From August 12 to 14, 2022, the International German Motorcycle Championship (IDM) will head to the TT Circuit Assen in neighboring Netherlands. There, a truly high-speed track awaits riders and fans alike. The longest straight measures 970 meters. The turns are traditionally slightly banked. Due to the high speeds reached on the track, it is nicknamed the “Cathedral of Speed.”
This is where Rob Hartog (Team SWPN) is most at home. The IDM Superbike rookie hopes to seriously challenge BMW’s dominance at the front of the pack during his home race on the SWPN-Yamaha. The 30-year-old undoubtedly has his family’s racing DNA in his blood. His uncle Wil was Dutch champion twelve times and won five Grand Prix races in the Superbike class. Rob has already competed several times in the Supersport World Championship. The more demanding IDM Superbike series is still uncharted territory for him, but he continues to fight his way forward from race to race. But it’s not just Rob Hartog hoping for a home-track advantage; Ricardo Brink, Jereon Hilster (both TEAM RR SOCIA RACING TeamNL), and Pepijn Bijsterbosch (BCC-alpha-Van Zoe-BMW) also know their home track well and will do everything they can to take home important championship points from Assen.
In the past, Vladimir Leonov (Hertrampf MO Yamaha Racing Team), Leandro Mercado (Holzhauer Racing Promotion), and Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Weber-Motos Racing) have already managed to prevent an all-BMW podium. Following the injury-related withdrawals of Toni Finsterbusch (GERT56), Jan Mohr (BCC-alpha-Van Zon-BMW), and Leonov at Assen, it remains to be seen whether there are any other contenders for the top three spots besides the usual podium finishers.
Only one thing is certain: Markus Reiterberger (BCC-alpha-Van Zon-BMW), the dominant force in the premier class, will head to Assen as the leader and leave the track still in first place in the championship standings. He already holds a 77-point lead in the overall standings, and his fourth title in the top IDM class is all but assured. However, his biggest rivals, Florian Alt (Wilbers-BMW-Racing) and Julian Puffe (GERT56), will try to delay his triumph for as long as possible.
Another exciting development is the participation of the two Superbike World Championship riders, Loris Baz and Eugene Laverty, who will be competing with the Bonovo Action BMW team. Team owner Jürgen Röder and team manager Michael Galinski have their roots in the IDM and are looking forward to returning to the series. Baz and Laverty are guest riders, so they won’t earn any points. It will still be interesting to see where they finish in the field.
In the IDM Supersport class, Max Enderlein (M32 Racing) leads the overall standings. He recently faced a challenge for the lead from Dutch rider Twan Smits (Team Apreco) at the Schleizer Dreieck. The 18-year-old rising star from the IDM Supersport 300 junior class had coolly and unexpectedly overtaken the two-time champion, but got his comeuppance just seconds later. Competition also lurks in the form of Belgian Luca de Vleeschauwer (Kawasaki Weber-Motos-Racing-Team), who is currently second overall. And Andy Kofler (Kawasaki Schnock Team Motorex) should not be underestimated on the 4.555-kilometer track either. The Austrian is known above all for his excellent starts.
When it comes to young talent, things couldn’t be more intense than in the IDM Supersport 300. Only three points separate the leader, Leo Rammerstorfer (Freudenberg KT-Paligo Racing), and his closest rival, Marvin Siebdrath (Füsport-RT Motorsports by SKM-Kawasaki). This is also a battle between the brands. The KTM RC 390 R concept is going head-to-head with the Kawasaki Ninja 400. World Championship rider Lennox Lehmann, who competes in most of the IDM races in addition to the big world stage, would have liked to support his teammate Rammerstorfer even more at the Schleizer Dreieck recently, but due to technical issues, the junior rider could only manage a sixth-place finish in the second race after winning the first. In the IDM Supersport 300, victory and defeat are usually decided by tenths, hundredths, or even thousandths of a second. Riders from nine nations compete. The top ten includes one Austrian, five Germans, three Dutch riders, and one Hungarian.
It will be exciting to see who can navigate the 17 turns of the Assen circuit the fastest in a single lap. In addition to the racing action in the premier classes, the guest classes—the Pro Superstock Cup and the Yamaha R3 bLU cRU Cup—will once again provide further entertainment at Assen. Also back on board this year for the second time, following the IDM round in Oschersleben, is the Northern Talent Cup. The junior class, which is part of the “Road to MotoGP” junior program run by Dorna Sports—the rights holder for the Motorcycle World Championship—will also feature several Dutch riders who could capitalize on their home-track advantage. A packed supporting program is therefore guaranteed.
If you can't make it to the legendary MotoGP circuit in Assen, you can watch the races live again at www.idm.de/live. You can also find more information about the event on the series' website at www.idm.de
Admission prices:
Friday: Free admission
Saturday: 15 EUR (advance sale) plus 3.50 EUR shipping, 19 EUR (at the door)
Sunday: 20 EUR (advance sale) plus 3.50 EUR shipping, 25 EUR (at the door)
Weekendticket: 30 EUR (advance sale) plus 3.50 EUR shipping, 35 EUR (at the door)
Weekend ticket incl. catering (from Saturday noon to Sunday noon): 67 EUR plus shipping
Admission to the race is free for children and teenagers up to and including age 17.
Tickets can be purchased online until Wednesday, August 3. Tickets will also be available at the box office throughout the event.
IDM Calendar 2022
May 6–8: Lausitzring
May 20–22: Oschersleben
June 24–26: Most (CZ)
July 22–24: Schleizer Dreieck
August 12–14: Assen (NL)
September 2–4: Red Bull Ring (A)
September 23–25: Hockenheim