At the Schleizer Dreieck, Max Enderlein (Yamaha) fought back, dethroned Patrick Hobelsberger (Yamaha) in qualifying, and clinched pole position in the IDM Supersport 600 class.
It came down to just a few hundredths of a second, but in the end, Enderlein had a 0.166-second advantage on his fastest lap. That didn’t sit well with Hobelsberger. He’ll be looking to turn the tables in the first IDM Supersport 600 race this Saturday at 5:10 p.m. The race will be livestreamed at www.idm.de.
The front row is rounded out by Kevin Wahr, who has taken over the MVR-Yamaha from the injured Marc Buchner for the rest of the season. Wahr traveled to Schleiz with his whole family to mentally prepare himself for a win.
Glenn van Straalen (Kawasaki), Christoph Beinlich (Yamaha), and Andreas Kofler (Yamaha) are on the second row. For Beinlich, it’s do-or-die. The Schleiz Triangle is his home track, and the eyes of the local spectators—who have already been pouring in today—are fixed on him. Kofler has his older brother Maximilian in tow. Maximilian is the Moto3 World Championship rider from Austria who fractured four thoracic vertebrae in Misano and made a special trip to the IDM to be rehabilitated by physical therapist Michael Lofy.
Valentin Debise is in seventh place. The double winner from the season opener was momentarily stunned when he saw the track for the first time on Thursday. The Kawasaki rider isn’t used to natural race tracks, but he says, “I’m not going to hold back just because of that. The championship standings are at stake. Besides, people paid to see a good show.”
Starting Grid:
1. Max ENDERLEIN (D, Yamaha)
2. Patrick HOBELSBERGER (D, Yamaha)
3. Kevin WAHR (D, Yamaha)
4. Glenn VAN STRAALEN (NL, Kawasaki)
5. Christoph BEINLICH (D, Yamaha)
6. Andreas KOFLER (A, Kawasaki)
7. Valentin DEBISE (F, Kawasaki)