Goosebumps. Tears. Joy. Drama. Bitter disappointment. There’s no other way to describe Sunday’s second race of the IDM Supersport at Most. It was both bitterly beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time. It was a cocktail of emotions. In the end: two winners who both thought they’d won. Both would have stood on the top step of the podium for the first time in the IDM. At first, Leo Rammerstorfer (Freudenberg KTM – Paligo Racing) thought he had won the race. But then the results board showed Máté Számadó as the winner. In the parc fermé, however, the correction came after the race officials reviewed the photo finish: Rammerstorfer is now, after all, the official winner of today’s race. Eleven thousandths of a second—a mere fraction—made the difference between him and Máté Számadó. With an air temperature of 30 degrees, the two battled it out in the leading group alongside Marvin Siebdrath (Füsport – RT Motorsports by SKM) and Lennox Lehmann (Freudenberg KTM – Paligo Racing) for the win, giving it their all with sweat and determination. “It was a pure thrill to race here today,” Leo Rammerstorfer said afterward. Máté Számadó described the race as “completely crazy.”
But there were also two riders whose suffering you could literally feel: Walid Khan (Freudenberg KTM – Paligo Racing) and Marvin Siebdrath. Khan shot straight to the front from the start and led the race for eight of the eleven laps with a 3-second lead. Until his bike failed and he lost speed and power. Within a single lap, the chasing pack caught up with him. As if in slow motion, he watched as his victory—which had seemed certain—slipped away from him. In the end, he finished in ninth place. He didn’t take off his helmet on the way back to his pit.
Marvin Siebdrath was the other unlucky rider of the day, even though he had actually done everything right. He hung on in the leading group, rode consistently, kept an eye on his rivals, and overtook Számadó on the final lap to take the lead. But then he started to slide slightly and, with great difficulty, managed to avoid a highside and thus the end of the race. But that meant the lead was gone again. He crossed the finish line in fourth place behind Troy Alberto (Füsport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki). However, since Alberto competed as a guest rider and is not included in the standings, Siebdrath earned the 16 points for the overall standings. The disappointment on his face, however, was palpable and sent a shiver down one’s spine.
Lennox Lehmann experienced similar technical issues to Khan and finished in fifth place. However, he celebrated alongside his teammate and friend Leo Rammerstorfer, who secured his first victory in the IDM.
Kawasaki rider Jorke Erwig (Kawasaki Weber Motos Racing) finished sixth. For him, too, the weekend was not without its problems and disappointments. On Saturday evening, race officials retroactively stripped the 16-year-old of his eighth-place finish in the first race because his motorcycle did not comply with the technical regulations.
Michel-Caspar Wieth (Yamaha bLU cRU IDM by Kiefer Racing) put in a strong performance. The German, who started the race from second-to-last place after a collision with Troy Alberto in the second qualifying session—through no fault of his own—overtook more than half of his rivals and finished in 12th place.
IDM SSP 300, Race 2 Results:
- Leo RAMMERSTORFER (AUT/KTM)
- Mate SZAMADO (HUN/Kawasaki)
- Troy ALBERTO (PHL/KTM)
- Marvin SIEBDRATH (GER/Kawasaki)
- Lennox LEHMANN (GER/KTM)
- Jorke ERWIG (GER/Kawasaki)
- Filip FEIGL (CZE/Kawasaki)
- Troy BEINLICH (GER/Kawasaki)
- Walid KHAN (NLD/KTM)
- Ferre FLEERACKERS (BEL/Kawasaki)