For last year’s champion Patrick “Pax” Hobelsberger, things are going like clockwork during his guest appearance in the IDM at the Red Bull Ring. He secured pole position with a 0.429-second lead over Jan-Ole Jähnig (M32 Racing). Jähnig is followed by Andreas Kofler (Kawasaki Schnock Team Motorex) and Max Enderlein (M32 Racing). The Saxon rider opens out the second row of the grid. After the first qualifying session, he had actually been second behind Hobelsberger. In the second session, the order was completely turned upside down—except for “Pax.” “Andy tucked in behind Pax, who pulled him along. And I pulled Jan-Ole along,” Enderlein explains. “The few hundredths of a second I’m behind now aren’t a big deal,” he adds.
Hobelsberger, who has secured a spot back in the Supersport thanks to his 2021 title, hopes to come out of the summer break in top form after his third crash, which affected his right elbow. “The last one happened at the World Championship round in Most—that was five weeks ago. I have to say I’m already feeling better,” he said after the first few laps at the Red Bull Ring. “I’m here on my own bike, and as a guest, I don’t get any points.”
Luca de Vleeschauwer (Kawasaki Weber-Motos Racing) is currently in second place in the IDM Supersport series. So far, the Belgian has scored points for a podium finish at least once at every event. Still, he can’t rest on his laurels. Austrian rider Andreas Kofler is third in the standings, just twelve points behind. De Vleeschauwer will start from the third row tomorrow after qualifying seventh. That’s not unusual. The Belgian never sets the world on fire in practice, but things get interesting in the race.
Lukas Trautmann (Eder Racing) slipped to ninth place and also had to hand his damaged Yamaha over to the mechanics. “I crashed and lost feel for the front wheel,” reported the guest rider on his IDM comeback after a five-year hiatus. What struck him when he was getting dressed: “The suit is brutally heavy and easily weighs ten kilos with the airbag. It inflated when I stood up. The air pressure was so intense, I wish I’d had a valve to let some air out.”
The first race will take place tomorrow, Sunday, at 11:20 a.m., and the second at 3:50 p.m.
Fans who aren't there in person can log in at www.idm.de/live and watch the races via livestream.
IDM Supersport Qualifying:
1. (G) Patrick HOBELSBERGER (GER), Yamaha
2. Jan-Ole JÄHNIG (GER), Yamaha
3. Andreas KOFLER (AUT), Kawasaki
4. Max ENDERLEIN (GER), Yamaha
5. Melvin VAN DER VOORT (NED), Yamaha
6. Twan SMITS (NLD), Yamaha
7. Luca DE VLEESCHAUWER (BEL), Kawasaki
8. Yves STADELMANN (CHE), Yamaha
9. (G) Lukas TRAUTMANN (AUT), Yamaha
10. Koen MEUFFELS (NLD), Yamaha