The season opener of the IDM Supersport 300 couldn't have been more exciting or full of surprises. After a neck-and-neck battle among the World Championship riders from Freudenberg and Füsport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki at the front of the pack, it was ultimately newcomer Dustin Schneider who emerged victorious.
For Dustin Schneider, it was probably the biggest surprise of all when he crossed the finish line as the winner after 13 laps. For the 16-year-old, the season opener at the Sachsenring was his very first race in Supersport 300, after he had switched from the Northern Talent Cup to Team Freudenberg in the IDM for the new season. Learning and gaining experience was actually the Vogtland native’s motto. But his first victory came sooner than expected. After initially holding back in the leading group and simply riding along for a while, he launched his attack in the final third of the race and ultimately left five World Championship riders in his slipstream behind him. “This is amazing. I definitely didn’t expect this,” said Schneider, beaming with joy at the podium ceremony. In the second race on Sunday, Schneider will start from fourth place again. The race begins at 12:25 p.m.
Behind Schneider, his teammate Walid Khan crossed the finish line. The Dutchman started the race from eleventh place after two difficult qualifying sessions. Following a strong start, he fought tooth and nail against his competitors and hung in there until the very end. “I’m very happy with the result. I had a few difficulties at the start, which is why I almost crashed,” said the 24-year-old, who secured second place.
Third place went to Czech rider Petr Svoboda (Füsport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki), who led the field for much of the race on his Kawasaki and set the pace. He was followed by his teammate Inigo Iglesias. Despite narrowly missing the podium, the other newcomer to the Füsport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki team put in a strong performance. After jumping the start from pole position, race officials penalized him with two long laps, which he served midway through the race. However, the race was far from over for the 21-year-old. Instead, Iglesias stepped on the gas and rejoined the lead group just a few laps later.
Fifth place went to Dutch rider Ruben Bijman, who also joined Team Apreco this season. Dirk Geiger finished sixth, Lennox Lehmann seventh, and KTM newcomer Phillip Tonn claimed eighth place (all Freudenberg KTM-Paligo Racing). Defending champion Marvin Siebdrath (Yamaha bLU cRU IDM by Kiefer Racing) rounded out the top 10 behind Belgian rider Ferre Fleerackers (B.art Racing Team).
Race 1 Results:
- Dustin SCHNEIDER (GER/KTM)
- Wakid KHAN (NLD/KTM)
- Petr SVOBODA (CZW/Kawasaki)
- Inigo IGLESIAS (ESP/Kawasaki)
- Ruben BIJMAN (NLD/Yamaha)
- Dirk GEIGER (GER/KTM)
- Lennox LEHMANN (GER/KTM)
- Phillip TONN (GER/KTM)
- Ferre FLEERACKERS (BEL/Kawasaki)
- Marvin SIEBDRATH (GER/Yamaha)