Considered the favorite to win the title, he lived up to expectations in qualifying for the IDM season opener at the Lausitzring: Max Enderlein will start from pole position in both Supersport tomorrow, Sunday. Thomas Gradinger and Christoph “Chris” Beinlich round out the front row.
Beinlich was absolutely thrilled, but still tried to stay calm. “Otherwise, it gets me way too worked up,” said the Yamaha rider from Team Roto Store BRT. This is the first time Beinlich has secured a spot on the front row in his five-year Supersport. “That goes down a treat,” the 26-year-old from Pößneck openly admits, but he also notes: “This year, seven fast competitors are missing—they either moved up after last season or switched classes.”
But Beinlich has also gotten faster: “We picked up right where we left off and now want to do even more testing.” He also likes the Lausitzring. “Somehow it reminds me of the Schleizer Dreieck, even though there’s no grassy area along the edge here. But I don’t necessarily need that.”
Enderlein set the bar high with a lap time of 1:41.206 min. The Hohenstein-Ernstthal native, who struck out on his own with the MR32 Racing Team a year ago, had already dominated in free practice. Securing pole position in qualifying was the icing on the cake.
Former World Championship rider Thomas Gradinger is 0.751 seconds behind. He crashed in the second qualifying session. His Yamaha sustained severe damage. The rear, frame, exhaust, and front end were totaled. Team manager Thomas Eder remained in good spirits nonetheless. “If the riders are doing well, the whole team is doing well. We’ll figure out everything else.” Eder believes that Gradinger will win Sunday’s Supersport. “Of course I respect Enderlein’s lap time. Still, I think Thomas will win. That’s why we came here. A spot on the front row is in the bag. That was the first goal. Now there’s only one thing left: victory.”
Six Yamaha riders and four of the five Kawasaki riders made it into the top ten on the starting grid.
Qualifying Results, IDM Supersport
1. Max ENDERLEIN (GER), Yamaha
2. Thomas GRADINGER (AUT), Yamaha
3. Christoph BEINLICH (GER), Yamaha
4. Andreas KOFLER (AUT), Kawasaki
5. Luca DE VLEESCHAUWER (BEL), Kawasaki
6. Melvin VAN DER VOORT (NLD), Yamaha
7. Jan-Ole JÄHNIG (DEU), Yamaha
8. Yves STADELMANN (CHE), Yamaha
9. Severin BINGISSER (CHE), Kawasaki
10. Micky WINKLER (DEU), Kawasaki