IDM SSP: Van der Voort Is Unstoppable

Double victory for Melvin van der Voort at the Sachsenring. No one came close to the 17-year-old Dutchman. Text: Anke Wieczorek; Photo: Dino Eisele

Melvin van der Voort (Team SWPN) is heading home to the Netherlands with the maximum number of points he could have earned at the Sachsenring. He also won the second IDM “ Supersport ” race this Sunday. The 17-year-old Yamaha rider finished 5.626 seconds ahead of the rest of the field. Second place went to his compatriot Twan Smits (Team Apreco), and third to Austrian Andreas Kofler (M32 Racing).

The second race of the IDM “ Supersport ” at the Sachsenring saw some high-profile dropouts right from the start: Thomas Gradinger (Eder Racing), Luca de Vleeschauwer (Kawasaki Weber Motos Racing), and Christoph Beinlich (Vitori BRT) all crashed out of the race on the very first lap. Gradinger and de Vleeschauwer managed to make their way back into the pack, but only after a long delay. Gradinger, who was visibly shaken, limited the damage by finishing the race at a reduced pace, even though he was lapped twice. The main thing was to cross the finish line. His determination earned him at least two championship points. De Vleeschauwer even managed to secure six points.

There was simply no stopping Melvin an der Voort at the front. Due to the dropouts early on, the order behind the leader took on a whole new look. For some riders, this presented an opportunity to score more points than usual. Twan Smits’ second-place finish was unchallenged, but behind him, the race was tight between Milan Merckelbagh (Hertrampf Yamaha Racing), Andreas Kofler, Leon Orgis (Yamaha bLU cRU IDM by Kiefer Racing), and Michal Prasek (MotoLife). Yves Stadelmann (Yamaha bLU cRU IDM by Kiefer Racing), who had also been pushing hard at the start, crashed. In the final stages, Andreas Kofler managed to overtake Merckelbagh—who had gained momentum in the second race—and secure the last remaining podium spot. The Austrian was over the moon.

Everyone had been caught in the shower that had just started. “It was disastrous,” Kofler reported, “it was actually raining hard every two laps.” Leon Orgis had managed to squeeze past Michal Prasek’s Triumph in the final stages, but the British manufacturer’s sixth-place finish in the new IDM Next Generation series is likely a successful debut.

IDM Supersport, Race 2

1. Melvin VAN DER VOORT (NLD), Yamaha
2. Twan SMITS (NLD), Yamaha
3. Andreas KOFLER (DEU), Yamaha
4. Milan MERCKELBAGH (NLD), Yamaha
5. Leon ORGIS (DEU), Yamaha
6. Michal PRASEK (CZE), Triumph
7. Štepán ZUDA (CZE), Kawasaki
8. Filip FEIGL (CZE), Triumph
9. Damien RAEMY (CHE), Yamaha
10. Luca DE VLEESCHAUWER (BEL), Kawasaki
11. Julius Caesar RÖRIG (GER), Honda
12. Wojciech WIECZORKIEWICZ (POL), Yamaha
13. Peter FEIGL (CZE), Triumph
14. Thomas GRADINGER (AUT), Yamaha