Who will Luca Grünwald be riding with in the upcoming Superbike season of the International German Motorcycle Championship (IDM)? His return is a done deal. Otherwise, the 29-year-old Bavarian from Waldkraiburg is keeping his cards close to his chest and is focusing instead on rehabilitating his knee, which he injured nearly two years ago.
Luca Grünwald has already raced for many brands in the IDM: KTM, Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha, BMW, Suzuki, and Seel. In the Superbike class, only four manufacturers are in the running, “because Ducati isn’t one of them. I can say that,” he says, ruling out the fifth option and grinning. “Lui” is looking forward to what he hopes will be another full season, with a surprise in store soon. At HRP-Honda, nearly everything went wrong two years ago when he suffered a serious injury during the final test before the season opener. Grünwald seemed to have the CBR 1000 RR-R under control at the time, but then crashed completely unexpectedly, tearing ligaments and damaging his meniscus. That led to a months-long hiatus. He only made it to the starting grid for the last two events. Although Grünwald finished on the podium twice, he did not receive another Honda contract for 2023. Instead, he stepped in twice for Leandro “Tati” Mercado at Kawasaki.
That wasn’t enough for him. Before things started to slip away, Grünwald fought back and stayed in touch with all the key decision-makers even after the season ended. His plan for a full-fledged return to Germany’s top class has paid off. “My races in the World Endurance Championship last year were cool, but I’m looking forward to an IDM Superbike again,” Grünwald reflects. He hints that the team he races for is currently undergoing a restructuring.
The Bavarian is currently going through an intensive rehab program. In October, to wrap up his leg odyssey, he went under the knife once again and had a new cruciate ligament and a new collateral ligament implanted. But that’s it for now, and the healing process is in full swing. What he can’t do, however, is ski. “Unfortunately, I have to skip that,” he laments, “it doesn’t go well with the new ligaments right now.”