The three title contenders were on the front row of the grid, but the race ended with a crash, a penalty, and a revised results list. The winner of the first IDM " Supersport" race at the TT Circuit Assen was Thomas Gradinger (Eder Racing), ahead of Andreas Kofler (M32 Racing) and Luca de Vleeschauwer (Kawasaki Weber Motos Racing).
Kofler got off to the best start, while the Dutch riders Twan Smits (Team Apreco) and Melvin van der Voort (Team SWPN) got in each other’s way. Gradinger took advantage of this and moved up into second place. Then the Dutch riders really picked up speed on their home track and took the lead. Van der Voort was particularly strong in the first sector, but suddenly lost two seconds, allowing Smits to take the lead. The two are separated by two points in the overall standings, which Smits leads. It was a thrilling head-to-head battle that ended dramatically. Van der Voort raced past Smits in the final meters before the finish line. There was contact with Smits, who lost control of his front wheel. Van der Voort stormed across the finish line, while Smits crashed; his Yamaha, along with his transponder, slid across the finish line. He managed to cross the finish line on foot. The incident was reviewed by race officials.
Van der Voort received a ten-second penalty for the avoidable collision and dropped to fifth place. That made Gradinger the winner, who said, “The guys up front were going at an extreme pace, and I experienced arm pump for the first time.” Kofler was classified second and “almost went down a few times.” Relief at Kawasaki: last year’s third-place overall finisher, De Vleeschauer, finally secured his first podium finish of the year with third place.
Other notable results: Smits was classified fourth because he managed to cross the finish line on his own. Till Belczykowski finished tenth in the MV Agusta debut in the Supersport class. Christoph Beinlich, who had to start from the very back of the grid after exceeding his engine quota, fought his way through the field and finished in 12th place. Marvin Siebdrath, who was competing in his first race in the class as a newcomer, took the checkered flag in 14th place.
IDM Supersport, Round 1
1. Thomas GRADINGER (AUT), Yamaha
2. Andreas KOFLER (AUT), Yamaha
3. Luca DE VLEESCHAUWER (BEL), Kawasaki
4. Twan SMITS (NLD), Yamaha
5. Melvin VAN DER VOORT (NLD), Yamaha
6. Milan MERCKELBAGH (NLD), Yamaha
7. Leon ORGIS (DEU), Yamaha
8. Julius Caesar RÖRIG (DEU), Honda
9. Michal PRASEK (CZE), Triumph
10. Till BELCZYKOWSK (DEU), MV Agusta