You have to have a little luck sometimes. Dirk Geiger was in the right place at the right time.
When the 19-year-old from Mannheim stepped in as a substitute rider for the retired South African Dorren Loureiro in the FIM Supersport 300 World Championship in October, he performed so well in Portugal that he has now secured a permanent spot on the Dutch-German Füsport–RT Motorsports by SKM–Kawasaki team.
Geiger was one of the most successful riders in this year’s IDM Supersport 300. Riding the RC 390 R, he secured four wins and three additional podium finishes for the Freudenberg KTM WorldSSP Team. At the end of the season, he finished fourth in the overall standings. Then came the big opportunity: one week after the Hockenheim finale, he was set to race for the competition in the World Championship race in Portimão, Portugal. The team’s regular Kawasaki rider, Marvin Siebdrath, was not available on such short notice. But Geiger had time, and the Freudenberg Team didn’t stand in the way of the rider from Baden-Württemberg.
The results from Portugal are in: two races on the Kawasaki Ninja 400 and finishes of sixth and fifth. Geiger had exceeded all expectations. Right there in the Algarve, the first discussions took place about a future with the Füsport–RT Motorsports by SKM–Kawasaki team. “With Kawasaki, I know I’m competitive,” Geiger says of his move, “but with KTM, I don’t know that. However, I don’t want to waste another year, and it’s now up to me to make the most of the bike. The goal is to have the best Geiger ever, riding a bike that can compete for the title in the Supersport 300 World Championship.”
According to the media design apprentice, there’s still something going on in the IDM. “I hope there might be a guest appearance, as a training run or something like that. Preferably in Schleiz. I really like that track.”
Team owner Rob Vennegoor on the selection of the new rider: “We’re very excited to sign Dirk for our WorldSSP300 campaign. He really impressed us during his World Supersport 300 debut in Portimão. The circuit is one of the toughest and most challenging tracks in the world.”
The first WorldSSP300 race weekend of 2022 will take place April 8–10 at MotorLand Aragón in Spain.