The HRP team is heading into the penultimate race weekend of the 2022 IDM season with a top-notch lineup. Leandro “Tati” Mercado is expected to compete in the premier class for what is likely to be his penultimate time, and Luca Grünwald is returning to the saddle of the Honda CBR 1000 RR-R following his leg injury. For him, this will be his very first IDM start in Honda colors.
Luca Grünwald, Honda’s promising new recruit, had been sidelined until now following a serious crash during the final test before the start of the season. In the meantime, HRP team boss Jens Holzhauer has signed Hikari Okubo and Leandro Mercado as replacement riders for the IDM Superbike series. The partnership with the Argentine rider from the Superbike World Championship paid off immediately. He secured a podium finish in his very first race at Most. This was extremely significant for the team. Mercado ended the crew’s years-long podium drought. After three rounds of the season, the 30-year-old has already climbed to ninth place in the overall standings.
According to Holzhauer, Grünwald understands that the focus at the Red Bull Ring will therefore be primarily on Mercado. The 27-year-old from Bavaria is now virtually symptom-free following rehabilitation for his torn cruciate ligament and meniscus, the team boss reports, adding: “Luca spent a week in Spain with KTM, where he works as a test rider, and everything went well there. We had definitely planned to have Luca for the finale, but wanted to take him testing beforehand. That will now take place right away from September 2–4 at the IDM at the Red Bull Ring.”