Hannes Soomer had already announced last year that he intended to compete in the IDM Superbike series again in 2024. However, he will be switching bikes to do so. Instead of the Honda on which Soomer finished fourth overall in Germany’s top road racing class, he will now be competing for the title on a BMW. The 25-year-old Estonian from Team Enos Motorsport will be competing at the same technical level as three-time Superbike champion Ilya Mikhalchik. Soomer sources some of his equipment from MRP, the company owned by Werner Daemen, who is also Mikhalchik’s team manager. The enterprising businessman has gone one step further and secured Soomer as a reserve driver for the BMW team in the World Endurance Championship. Hannes Soomer explained what’s behind all this and what his mother has to do with it in a quick interview.
Honda won the 2023 championship. As a former Honda rider, why are you switching to BMW?
We believe that the BMW is the bike with the greatest potential to be at the front of the grid now and in the years to come. The Honda is also very strong, as we saw last year with me and Florian Alt, but especially in the second half of the season, it became increasingly difficult to fight for wins. At the end of the day, though, that’s exactly what it’s all about.
Will it be another light blue—or rather, Smurf-blue—motorcycle?
Yes. Over the course of the year, I’ve really come to like the blue, and my mom recognizes me on TV, which is a big plus.
Does the team already have experience with BMW?
Half of the team has a lot of experience with BMW cars, and the other half has worked with BMW motorcycles in the Estonian Championship. My team manager, Marko Rohtlaan, even rode a BMW in the IDM Superbike series about 10 years ago. But we don’t have any real experience with this motorcycle yet. We’ll have to figure it out, just like we did last year.
Have you ridden the motorcycle yet?
No, we're going to test it for the first time next week in Spain.
What exactly does MRP’s support entail?
MRP prepares a base race bike. We try to get the most out of it. That gives us a huge advantage over a street bike that we would have had to develop from scratch. Everything is very exciting right now.
Are you learning a little German?
With languages, it’s always easier if you have to use them every day, but that’s not the case for me with German. But I’d better get started, just in case the software for the BMW is in German.