A lot can happen over 18 laps, each 3.6 kilometers long. In the second race of the IDM Superbike at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben, the decisive moments unfolded within the first 1,000 meters. Markus Reiterberger (BCC-alpha-Van Zon-BMW, photo) made a dream start from the third row, which put him on the ideal line to victory. Florian Alt (Wilbers-BMW-Racing) finished second this time, and Vladimir Leonov (Hertrampf Mo Yamaha Racing Team) took third place once again.
Due to the reversed grid, Florian Alt, the winner of the first race, started in ninth position, while Reiterberger started in eighth. “I’ll have to make sure I’m on the inside before the second turn,” Alt added. But the tactic didn’t work out. Reiterberger had better luck, racing past the competition on the outside and taking the lead by the Hotelkurve, from where he was able to pull ahead of Florian Alt, who followed shortly after.
The Bavarian wasn’t happy with his loss to the 26-year-old from Nümbrecht in the first race, and Alt didn’t stand a chance against the championship leader in the second race. It wasn’t until the third lap that he was finally able to break away from the pack. But the gap to Reiterberger was too big to close. “The start was decisive,” Alt said at the finish line, “Markus was incredibly strong. The rear-wheel grip didn’t improve for me either, so I just managed my second-place position over the last eight laps. But you also have to keep in mind that we’re still a development team that’s constantly testing new components on the bike. We weren’t here to test, either.”
Reiterberger, who said he never really felt comfortable all weekend, also complained of grip issues, but noted that he had managed his tires well. The battle between Reiterberger and Alt now shifts to Most, Czech Republic, where the next round of the IDM will take place from June 24 to 26.
Vladimir Leonov gave his crew in the pits another big reason to celebrate with his third-place finish, and it’s already clear that he’ll be a major contender in the championship. Behind him, a duel initially developed between Rob Hartog (Team SWPN) and Toni Finsterbusch (GERT56), who in turn had Pepijn Bijsterbosch and Kamil Krzemien from Team BCC-alpha-Van Zon-BMW in their wake. Julian Puffe (GERT56) followed in their slipstream. After 18 laps, all these riders crossed the finish line in a tight pack, albeit in a different order. Hikari Okubo (HRP) had also caught up with the group.
Jan Mohr (BCC-alpha-Van Zon-BMW) had no luck. The Austrian had returned home from the season opener at Lausitz in third place overall in the premier class. Because he scored a zero in today’s second Superbike race, he slipped to fourth place. He had just started feeling well again after a gastrointestinal infection, and in the first race, the 24-year-old BMW rider was still able to score ten points.
The RR Socia Racing Team suffered a complete setback in the second race. Ricardo Brink had to push his bike off the starting grid due to a mechanical issue. Jeroen Hilster crashed.
IDM Superbike, Race 2:
1. Markus REITERBERGER (GER), BMW
2. Florian ALT (GER), BMW
3. Vladimir LEONOV (UAE), Yamaha
4. Toni FINSTERBUSCH (GER), BMW
5. Kamil KRZEMIEN (POL), BMW
6. Rob HARTOG (NLD), Yamaha
7. Julian PUFFE (GER), BMW
8. Pepijn BIJSTERBOSCH (NLD), BMW
9. Hikari OKUBO (JPN), Honda
10. Philipp Steinmayr (AUT), Yamaha