Styria was a real challenge: The IDM Supersport riders, also known as the “Young Wild Ones,” lived up to their name in the second race on Sunday afternoon, delivering plenty of surprises both during and after the race. Marvin Siebdrath (Füsport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) was ultimately declared the winner, even though Scott Deroue crossed the finish line just ahead of Walid Khan (both Freudenberg KTM – Paligo Racing) in a photo finish.
What had happened?
A rain shower before the second race caused a flurry of activity among both the drivers and the teams on the grid. While the track had already dried out on the start-finish straight, other sections of the track were still wet, so the teams had to decide on the right tire choice. Since it turned out to be just a passing shower, the field quickly switched back from rain tires to slicks.
The lights turned green and Leo Rammerstorfer (Freudenberg KTM – Paligo Racing) took the lead—but not for long. Dirk Geiger (Füsport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) took the lead shortly afterward; he had been demoted two grid positions from pole after a rule violation during the warm-up and thus started the race from third place. For a long time, the Kawasaki rider battled alone against his KTM rivals Lennox Lehmann, Scott Deroue, Walid Khan, and Leo Rammerstorfer (all Freudenberg KTM – Paligo Racing), who were closing in on him in a pack and at times surrounded him. Meanwhile, teammate Marvin Siebdrath tried to recover from his botched start from pole position—to which he had been promoted due to Geiger’s penalty—and get back into his rhythm. He closed in step by step and, after just a few laps, caught up to the leading group, which now consisted of him, Mate Szamado (Hungarian Racing Engineering Team), Leo Rammerstorfer, Scott Deroue, Dirk Geiger, Walid Khan, and Lennox Lehmann. The race at the front resembled a game of musical chairs, as the positions shuffled anew after every turn.
The showdown finally came in the last lap: Walid Khan and Lennox Lehmann collided in the new chicane at the Red Bull Ring, causing Lehmann to be thrown from his motorcycle and land back on the track. Khan escaped unscathed and was able to continue racing. However, Leo Rammerstorfer was also caught up in the incident, causing the title contender to lose valuable positions and drop back to ninth place. Meanwhile, at the front of the pack, the battle for the win remained intense, with Scott Deroue ultimately prevailing over Walid Khan in a photo finish. A mere 0.0023 seconds separated the two, while Marvin Siebdrath crossed the finish line in third place.
But that wasn't the end of it. While the race was still underway, race officials imposed a six-second penalty on five riders because work was still being done on their bikes on the starting grid after the three-minute time limit had expired. The riders affected were Mate Szamado, Dirk Geiger, Walid Khan, Lennox Lehmann, and Scott Deroue.
As a result, Marvin Siebdrath was declared the winner; with this surprising result, he not only celebrated his second victory of the season but also took the lead in the standings. Jorke Erwig (Kawasaki Weber Motos Racing) finished second, followed by Thom Molenaar (Molenaar Racing). Leo Rammerstorfer managed to cross the finish line in eighth place after making an evasive maneuver to avoid Lehmann.
This result brought a turbulent race weekend in the IDM Supersport to a close. Despite Leo Rammerstorfer’s victory in Saturday’s first race, Marvin Siebdrath is the new championship leader. The Wildenfels native arrived in Spielberg trailing by one point and is leaving Styria with a two-point lead. The championship will therefore be decided at the season finale in Hockenheim from September 22 to 24.
Addendum:
Following the penalty imposed by race control, the Freudenberg-Paligo Racing team subsequently filed a protest. After a thorough review of the video footage, the race stewards upheld the protest and rescinded the penalty imposed by race control against Scott Deroue and Walid Khan. Following the reassessment, Scott Deroue won the race ahead of Walid Khan. Marvin Siebdrath finished third. Leo Rammerstorfer thus remains the championship leader with 191 points. His lead over Siebdrath stands at 7 points after the Spielberg race.
IDM SSP 300, Race 2 Results – Corrected
- Scott DEROUE (NDL/KTM)
- Walid KHAN (NLD/KTM)
- Marvin SIEBDRATH (GER/Kawasaki)
- Jorke ERWIG (GER/Kawasaki)
- Thom MOLENAAR (NLD/Kawasaki)
- Ferre FLEERACKERS (BEL/Kawasaki)
- Leo RAMMERSTORFER (AUT/KTM)
- Dirk GEIGER (GER/Kawasaki)
- Mate SZAMADO (HUN/Kawasaki)
- Toni ERHARD (GER/KTM)