Until 2013, the International German Motorcycle Championship (IDM) was a regular fixture at the Red Bull Ring in Austria. The promoter and organizer, Motor Presse Stuttgart, had hoped to end the subsequent hiatus as early as 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic prevented that from happening. From August 27 to 29, 2021, the comeback at the MotoGP track—featuring the stylized large bull in the infield—will now take place as the penultimate IDM weekend of the season.
For most participants, the Red Bull Ring will be uncharted territory. It’s been too long since the IDM last visited Styria, and the track is still fresh in their minds. Incidentally, the race director at the Spielberg circuit is none other than Andreas “Andy” Meklau. He is the only Austrian to have won a race in the Superbike World Championship. Until 2011, the 54-year-old competed in the IDM Superbike 1000 class.
Meanwhile, the motorcycles have become even faster and more sophisticated. Ilya Mikhalchik (EGS-alpha-Van Zon BMW) from Ukraine is heading to Austria as the leader of the IDM premier class. He has taken over from the injured Swiss rider Dominic Schmitter (Hess Racing, Yamaha), who is out for the rest of the season following his crash at Assen. The path to a third Superbike title thus appears clear for Mikhalchik for the time being. He holds a 30-point lead over his closest rival, Valentin Debise (Kawasaki Weber-Motos Racing) from France, and a 36-point lead over Bastien Mackels (SWPN, Yamaha) from Belgium. However, Schmitter’s crash has shown just how quickly the tide can turn. Germany’s Luca Grünwald (Kiefer Racing, BMW) and Russia’s Vladimir Leonov (Hertrampf MO Yamaha Racing) occupy fourth and fifth places in the standings. Behind favorite Mikhalchik, the riders in the top ten are separated by only a few points each. The IDM Superbike 1000 is more international and closely contested than it has been in years. BMW, Honda, Kawasaki, and Yamaha are all consistently on the starting grid. So far, Alessandro Polita (HRP) has been the only Fireblade rider in the entire field to fly the flag for Honda. He now has support from Jan Bühn.
The Ducati HRT100 team’s second appearance should be interesting. Daniel Kartheininger will be making a guest appearance on the V4R Panigale. Team principal Denis Hertrampf wants to see how the Ducati—originally built for endurance racing—performs in sprint races and whether it has a future in Germany’s top class. Markus Reiterberger (BCC Racing Team, BMW) is also making a comeback. The three-time Superbike champion and IDM race winner could be the decisive factor putting pressure on Mikhalchik at the front during his comeback in Schleiz. It promises to be exciting, especially since the Austrians—including Nico Thöni (Kawasaki Weber-Motos Racing), Philipp Steinmayr (Bonovo action by MGM Racing, Yamaha), and Jan Mohr (EGS-alpha-Van Zon-BMW)—are eager to shine at their home race. A total of 32 riders will line up at the Red Bull Ring—a record for the premier class this season. Like the other IDM solo classes, the IDM Superbike 1000 has developed into a highly competitive championship at the highest level.
Patrick Hobelsberger (Bonovo action by MGM Racing, Yamaha) and Valentin Debise (Kawasaki Weber-Motos Racing), who competes in two IDM classes, have already pulled slightly ahead in the Supersport 600 and will battle it out for the title between themselves. Glenn Van Straalen (NIWA Racing, Kawasaki), Max Enderlein (M32 Racing, Yamaha), and Rob Hartog (Füsport-RT Motorsports by SKM–Kawasaki) follow at a respectable distance. For the Dutch riders, the last race at the TT Circuit Assen was a home race, and they were able to rack up a lot of points. But will that work in reverse for the Austrians at the Red Bull Ring? World Championship rider Thomas Gradinger (Eder Racing, Yamaha) in particular senses an opportunity here. He adds, however: “I’ve already come up against Max Enderlein here during testing.”
A crash by Lennox Lehmann in Assen two weeks ago and the top finishes by Dirk Geiger (Freudenberg KTM World SSP Team) and Marvin Siebdrath (Füsport-RT Motorsports by SKM-Kawasaki) in Assen have shaken things up again in the IDM Supersport 300. Defending champion Lehmann has squandered his large lead due to the crash. Only three riders from the top ten in the junior class have managed to score points in every race so far: Siebdrath, Luca De Vleeschauwer (Füsport-RT Motorsports by SKM) Kawasaki, and Troy Beinlich (BRT Roto-Store, Kawasaki). The outcomes are often decided in the final lap of the race and not infrequently even in a photo finish.
At least five sidecar teams from the World Championship are expected to compete in the IDM Sidecar class, led by World Championship leader Markus Schlosser and his passenger Marcel Fries from Switzerland. A round of the World Championship took place last weekend in Rijeka, Croatia. On their way back home, the teams will stop at the Red Bull Ring. Josef Sattler and Luca Schmidt lead the IDM standings. However, after four consecutive victories, the German team suffered a setback in Assen due to technical issues. This has allowed Markus Schwegler and Ondrej Kopecky, as well as Peter Kimeswenger and Kevin Kölsch, to close the gap.
Since some of the World Championship teams traveling to Austria this coming weekend are also permanently entered in the IDM Sidecar series and are therefore eligible to score points, this is likely to create some tricky scenarios in the title race.
Exciting supporting races ensure that one highlight follows another. Up-and-coming racers will compete in the Austrian Junior Cup, the Yamaha R3 bLU cRU Cup, the Northern Talent Cup, and the IDM Superstock 600 Cup.