What a race that was. Melvin van der Voort (Team SWPN), the dominant force, crashed right at the start. Twan Smits (Team Apreco) managed to cross the finish line in the end, and for the first time, a Triumph rider, Michal Prasek (MotoLife Racing), made it onto the podium. In the IDM Supersport class, events Supersport rapidly during the first race at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben.
Melvin van der Voort, the double winner from the season opener at the Sachsenring, crashed while in the lead in the exact same corner where Superbike rider Ilya Mikhalchik had previously gone off the track. Van der Voort went down on the first lap of the race. He had strayed from the ideal line, and because the German Touring Car Championship (DTM) had left a lot of tire debris on the track a week earlier, the track was still slippery in places even after two days, and van der Voort was simply riding too aggressively.
What followed were rapid changes at the front of the pack. Dutch rider Twan Smits took the lead, but was overtaken by Thomas Gradinger (Eder Racing), who was immediately joined by Croatian rider Martin Vugrinec. Within seconds, the Dutchman had dropped two places.
The tenth lap brought yet another twist: Gradinger managed to avoid a highside at the last moment but was forced off the track in the process. Vugrinec hit the brakes to avoid a collision. Gradinger rejoined the field in sixth place, but the Dutchman was back in the lead: Twan Smits, who was now unstoppable on his way to victory.
But there was more drama to come. Vugrinec crashed on lap 14 due to engine trouble. As a result, the Czech rider Michal Prasek had moved into second place and held on to it until the finish. Prasek could still see the winner, Smits, but he was already far ahead. More importantly: For Triumph, it was their first podium finish in the IDM Supersport Generation. This class also allows the use of motorcycles that do not fall into the traditional 600cc class, such as the Triumph Street Triple 765 RS. To ensure that all brands in the class have an equal chance, the various motorcycle designs are balanced against one another. This is achieved through a sophisticated balancing rule.
Andreas Kofler finished third. He said, “I was really pushing myself to the limit. But you have to take what you’re given.” The favorites had suffered a major setback in the first Supersport.
Luca de Vleeschauwer (Kawasaki Weber Motos Racing) fought his way up to fourth place on his Kawasaki, and Julius Caesar Rörig (MCA Racing) also made it back into the top ten on his Honda CBR 600 RR.
IDM Supersport, Round 1:
1. Twan SMITS (NLD), Yamaha
2. Michal PRASEK (CZE), Triumph
3. Andreas KOFLER (AUT), Yamaha
4. Luca DE VLEESCHAUWER (BEL), Kawasaki
5. Thomas GRADINGER (AUT), Yamaha
6. Yves STADELMANN (CHE), Yamaha
7. Leon ORGIS (GER), Yamaha
8. Milan MERCKELBAGH (NED), Yamaha
9. Julius Caesar RÖRIG (GER), Honda
10. Christoph BEINLICH (GER), Yamaha