IDM SSP 300: No Getting Past Geiger

It doesn’t get much clearer than this: Dirk Geiger (Freudenberg KTM WorldSSP Team /18) is off to a flying start. In all practice sessions of the IDM Supersport 300 in Schleiz, the Mannheim native dominated both Friday’s free practice sessions and both qualifying sessions on Saturday. The result: pole position and a big smile on his face. “The wind was quite strong in the second qualifying session. That’s why I couldn’t improve my time any further. We’ve still taken another step forward and are ready for the two races on Sunday,” said Geiger. His plan for Race 1: apply pressure right from the start and break away from the large group. But no matter what tactics he employs, “it’s definitely going to be two exciting races.”

Starting alongside him is Marvin Siebdrath (Team Füsport – RT Motorsports by Kawasaki/17), followed by Micky Winkler from Schleiz (Kawasaki Weber Motos Racing/19). Neither of these riders was able to improve their times in the second practice session, nor were any of the other riders in the top 10.

KTM rider Dirk Geiger (Freudenberg KTM WorldSSP Team /18) took the win in the first qualifying session of the IDM Supersport 300. The Mannheim native set the fastest lap time of 1:37.304. He also finished at the top of the timesheets in free practice. “Everything has gone really well so far. I have a good feeling on the bike, which is also reflected in my consistent lap times,” said the Mannheim native afterward.

The second-fastest rider was his rival Marvin Siebdrath (Team Füsport – RT Motorsports by Kawasaki/17). The Wildenfels native finished 0.651 seconds behind Geiger but was not happy with his performance. “Qualifying was okay, but it took me a long time to get into my rhythm. I wanted to push again on the last lap, but unfortunately I braked too hard,” Siebdrath summed up.

Micky Winkler (Kawasaki Weber Motos Racing/19) from Schleiz finished third, 0.831 seconds behind. He spent a long time right on the tail of Toni Erhard (Roto-Store BRT/20) and finally managed to pass him on his penultimate lap, pushing the former 2018 IDM champion down to fourth place. “Everything just clicked on this lap,” said Winkler in the parc fermé.

Behind them were Belgian rider Luca de Vleeschauwer (Füsport – RT Motorsports by SKM-Kawasaki/18) and Lennox Lehmann (Freudenberg KTM WorldSSP Team/15). Things got off to a rough start for the reigning IDM champion. He went down on his front wheel during the formation lap. After a check-up in the pit lane, he was able to continue racing midway through the first qualifying session.

The first race of the IDM SSP300 starts on Sunday at 10:30 a.m. and can be watched via the IDM's YouTube livestream .

Qualifying 1 and 2 Results: Starting Grid: