Race number “85” or race number “20”? Twan Smits (Team Apreco) or Melvin van der Voort (Team SWPN)? That is the big question regarding the new IDM Supersport champion. The first race of the grand finale of the International German Motorcycle Championship (IDM) at Hockenheim did not provide an answer.
Melvin van der Voort immediately overtook pole-sitter Twan Smits at the start, and it quickly became clear that the two top favorites from the Netherlands would be battling it out for the championship title. Behind them, the Austrians Andreas Kofler (M32 Racing) and Thomas Gradinger (Eder Racing) were locked in a battle. Mathematically speaking, they too still had a chance at the title, though given the illustrious duo at the front, their prospects were rather modest. On the sixth lap, Smits reclaimed the lead with a flawless maneuver—he couldn’t have done it any better. Both Dutchmen played to their strengths. When van der Voort made a mistake in front of the East Stand and drifted too far to the outside, the race was as good as over. Smits won the race after 15 laps, finishing 2.447 seconds ahead of van der Voort. Ahead of the decisive final race, 14 points now separate championship leader Smits and his closest rival. Behind the finish line, they shook hands, and van der Voort, who had crashed hard in Friday’s free practice, admitted: “That was the absolute best I could do.” Smits had even pulled off a blistering lap of 1:28.7 min on the very last lap.
Both Gradinger and Kofler are out of the title race after finishing third and fourth in the first race. The battle between them is now for third place in the standings, with Kofler holding the better hand. Martin Vugrinec (//ART DREIER RACING TEAM) had positioned himself at the very front of the chasing pack. Max Enderlein (M32 Racing) took the Ducati Panigale V2 with the number “1” once more as a guest rider before the three-time champion’s title passes to new hands today. The Saxon finished eighth. Guest rider Kevin Wahr (Triumph-emsland.de) finished seventh on a Triumph after a two-year break from racing, having tested the bike for just one day beforehand. Back on the track was Thomas Eder, who had suffered a heavy crash in yesterday’s first qualifying session. Suspicions of a pelvic fracture were not confirmed. The Bavarian has fractured his sixth and seventh thoracic vertebrae.
IDM Supersport, Round 1
1. Twan SMITS (NLD), Yamaha
2. Melvin VAN DER VOORT (NLD), Yamaha
3. Thomas GRADINGER (AUT), Yamaha
4. Andreas KOFLER (AUT), Yamaha
5. Martin VUGRINEC (CRO), Yamaha
6. Leon ORGIS (GER), Yamaha
7. Kevin WAHR (GER), Triumph
8. Max ENDERLEIN (GER), Ducati
9. Luca GÖTTLICHER (GER), Triumph
10. Milan MERCKELBAGH (NED), Yamaha