In just one week, the penultimate round of the International German Motorcycle Championship (IDM) will take place in Assen, Netherlands. Will Toni Finsterbusch’s upward trend in the IDM Superbike class continue there? He is currently training at the TT Circuit, where the next race will be held.
At the Red Bull Ring a week ago, the BMW rider from Team GERT56 pulled off a masterclass. He arrived in Styria in sixth place overall and left in third place overall in Germany’s top motorcycle racing class. It’s an impressive result. The rain propelled the ambitious Finsterbusch forward. He braved the difficult weather conditions, finished fourth twice in the races, and says: “I can be satisfied with the weekend. On the one hand, it’s a shame that I couldn’t secure third place in the second race and had to concede defeat on the final lap. But I was able to take home the points for second place twice, for a total of 40 points, which is definitely very good.” The top two finishers, Garrett Gerloff and Loris Baz, were not included in the standings as guest riders.
Florian Alt leads the standings with 181 points, followed by Hannes Soomer (127). Finsterbusch, in third place, is just seven points behind the Estonian, who struggled at the Red Bull Ring. How is Krostitzer feeling ahead of the race in Assen? “I have a very good feeling, but I was also in third place last year and then had my serious crash. But I feel really good, no question, even though we’re all bunched up very tightly in the standings.” Teammate Hobelsberger is just three points behind Finsterbusch, Philipp Steinmayer six, and Ilya Mikhalchik nine.
Finsterbusch says he handles the smaller bikes better at Assen. He has a rather difficult relationship with the Superbike. “I’ve usually struggled with it.” That’s why the 30-year-old from Saxony is currently riding his practice bike at the TT Circuit Assen to prepare for the upcoming IDM weekend. “Patrick Hobelsberger and all the Dutch riders are here too,” Finsterbusch says about the preparations, adding, “It’s raining; I guess we brought the weather with us from the Red Bull Ring.” Tomorrow, Sunday, Finsterbusch will pack up his gear so he can be at work on time early Monday morning.