The 2022 International German Motorcycle Championship (IDM) is entering its final stretch. The penultimate round of the 2022 season will take place from September 2 to 4 at the Red Bull Ring in Austria. Adding to the excitement is the fact that the new Münzer chicane on the track in Spielberg is uncharted territory for all riders, and no one has had the advantage of testing it beforehand.
In Styria, the action is coming thick and fast in Germany’s premier motorcycle racing series. Two races will be held in each of the IDM classes: Superbike, Supersport, Supersport 300, and Sidecar. The weekend will be rounded out by races in the Northern Talent Cup, the Yamaha R3 bLU cRU Cup, and the Austrian Junior Cup.
The IDM is racing on the modified layout of the high-speed track for the first time. The Münzer chicane was introduced on the approach to Turn 3 for safety reasons, to make the track less dangerous at a key point. It was one of the requirements for hosting the MotoGP on the fastest track on the calendar. It is a right-left combination that requires hard braking, thereby reducing speed at this critical point. The new track layout is 30 meters longer than the previous one, which is still used by Formula 1. As a result, the track now measures 4.348 kilometers.
In the IDM Superbike class, Markus Reiterberger (BCC-alpha-Van Zon-BMW) has already been crowned champion ahead of schedule. The 28-year-old sealed the deal back in Assen. But that doesn’t take the excitement out of the premier class. Florian Alt (Wilbers-BMW-Racing) is still trying to beat the now four-time champion for a second time this year. The 26-year-old managed to do so for the first time at Oschersleben. At the start of the season, Alt was considered Reiterberger’s main rival in the fight for the championship, but after three technical retirements, he had no chance of challenging him for the title. For him, every single race result counts now, and Alt is tenacious! Behind these two exceptional riders, the Dutchmen Rob Hartog (Team SWPN) and Pepijn Bijsterbosch (BCC-alpha-Van Zon-BMW) are battling it out for third place in the overall standings. Hartog is the only Yamaha rider in an entire BMW armada.
Leandro Mercado could be the deciding factor on the Holzhauer-Honda. The World Superbike rider from Argentina feels right at home competing in the IDM series. Another intriguing question is how Luca Grünwald’s debut with Honda will go. After suffering a leg injury during preseason testing, he is now fit enough to compete in at least the final two events of the season. Kawasaki rider Bastien Mackels, who had been sidelined for a long time, has since made it into the top ten following his return. However, the absences of Jan Mohr, Vladimir Leonov, Julian Puffe, and Toni Finsterbusch have contributed significantly to this.
Yamaha’s star rider Max Enderlein (M32 Racing) heads to the Red Bull Ring, set against the backdrop of the Alpine panorama, with a 66-point lead over Luca de Vleeschauwer (Kawasaki Weber-Motos Racing) in the Supersport class. Meanwhile, there are only twelve points separating the Belgian and the current third-place rider, Andreas Kofler (Kawasaki Schnock Team Motorex). Kofler has already stood on the podium four times this year, but has yet to claim the top spot. The 18-year-old from Attnang-Puchheim sees his home race as a major opportunity. Thomas Gradinger will be attending the event as a spectator. The Upper Austrian, who is theoretically among the title contenders, suffered serious shoulder and back injuries in Schleiz. The Eder Team, to which he belongs, is nevertheless sending two Austrians to the starting grid at the Red Bull Ring. Leon Lambing is joining the team, and Lukas Trautmann is also being reactivated. “Trauti” was one of the most promising talents in Austria until 2017, but then withdrew for various reasons. He hasn’t forgotten how to race, though.
Just a single point separates Leo Rammerstorfer (Freudenberg KTM-Paligo Racing) and Marvin Siebdrath (Füsport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) in the Supersport 300 junior class. The duel is not only Austria versus Germany, but also KTM versus Kawasaki. The two title favorites are trading the lead back and forth. There is still a lot of movement throughout the entire top 10, and not a single rider can rest easy in their current position. The races are often decided in the final corner, with margins of just thousandths of a second.
The IDM Sidecar series will welcome Tom and Ben Birchall, as well as Craig Currie and Justin Sharp, to Styria. The Birchall brothers are multiple Sidecar World Champions and eleven-time TT winners.
During the IDM race weekend in Austria, spectacular events on the ground and in the air come together. While the IDM races take place on the asphalt, Europe’s major airshow, “AirPower,” will be held in the skies above Zeltweg—just two kilometers away—on September 2 and 3. This is a major display featuring the Austrian Air Force, the Flying Bulls, and international aerobatic teams. The neighboring towns of Zeltweg and Spielberg in Styria come together this weekend for a spectacular show.
If you can't make it to Austria, you can once again follow the IDM races up close via livestream this weekend: www.idm.de/live
IDM Ticket Prices:
Friday: Free admission
Saturday: 19.00 EUR
Sunday: 25.00 EUR
Weekend ticket: 35.00 EUR
Admission to the race is free for children and teenagers up to and including age 17.
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