The countdown is on. The International German Motorcycle Championship is ready to kick off the season. From May 3 to 5, 2024, Germany’s premier road racing series will be making a stop at the Sachsenring. A new trend is emerging. While the Superbike and Supersport classes are Supersport significantly higher participation numbers than in recent years, the number of entries in the Supersport junior class has declined.
“The tables have turned,” observed IDM series manager Normann Broy over the winter, and he has an explanation. “The standard of our championship is now at a level that is taken seriously worldwide. In the Superbike class, for example, we have former World Championship riders from Argentina and the Czech Republic, as well as the current champion from Italy, competing. They come to us because they find serious competition here, which helps them prove themselves for higher-level challenges. With the addition of two Ducati teams, the competition has become even tougher and more interesting.” To date, 31 riders have registered for the top class.
The situation Supersport similar in the IDM Supersport class. Despite all the criticism, the class has developed very well and remains highly popular, in part due to the greater variety of brands. In addition to traditional 600cc motorcycles, larger-displacement machines such as the Ducati Panigale V2, the MV Agusta F3 800, or the Triumph Street Triple RS may also be entered, provided they comply with the regulations. This has led to growing interest in this class.
“In our smallest class, Supersport , we’re seeing a painful decline this year,” Broy admits, continuing: “We introduced the class in 2017. The start was tough, but the number of participants skyrocketed within three years, so that in the record-breaking 2019 season we had a total of 37 permanent starters, plus the respective guest riders on the individual tracks. Some of them have made the leap from the IDM to the World Championship and have also performed successfully there—see Lennox Lehmann, Dirk Geiger, and Inigo Iglesias. We’ve laid valuable groundwork for these guys and many others. This year, however, an unusually large number of talented riders have left the class, moving up to the World Championship or higher IDM classes. In addition, the KTM Junior Cup powered by ADAC has been introduced, a class that introduces riders from the junior categories to the IDM. In previous years, these riders would have moved directly into the Supersport . This intermediate step is necessary and important, but it also leads to a smaller starting field in Supersport . It’s a great development that more and more emphasis is being placed on the junior classes, but it also takes time to fill them with talent again. This is a medium-term task that we are working on together with the ADAC.”