julian Puffe of GERT56 had initially been in the lead group as well, but his choice of Pirelli’s ultra-soft X tire proved too optimistic, and things went terribly wrong for the driver who had been running second early on. He dropped six places. Philipp Steinmayr (Bonovo Action by MGM), on the other hand, moved up one spot. He achieved his best result to date.
IDM Superbike 1000, Round 1
1. Dominic SCHMITTER (CHE/Yamaha)
2. Valentin DEBISE (FRAU/Kawasaki)
3. Bastien MACKELS (BEL/Yamaha)
4. Vladimir LEONOV (RUS/Yamaha)
5. Philipp STEINMAYR (AUT/Yamaha)
6. Alessandro POLITA (I/Honda)
7. Julian PUFFE (D/BMW)
8. Nico THÖNI (AUT/Kawasaki)
9. Ricardo BRINK (NLD/BMW)
10. Marco FETZ (DEU/BMW)