He'll be back on the track at the Schleizer Dreieck from July 22 to 24: Bastien Mackels has largely recovered from his foot injury sustained in Oschersleben and will be racing for Kawasaki Weber-Motos Racing.
His crash during free practice had knocked the Belgian out of the race at both Oschersleben and Most. “We’re glad he’s back. Bastien likes the Schleizer Dreieck,” says team manager Emil Weber, “and he’s already done a bit of Supermoto riding at home.”
However, expectations for the Kawasaki superbike rider are low following his forced break. “We don’t expect him to be in contention for a podium finish.”
In Most, former World Championship runner-up Leon Haslam made his IDM debut on Mackels’ spare bike. The ZX-10 RR is still exactly as the British rider left it in the pits. “In Schleiz, we’ll adopt a few things from Leon’s setup—specifically regarding balance and geometry—for Bastien. These aren’t components, but rather settings. Leon also gave us a lot of tips, and we want to try out some of those options,” said Weber.
Nico Thöni, who rode a second Weber-Kawasaki in Most, will not be competing in Schleiz, just like Haslam. According to Weber, the team’s full focus is on Mackels. “The season is far from over; nothing is lost yet,” says the Swiss rider.