Team manager Benny Wilbers has named Florian Alt and young rider Marco Fetz as the IDM Superbike 1000 riders for 2022. “The contracts haven’t been signed yet, but we’re in agreement,” says the team manager of Wilbers-BMW Racing.
But one thing is weighing heavily on the businessman’s mind: just like last season, there are scheduling conflicts between the IDM and the FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC). For example, when the IDM visits Oschersleben in June, the EWC will be holding a 24-hour race upon its return to the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium.
The problem for Wilbers is that this means he has to do without his rider, Florian Alt. The runner-up in Germany’s premier class is expected to win the title in 2022. However, Alt has also been riding for VRD Igol Expériences—a French Yamaha team competing in the World Endurance Championship—for years. Since the World Championship ranks above the IDM, the French team would have priority over Alt and could even secure a license suspension for the 25-year-old if he fails to appear due to a scheduling conflict. “The French want him, and so do we,” Wilbers summarizes the conflict.
The solution could come from a meeting with the team manager of VRD Igol Expériences in a week’s time. He is traveling to Wilbers’s home in Nordhorn, Lower Saxony. “We have to find a way that makes both sides happy,” Wilbers says.