Valentin Debise (Kawasaki Weber-Motos Racing) had the best debut he could have hoped for this weekend: a victory in his first IDM Supersport 600 race at the Red Bull Ring.
With Debise, you have to be prepared for anything. He’s already won the French championship in the Supersport 600 class this year. Now he has his sights set on the German championship—and it’s become more within reach. Because Patrick Hobelsberger (Bonovo action by MGM Racing) didn’t find his rhythm as usual and had to settle for fourth place in the race, the Bavarian’s lead over Debise in the overall standings narrowed from 33 points to 21.
Debise didn’t have the victory handed to him on a silver platter. Kevin Wahr (MVR-Racing) had been putting pressure on the Frenchman for lap after lap. In the penultimate lap, the Nagold native made his move. In the end, it wasn’t enough to secure the win, as Debise countered immediately after the pass, and Wahr admitted: “Another move on my part would have carried a high risk of a crash.” After two third-place finishes, however, Wahr has now taken second place for the first time.
Hobelsberger and Thomas Gradinger (Eder Racing) battled it out for third place. Gradinger was determined to make it onto the podium at his home race, even if it meant taking a few championship points away from his Yamaha teammate and title favorite. But Gradinger said with refreshing candor: “I was able to pass Pax. I feel bad for him—he’s surely pissed off—but that’s racing.”
Other notable events: Until halfway through the race, Glenn Van Straalen (NIWA Racing), the double winner at Assen, had been in the lead. He crashed and rejoined the race further back in the field. However, that didn’t help him, because the team had been working on the motorcycle just three minutes before the start. That is prohibited and was penalized with a drive-through penalty.
Dino Iozzo (Füsport-RT Motorsports by SKM-Kawasaki) was black-flagged out of the race. The South African had disregarded the drive-through penalty he had received for a false start.
The Supersport 600 race got underway as the track was drying out. Rob Hartog (Füsport-RT Motorsports by SKM-Kawasaki) had gone with slicks in the tire gamble. He was completely off the mark with them at first; it wasn’t until the final laps that they proved superior to the rain tires, and Hartog was posting lap times on par with the leaders. It was a bit late, but he still managed to score three IDM points.
There are now only three riders who have scored points in every race of the 2021 season: Patrick Hobelsberger, Valentin Debise, and Christoph Beinlich (BRT Roto-Store).
IDM Supersport 600, Race 1:
1. Valentin DEBISE (FRA/Kawasaki)
2. Kevin WAHR (GER/Yamaha)
3. Thomas GRADINGER (AUT/Yamaha)
4. G Soma GÖRBE (HUN/Yamaha)
5. Patrick HOBELSBERGER (GER/Yamaha)
6. Jan-Ole JÄHNIG (GER/Yamaha)
7. Jeroen HILSTER (NED/Yamaha)
8. Christoph BEINLICH (GER/Yamaha)
9. Andreas KOFLER (AUT/Kawasaki)
10. Dominik BLERSCH (GER/Yamaha)