This coming weekend in Assen, Netherlands, the International German Motorcycle Championship (IDM) kicks off the second half of the season. The fourth event of the season will take place from August 13 to 15, 2021, at the legendary TT Circuit in the Netherlands. What makes the track special is that it was designed specifically for motorcycles. It is also the only circuit in the world where a Grand Prix has been held every year since the introduction of the official Motorcycle World Championship in 1949. The IDM has also become a fixture on the racing calendar here, now with spectators in attendance once again.
The title race in the IDM’s premier class, Superbike 1000, has intensified at the halfway point of the season. BMW and Kawasaki are hot on Yamaha’s heels. For IDM leader Dominic Schmitter of Switzerland (Hess Racing), the lead has become more precarious. The Yamaha rider now holds a lead of just six points over his closest rival, Ilya Mikhalchik. And the 24-year-old Ukrainian is not to be underestimated. The rider from Team EGS-alpha-Van Zon-BMW has already won the championship twice. Although his absence this year at Most in the Czech Republic cost him important points and caused him to fall far behind in the overall standings, his two podium finishes at the Schleizer Dreieck suddenly put him back on the path to victory. However, Mikhalchik also has only a four-point lead over Valentin Debise (Kawasaki Weber-Motos-Racing), one of the two Kawasaki riders in the entire field. Lurking in the Frenchman’s slipstream, just one point behind, is Belgian Bastien Mackels (Team SWPN) on a Yamaha. So it couldn’t be any closer or more international. In the IDM Superbike 1000, the manufacturers are battling for prestige. Honda has only one spearhead in the field: Alessandro Polita. The Italian HRP rider is currently holding his own in eighth place and is the man to watch for surprises. Julian Puffe (GERT56), the top German Superbike rider and sixth in the IDM standings, is heading to Assen. A total of 27 riders have registered for the races in the premier class at Assen. Daniel Kartheininger’s guest appearance on the Ducati Panigale V4R is expected to be spectacular. Team boss Denis Hertrampf wants to see how the red diva performs in the active racing circuit at the highest level.
In the middleweight class, the IDM Supersport , Patrick Hobelsberger (Bonovo action by MGM Racing) has already built up a comfortable points lead at the top of the standings with back-to-back wins at Most and Schleiz. The Bavarian hopes to continue his winning streak in order to get back on track personally as well. The Yamaha rider was allowed to participate in the Supersport last weekend on a wildcard. The outing began with the fastest times in practice but ended in disaster and with zero points due to arm pump. Valentin Debise (Kawasaki Weber-Motos Racing), who also races in the 1000cc class, had also participated in the World Championship and finished in seventh place. In the IDM, the Frenchman is in second place. He trails Hobelsberger by 30 points. Max Enderlein (M32 Racing, Yamaha) is third overall, another 29 points behind. Behind them, the competition is much tighter between Glenn Van Straalen (Kawasaki), Martin Vugrinec (ferQuest UNIOR Racing Team, Yamaha), Rob Hartog (füsport-RT Motorsports by SKM-Kawasaki), and Chris Beinlich (Roto Store BRT, Yamaha).
In the IDM Supersport rookie class, Dirk Geiger put an end to his teammate Lennox Lehmann’s winning streak. Although Lehmann, the defending champion, still enjoys a substantial points lead in the standings, even a small mistake could turn the tide. So far, Marvin Siebdrath and Luca de Vleeschauwer (both füsport-RT Motorsports by SKM-Kawasaki) have been the most successful in challenging the leading duo of the Freudenberg KTM WorldSSP Team. Siebdrath won the season opener and stood on the podium in Schleiz. His Belgian teammate has secured two third-place finishes so far. In Assen, the team will be bolstered by Tom Booth-Amos. However, the Briton is competing as a guest rider and will therefore not receive any IDM points. He is currently second overall in the Supersport .
In the IDM Sidecar class, all victories so far have gone to the German team (Josef Sattler/Luca Schmidt) on their Adolf RS F1 sidecar. They are followed by the sidecars of Markus Schwegler/Ondrej Kopecky and Peter Kimeswenger/Kevin Kölsch. In Assen, however, even the serial winners at the top will have to brace themselves. Half of the world’s elite will be lining up at the TT Circuit—from multiple champion Tim Reeves to Pekka Päivärinta—and using the IDM as a competitive alternative to the World Championship.
Other highlights at Assen include the IDM Superstock 600 Cup, the Northern Talent Cup, and the Yamaha R3 bLU cRU Cup.