Luca Grünwald is back in the IDM Superbike series, at least for the Oschersleben round, where he’ll be filling in for the injured Leandro Mercado at Kawasaki. He’s taking his role with the Kawasaki Weber Motos Racing team very seriously.
The Bavarian had always held out a faint hope that, despite his late departure from Honda and the fruitless search for another team, he would still be able to race in the IDM Superbike series again. “The opportunity was always there, within the realm of possibility,” says the 28-year-old from Waldkraiburg, explaining, “it’s always been the case that at some point a rider drops out and a replacement is sought. If something like that comes up, I’m naturally happy to jump at the chance.”
He never would have thought he’d end up on a bike he knew absolutely nothing about, but he’s open to new things. “Today is the most important day for me on the Kawasaki,” he said after Friday’s free practice. The familiarization day showed him that the ZX-10RR’s basic setup works well for him. “There are a few things I don’t like, though,” he admits frankly, “but today we first have to adjust everything to me, like the throttle response.” At that point, however, Grünwald was already moving quite smoothly in the top ten.
“I’m happy that I can ride,” said Grünwald, “we’ll see how it turns out. I’m giving it my all. At the level the IDM is at, you can’t just show up and ride at the front.”
What else does Grünwald do? He’s a test rider for KTM. And he races in the FIM Endurance World Championship for the French team Yamaha Pitlane Endurance. In any case, he certainly doesn’t lack variety.