It’s a complete surprise. In the Supersport at the IDM season opener at the Sachsenring, two riders moving up from the 300cc class will be on the front row of the grid: Marvin Siebdrath and Lennox Lehmann. Pole-sitter Andreas Kofler, last year’s third-place finisher overall, was considered a shoo-in. But things could have turned out differently.
At first, the usual suspects—such as Luca de Vleeschauwer, runner-up Twan Smits, and Daniel Blin—were at the top of the timesheets. But what Marvin Siebdrath and Lennox Lehmann delivered in the final laps was something else. The 20-year-old from Thuringia and the 18-year-old from Saxony sprinted their way into the front row alongside Kofler in one fell swoop. This means the front row is now completely occupied by Yamaha riders.
It remains to be seen whether Andy Kofler’s run will last, “but at least that’s the plan,” says the 19-year-old Austrian from Vöcklabruck. For him, it’s all about the championship title. At the same time, he’s helping Lehmann—who is Kofler’s teammate at Yamalube Motorsport— Supersport the cutthroat world of the IDM Supersport series. Although Lehmann is a two-time champion in the Supersport junior class, the transition to the larger Supersport bikes is still a tough challenge. “Andy helped me a lot during the winter tests, explained a ton of things to me, and basically acted as my riding coach. And today, things just suddenly clicked.” The gap between the third-place rider in practice and second-place Marvin Siebdrath is just one-tenth of a second. Kofler is 0.242 seconds ahead.
Siebdrath was able to compete in a few IDM Supersport last year. After a string of disappointing performances in the 300cc class and with no chance of defending his 2022 title, he switched teams. Instead, the Wildenfels native has joined Team Yamaha Racing by M32, led by three-time Supersport Max Enderlein. Siebdrath is now competing in his first full season on the Yamaha YZF-R6.
Luca de Vleeschauwer had the Triumph Street Triple flying. The Belgian rider from Team MotoLife led the pack for lap after lap in the second qualifying session. The Ducati Panigale V2s ridden by Czech rider Stepan Zuda and Polish rider Daniel Blin were impossible to miss. While Honda rookie Dirk Geiger managed to finish eighth, his MCA teammate Julius Caesar Rörig had to settle for 13th on the grid. He’s behind schedule, having only arrived at the Sachsenring on Friday evening. “I had an English exam from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. After that, we got in the car for four hours and drove here,” the 17-year-old reports on the stress of his final exams. “Dirk did some preliminary work on setting up the Honda, but it’s still difficult to adopt any of that because I’m taller than he is.”
Thanks to Kyle Smith, a Kawasaki made it into the top ten. Team manager Emil Weber nodded with satisfaction as he looked at the Brit’s lap times. “We need to manage our time well. We’re focusing more on the race than on practice.”
Qualifying, IDM Supersport
1. Andreas KOFLER (A), Yamaha
2. Marvin SIEBDRATH (D), Yamaha
3. Lennox LEHMANN (D), Yamaha
4. Luca DE VLEESCHAUWER (B), Triumph
5. Štepán ZUDA (CZ), Ducati
6. Daniel BLIN (PL), Ducati
7. Twan SMITS (NL), Yamaha
8. Dirk GEIGER (D), Honda
9. Kevin WAHR (D), Triumph
10. Kyle SMITH (GB), Kawasaki