IDM SSP 300: No one can catch up to Phillip Tonn

Phillip Tonn wins the first race in the IDM Supersport 300 in pouring rain. Inigo Iglesias and Walid Khan engage in a thrilling battle for second place.

In today’s IDM SSP 300 race, reaching the finish line required a delicate touch. Persistent rain turned the first race into a challenging task. But not for Phillip Tonn (Freudenberg KTM-Paliga Racing), who started from pole position and did everything he could to pull away from his pursuers as quickly as possible. The plan worked out for the KTM rider. He confidently maintained his lead and secured the victory with an impressive margin of well over four seconds. “I felt good on the bike right from the start, and today I was finally able to show what I’m capable of,” Tonn explained proudly during the podium ceremony. Although he’s not usually a big fan of rainy racing conditions, “I seem to handle them pretty well after all,” he added with a smile. With his first rain race in three years, he capped off his second victory in the IDM.

The two title contenders, Inigo Iglesias (Füsport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) and Walid Khan (Freudenberg KTM-Paliga Racing), engaged in a thrilling battle. While the two went head-to-head, executing one passing maneuver after another, Dustin Schneider, Lennox Lehmann, and Dirk Geiger closed in, joining the fray in the final third of the race. As a result, Iglesias found himself—the sole Kawasaki rider—surrounded by a four-man offensive of Freudenberg-KTMs. But the Spaniard kept his cool and fought back with everything he had. With a narrow lead of just eight hundredths of a second, Iglesias finally crossed the finish line ahead of Walid Khan, securing second place for himself, while Khan finished third.

Behind them, Lennox Lehmann and Dustin Schneider finished in fourth and fifth place, respectively. Belgian rider Ferre Fleerackers (B.art Racing) secured another top-10 finish, coming in sixth. KTM rider Dirk Geiger got off to a strong start and held second place for several laps early on. However, he was unable to maintain that pace and dropped back to seventh place. Kas Beekmans (Team Apreco) had a similar experience. After the start, he grabbed position after position and was briefly among the top three. But just as quickly as he moved up, the Dutchman began to slip back. He ultimately finished in eighth place, followed by Ruben Bijman (Team Apreco) and Max Zachmann (Füsport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki).

The second race of the IDM Supersport 300 will take place on Sunday at 1:15 p.m. You can watch it for free via livestream at www.idm.de/live.

SSP 300 Results, Race 1: