The reverse grid issue was quickly resolved in the second IDM Superbike 1000 race at the Red Bull Ring, because even though the top riders from the first race were now on the third row of the grid, the usual suspects were quickly back in the lead. Florian Alt (Wilbers-BMW) took the win in the premier class once again.
Dramatic moments right from the start: Ilya Mikhalchik (EGS-alpha-Van Zon-BMW) shot up from the third row of the grid to second place. Markus Reiterberger (BCC Racing) came to a stop in the middle of the field but managed to get going again and returned from the first lap in 19th place. At that point, Valentin Debise (Kawasaki Weber-Motos Racing) had taken the lead ahead of Mikhalchik, Toni Finsterbusch (GERT56), Florian Alt, Vladimir Leonov (Hertrampf MO Yamaha Racing Team), and Luca Grünwald (Kiefer Racing). Julian Puffe (GERT56) had coasted to a stop due to a technical issue, and Max Schmidt had crashed. However, the junior rider from the Hertrampf MO Yamaha Racing Team picked himself up and continued racing.
Mikhalchik, who has his sights set on the title, took the lead in lap three but was unable to pull away. This made him a target for Debise and, later, for Alt as well. The Nümbrecht native charged forward with momentum to take the lead. Mikhalchik was determined to win and, on the eleventh of 16 laps, tried to see if he could get past Alt. It worked for what felt like two seconds, because the Ukrainian was immediately overtaken. Alt was back in the lead and remained there until the end.
In the meantime, Grünwald had fought his way into Debise’s slipstream and overtook the Frenchman for third place with two laps to go. Despite the ups and downs in the individual results, the Kiefer Racing Team, with Luca Grünwald, remains in fourth place in the overall standings following this victory—a position that is far from secure.
Ilya Mikhalchik leads the standings with 165 points, ahead of Valentin Debise (125). He is followed by Florian Alt (112), who moved up from 10th place to third in the span of a single weekend. After a botched start to the season in Oschersleben and his absence in Most, he can no longer win the championship, but the spot behind the leader is now likely to be a target for the Nümbrecht native in the finale. Luca Grünwald has 111 points, Bastien Mackels 109, and Vladimir Leonov 106.
Other highlights: Three Austrians made it into the top ten on their home track: Jan Mohr (EGS-alpha-Van Zon-BMW), Nico Thöni (Kawasaki Weber-Motos Racing), and Philipp Steinmayr (Team Ratezi). For Mohr, it was his best result of the year so far.
IDM Superbike 1000, Race 2:
1. Florian ALT (GER/BMW)
2. Ilya MIKHALCHIK (UKR/BMW)
3. Luca GRÜNWALD (GER/BMW)
4. Valentin DEBISE (FRA/Kawasaki)
5. Toni FINSTERBUSCH (GER/BMW)
6. Vladimir LEONOV (RUS/Yamaha)
7. Bastien MACKELS (BEL/Yamaha)
8. Jan MOHR (AUT/BMW)
9. Nico THÖNI (AUT/Kawasaki)
10. Philipp STEINMAYR (AUT/Yamaha)