Ilya Mikhalchik is the first race winner of the year in Germany's top motorcycle racing class. The Ukrainian rider from Team (BCC-ALPHA-VAN ZON-BMW) secured a flawless start-to-finish victory in the IDM Superbike class at the Sachsenring. Florian Alt (HRP-Honda-Team) finished second after a spectacular performance in qualifying. Third place went to class rookie Hannes Soomer (Enos Motorsport) from Estonia.
In qualifying, Alt had come within just under two seconds of the MotoGP times. The competition’s reactions ranged from intimidated to delighted. But Mikhalchik remained unimpressed. At the end of the day, it’s the race that counts—nothing else. The Ukrainian didn’t waste any time in the first race either. Starting from third position, he was the first to enter the world’s longest corner—the very feature that makes the track so challenging. It goes left, left, and left again.
Alt followed Mikhalchik, pulling Bastien Mackels (Team SWPN), Soomer, Patrick Hobelsberger (GERT56), Toni Finsterbusch (GERT56), and Vladimir Leonov (Hertrampf Yamaha Racing) in his wake. For former “Supersport ” World Championship rider Soomer, the start of his first Superbike race didn’t go quite as he’d imagined.
The blue of Soomer’s Honda takes some getting used to, but it’s the same color his first mini bike had over twelve years ago. That very same blue appeared among the motorcycles that were locked in a battle for the podium spots behind Mikhalchik right up to the finish. Alt, Soomer, and Hobelsberger—just like the race leader—were riding on Pirelli’s soft SCX rear tires, and it was a challenging task to make them last the entire race. Hobelsberger surpassed himself with every lap. It marked the return of a rider after a long streak of bad luck involving hospital stays, surgeries, and disappointments. Hobelsberger fought his way back with iron discipline and a strong will. But the fact that he was now competing for a podium finish as a Superbike rookie was simply incredible. However, Alt managed to knock the Bavarian out of third place on the podium in the Ralf-Waldmann curve, sending him into the run-off area in the process. Then the 26-year-old Honda rider also overtook Soomer.
On the podium, there was a Honda driver on the right and another on the left, with a BMW driver at the very top in the middle. There was no sign whatsoever that BMW would have any handling issues on the track. For Ilya Mikhalchik, it was a perfect return after a year in the Spanish Championship. His lead was exactly 3.620 seconds.
Mikhalchik hadn’t been bluffing in practice, but had focused more on race pace than on fast lap times. That’s why he started in third place. Although Alt didn’t let on during the winner’s interview, it was clear that the North Rhine-Westphalian, despite his podium finish on the Honda, was “not amused” with his second-place finish in the race. He had expected to be able to stay on Mikhalchik’s tail longer. He adjusted his electronics, but by then the race was almost over.
The top Yamaha rider was Bastien Mackels of Team SWPN. The Belgian is filling in for the injured Rob Hartog this weekend. Vladimir Leonov was unable to compete. There’s a lot of excitement surrounding Paul Fröde. The Honda rider lives almost right next to the Sachsenring, finished eleventh, and his entire family is there to watch. No one wants to miss the spectacle at the Sachsenring.
IDM Superbike, Race 1
1. Ilya MIKHALCHIK (UKR), BMW
2. Florian ALT (GER), Honda
3. Hannes SOOMER (EST), Honda
4. Patrick HOBELSBERGER (GER), BMW
5. Bastien MACKELS (NED), Yamaha
6. Balint KOVACS (HUN), BMW
7. Philipp STEINMAYR (AUT), BMW
8. Max SCHMIDT (GER), BMW
9. Jan-Ole JÄHNIG (GER), BMW
10. Kamil KRZEMIEN (POL), BMW