A somewhat lesser-known face is closing in on the top 5 in the IDM Supersport championship: Ferre Fleerackers (B.art Racing). The Belgian is in his second year in the IDM and has been a regular in the top 10 since the start of the season. He currently sits in sixth place in the overall standings.
After finishing his first year in the IDM in 12th place in the championship, the 16-year-old spent the winter in Spain on several occasions to train intensively. “I used my first racing season to get to know the tracks and gain experience,” explains Ferre Fleerackers. He then used the offseason to make some adjustments. Among other things, he focused on learning to ride on his own in order to achieve fast lap times in practice and races without having to rely on another rider. “I wasn’t very good at that before,” says the Kawasaki rider.
The Belgian proved that his winter training had paid off, among other things, at Oschersleben, where he was able to break away from the chasing pack and gradually close in on the leaders. He finished fourth in both races and narrowly missed out on his first IDM podium finish. But Ferre Fleerackers isn’t satisfied with that. “My next goal is to finish in the top three,” he reveals with determination, harboring the ambition to also become one of the top five in the overall standings this year. “I think that this could very well be possible.”
Off the track, the teenager from Aarschot, Belgium, is currently pursuing a vocational training program to become an auto mechanic, which he will complete next year. “After that, I want to focus entirely on the world of motorcycles,” both in racing and professionally.
With Schleiz, there are still four race weekends and a total of eight races left this season. For Ferre Fleerackers, this means he still has plenty of opportunities to earn points and achieve all of his goals. He might even make his first podium appearance this weekend. The first race of the IDM Supersport takes place on Saturday at 4:50 p.m. and will be broadcast live at www.idm.de/live.