Walid Khan (Freudenberg KTM-PALIGO Racing) is the winner of the first race in the IDM Supersport at Oschersleben. The Dutch rider made the most of the race and kept his cool even in tight situations. Second place went to Inigo Iglesias (Füsport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki), who managed to hold off Dustin Schneider (Freudenberg KTM-PALIGO Racing) at the finish line.
Today’s race clearly demonstrated that hard work pays off sooner or later, as evidenced by Walid Khan’s performance. The Dutch driver raced like a bolt of lightning on Saturday afternoon, making it anything but easy for his pursuers to catch him with lap times that were, in some cases, faster than those set in qualifying. “I’ve really worked hard on myself over the past few weeks, and now I can see that the effort has paid off,” said Khan afterward, who had already dominated qualifying. Over the winter, the Dutch rider moved to Spain, where he has been able to prepare optimally for the IDM season ever since.
The high pace of the race also pushed Inigo Iglesias to his limits. The Spaniard stayed right on Kahn’s tail for a long time and even managed to slip past him now and then in the final third of the race. But on the last lap, he was particularly preoccupied with fending off attacks from Dustin Schneider. However, the experienced Kawasaki rider managed to assert himself in the final corner and ultimately crossed the finish line ahead of Schneider. “That was an exciting race finale,” said Schneider. He added, “I’ll turn the tables in the next race.” The Vogtland native already proved he can win in his IDM debut at the Sachsenring.
Belgian rider Ferre Fleerackers (B.art Racing Team) also put on a stellar performance for the spectators. He was in the lead group right from the start and ultimately prevailed over reigning IDM champion Marvin Siebdrath (Yamaha bLU cRU IDM by Kiefer Racing) in the battle for fourth place. The latter, however, showed that despite a miserable start to the season, he is once again a force to be reckoned with.
IDM rookie Kas Beekmans (Apreco) crossed the finish line in sixth place on his Yamaha, followed by Phillip Tonn (Freudenberg KTM-PALIGO Racing) in seventh. Behind them were Thom Molenaar and Sven Doornenbal (both Molenaar Racing). Max Zachmann (Füsport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) rounded out the top 10.
IDM Supersport Race 1 Results:
- Walid KHAN (NLD/KTM)
- Inigo IGLESIAS (ESP/Kawasaki)
- Dustin SCHNEIDER (GER/KTM)
- Ferre FLEERACKERS (BEL/Kawasaki)
- Marvin SIEBDRATH (GER/Yamaha)
- Kas BEEKMANS (NLD/Yamaha)
- Phillip TONN (GER/KTM)
- Thom MOLENAAR (NLD/Kawasaki)
- Sven DOORNENBAL (NLD/Kawasaki)
- Max ZACHMANN (GER/Kawasaki)