Development means progress and change. As Germany’s premier road racing series, the IDM is reinventing itself in 2022 through a series of modifications.
The IDM includes the Superbike (SBK), Supersport (SSP), Supersport 300 (SSP300), and Sidecar (SC) classes. The class designations have been revised. The Superstock 600 and Sidecar 1000 classes will not be held next year.
For safety reasons, the minimum age for participants in the Supersport 300 class is being raised from 13 to 14 years. The cutoff date is the date on which the minimum age for the junior class is reached. Only then is racing permitted. The minimum age has also been raised in the higher-displacement Supersport class, from 15 to 16 years.
The next regulation also concerns safety. Starting in 2022, an airbag system will be mandatory in the SBK, SSP, and SSP300 solo classes as an additional feature to the leather suit. Alternatively, commercially available electronic airbag vests are permitted.
Anyone who wants to compete in the IDM will face a new qualifying hurdle in the future. From now on, the required lap time must be 10% of the average of the three fastest drivers in the respective class. Previously, 15% was sufficient.
For sporting infractions, the range of penalties that the stewards and the Race Director can impose will be expanded with the introduction of the long-lap penalty (driving through a penalty zone). On tracks where a penalty zone is not possible, time penalties will be announced prior to the event as an alternative.
There is also a change in how championship points are awarded. This affects the scoring for races that are abandoned and not restarted. Full points will no longer be awarded once 50% of the race distance has been completed, but only once two-thirds of the scheduled race distance has been completed.