The news broke ahead of the final IDM weekend: Triumph rider Michal Prášek of Team Motolife, who was in eighth place in the Supersport class heading into the final weekend, will not be competing in the finale at Hockenheim.
Fortunately, however, Andy Köder’s team quickly found a top-class replacement from within their own ranks. Jorn Hamberg, the newly crowned IRRC runner-up Supersport , will have the opportunity to make his debut on the IDM starting grid. “Jorn did a great job all year and was only narrowly beaten by his teammate Marek Červený in the IRRC. To cap it off, he won both Supersport races at the season finale in Frohburg and finished third in the second race as a guest rider in Superbike. Following these great results, my business partner Ludek Weag from WRP and I decided to give Jorn the chance to make a guest appearance in the IDM Supersport as well,” reveals the team boss.
Despite riding an unfamiliar motorcycle, the young Dutch rider made a smooth transition from road racing to the permanent circuit on the very first day. “I feel comfortable on the Triumph, but the suspension wasn’t quite right at first. The team had that well under control by the end of the second practice session,” says the IDM rookie, who normally rides a Yamaha.
He’s approaching the weekend with that same level of ambition. “The level of competition in the IDM is significantly higher than in the IRRC, and compared to road racing, cornering speeds here are much faster. However, I only started road racing in 2021; before that, I was competing in the Dutch championship on traditional race tracks. I’m familiar with that style of racing. That’s why my goal is to post 1:30 lap times and finish in the top ten.”