That was quick. Due to the reverse grid, Markus Reiterberger (BCC-alpha-Van Zon-BMW), the winner of the first race, had to start the afternoon race from ninth on the grid. After just half a lap, the Bavarian had already raced through the field ahead of him and was leading the pack. Florian Alt (Wilbers-BMW-Racing) once again failed in his attempt to defeat the four-time IDM Superbike champion for a second time this season.
Like his rivals, Reiti had opted for Pirelli’s SCX tires, designed for high temperatures and fine-grained asphalt. In the first race, he had been testing the SC1, but the Bavarian driver wasn’t happy with it. He said that with the SCX, the finish wouldn’t have been so close, a claim that wasn’t borne out after 14 laps.
In the second race, Alt took longer than in the first to get past Leandro “Tati” Mercado (Holzhauer Racing Promotion) and move into position behind Reiti. The 26-year-old has been working on his starts, which have improved, but he made contact with Nico Thöni. “I have no idea where he suddenly came from,” said Alt, completely baffled.
Lap by lap, he fought his way back to Reiterberger. One more lap, and he likely would have achieved his goal of defeating the four-time champion once again this year. In the end, he finished 0.699 seconds behind the double winner at the Red Bull Ring.
“That’s how it goes sometimes,” Alt shrugged. “I don’t think the reverse grid is a good idea, though. It leads to a boring race where everyone gets spread out. But I was able to put up a good fight with Markus at the front. He didn’t make it easy for me.” Alt doesn’t forget to emphasize an important detail: “It was clear once again that we’re the only team truly capable of beating the official BMW team.” The next attempt will take place at the grand finale in Hockenheim in three weeks.
Mercado crossed the finish line exactly 15.130 seconds behind Alt. Team boss Jens Holzhauer was on cloud nine. Two podium finishes in a single weekend—after so many hardships, it was almost too much for the Honda dealer from Wittenberge. Holzhauer and Mercado are a perfect match. The Argentine has done a lot of development work for the German team and has repeatedly stated that he feels very much at home in the IDM. However, Mercado bid farewell to the premier class at the Red Bull Ring. When the big Hockenheim finale takes place, he will be back on the starting grid in the Superbike World Championship in Barcelona. “Thank you for everything,” he said loudly into the microphone at the podium ceremony in Austria to everyone he had met during his time in the IDM.
At Hockenheim, Luca Grünwald is the only man on the HRP team. The Waldkraiburg native finished eighth this time. For Kawasaki, the weekend ended just as promisingly as it had begun at the start of the season at the Lausitzring: fourth place for the resurgent Bastien Mackels (Kawasaki Weber-Motos Racing), without whose injury-related break a higher position than his current ninth place overall would have been possible. The battle for third place in the standings is getting more and more exciting: Rob Hartog’s (Team SWPN) lead over his compatriot Pepijn Bijsterbosch (BCC-alpha-Van Zon-BMW) shrank by one point at the Red Bull Ring and now stands at just five points. Hartog would secure a Yamaha spot in the top 3.
IDM Superbike, Race 2:
1. Markus REITERBERGER (GER) BMW
2. Florian ALT (GER) BMW
3. Leandro MERCADO (ARG) Honda
4. Bastien MACKELS (BEL) Kawasaki
5. Rob HARTOG (NED) Yamaha
6. Kamil KRZEMIEN (POL) BMW
7. Pepijn BIJSTERBOSCH (NLD) BMW
8. Luca GRÜNWALD (DEU) Honda
9. Philipp STEINMAYR (AUT) Yamaha
10. Nico THÖNI (AUT) Kawasaki