And once again, it’s Florian Alt (Holzhauer Racing Promotion). He’s done it. The Honda rider has secured pole position in the IDM Superbike class at Oschersleben as well. Ilya Mikhalchik (BCC ALPHA VAN ZON BMW RACING TEAM) didn’t let up in his efforts to close the gap, but in the end, the three-time champion had to admit defeat, finishing 75 hundredths of a second behind. Both Alt and Mikhalchik posted lap times in the 1:24 range during qualifying.
Alt, Mikhalchik, and Hannes Soomer (Enemat Enos Motorsport) will start from the front row in tomorrow’s first Superbike race of the day. Soomer trails the leaders by just under half a second. That’s not much, but it’s significant for the Estonian.
Bastien Mackels (Team SWPN), Toni Finsterbusch (GERT56), and Vladimir Leonov (Hertrampf Yamaha Racing) will line up on the second row of the grid. After the season opener at the Sachsenring, where things didn’t go his way, Finsterbusch is satisfied with the result. “We’ve made some minor adjustments to the BMW, from the suspension to the electronics. A little bit of everything.”
Leonov isn't just battling the clock—he's also dealing with a knee injury. At the Sachsenring, he crashed in the second race due to a highside. As it turned out later, he injured his knee in the fall. He now has a wound that needs to be dressed daily, and it's also causing him discomfort while riding.
Another notable point: Luca Grünwald, stepping in for the injured Leandro Mercado, set the eleventh-fastest time on the only Kawasaki in the field.
IDM Superbike, Qualifying
1. Florian ALT (GER), Honda
2. Ilya MIKHALCHIK (UKR), BMW
3. Hannes SOOMER (EST), Honda
4. Bastien MACKELS (BEL), Yamaha
5. Toni FINSTERBUSCH (GER), BMW
6. Vladimir LEONOV (UAE), Yamaha
7. Daniel KARTHEININGER (GER), Yamaha
8. Patrick HOBELSBERGER (GER), BMW
9. Max SCHMIDT (GER), BMW
10.Philipp STEINMAYR (AUT), BMW