He wasn't home for Christmas and New Year's Eve, but that didn't bother him: Thomas Gradinger was training on his motorcycle under the Spanish sun to Supersport the 2022 IDM Supersport championship. He remains with Team Eder-Racing, which is run by Thomas Eder, a former race car driver and current racing instructor.
A return to the World Championship has so far eluded the 2017 IDM champion. Although the Austrian had shone there in 2018 as the top rookie and followed that up with his first podium finish in 2019. A series of unfortunate events—including the team’s withdrawal, a lack of funding, and an injury—hampered his success in the World Championship. In 2020, Gradinger was no longer offered a permanent spot on the team.
In 2021, he returned to the IDM at Most, initially as a guest rider, but then entered the championship, competed for the entire season, and was among the potential podium contenders. In his second-place finishes at Most and Hockenheim, only his friend and IDM winner Patrick “Pax” Hobelsberger was faster. In 2022, Hobelsberger will compete in the Supersport. If his results in the IDM and his budget allow it, Gradinger is also considering at least one wildcard appearance in the Supersport.
For the 25-year-old, racing is a way of life. He bought IDM rider Marc Buchner’s Yamaha R6 to use as a training bike to prepare for the IDM title race. And he works hard at his parents’ company to make ends meet. “As a truck driver, dispatcher, and in the workshop. I’m the jack-of-all-trades,” says the young rider from St. Marienkirchen.
Team manager Thomas Eder can count on a partnership with Yamaha Germany. He has hired a Yamaha mechanic and is building a new YZF-R6 for Gradinger. Sidecar ace Josef Sattler is preparing the engines in his workshop.