Twan Smits (Team Apreco) wins the second IDM " Supersport" race at the TT Circuit Assen ahead of his closest title rival, Melvin van der Voort (Team SWPN). The race is red-flagged and ended early for safety reasons following a crash.
Andreas Kofler (M32 Racing) got off to an excellent start, as he almost always does, but Melvin van der Voort didn’t waste any time and squeezed past the Austrian. Smits also worked his way through. Thomas Gradinger (Eder Racing) followed suit. The track was teeming with Yamahas. Kofler dropped even further back, but all four top contenders for the championship title remained in the top 5. Luca de Vleeschauwer squeezed his way in on his Kawasaki.
Toward the end of the race, Smits led ahead of van der Voort. In the first race, the two Dutch riders had gotten in each other’s way. Van der Voort was planning another attack to take the lead, but it never happened. On the ninth lap, the race was red-flagged due to a crash by Wojciech Wieczorkiewicz (MVR-Racing). The Polish rider received medical attention.
The race was not restarted. Smits won, finishing 0.230 seconds ahead of van der Voort and 4.309 seconds ahead of Gradinger, who said afterward: “The guys were incredibly fast. I tried to keep up at the start, and that worked out pretty well. But as soon as I let up, I lost my rhythm.”
With the season finale at Hockenheim in September still to come, the standings now look like this: Smits leads with 195 points, ahead of van der Voort (186) and Kofler (182). Thomas Gradinger (164) also remains in contention for the title.
Other highlights: Belgian rider Luca de Vleeschauer (Kawasaki Weber Motos Racing) had his best IDM weekend of the year. Julius Caesar Rörig (MCA Racing) struggled to keep up with Leon Orgis (Yamaha bLU cRU IDM by Kiefer Racing) in qualifying and in both races. Christoph Beinlich (Vitori-BRT)—starting from last place once again—made it into the top ten this time.
IDM Supersport, 2. Rennen
1. Twan SMITS (NLD), Yamaha
2. Melvin VAN DER VOORT (NLD), Yamaha
3. Thomas GRADINGER (AUT), Yamaha
4. Luca DE VLEESCHAUWER (BEL), Kawasaki
5. Andreas KOFLER (AUT), Yamaha
6. Milan MERCKELBAGH (NLD), Yamaha
7. Leon ORGIS (DEU), Yamaha
8. Julius Caesar RÖRIG (DEU), Honda
9. Michal PRASEK (CZE), Triumph
10. Christoph BEINLICH (DEU), Yamaha