Ilya Mikhalchik (Champion Alpha Van Zon BMW) also won the second race of the IDM Superbike series at Oschersleben. With a lead of 1.429 seconds over Florian Alt (Holzhauer Racing Promotion), the race was much closer this time. Despite his rivals’ one-two finish, the German Honda rider heads home as the new championship leader. Patrick Hobelsberger had to relinquish the top spot and inadvertently caused quite a stir.
Florian Alt, Toni Finsterbusch, Ilya Mikhalchik, Bálint Kovács, and—to the great delight of the GERT56 team—Patrick Hobelsberger returned one after another from the first lap of the race. Hobelsberger had pulled off a fantastic start and had shot through the field from 14th position all the way up to fifth place. The joy didn’t last long. Race control investigated whether it had been a false start. It was. Hobelsberger was penalized with a double long lap, which severely limited his chances of moving up any further.
At the front, Alt and Finsterbusch were locked in a battle. The Saxon was ready for a fight and overtook the defending champion in spots where normally no one overtakes at all. By the tenth lap, the battle was over and Alt had taken the lead. Now Mikhalchik entered the fray. First, he passed Finsterbusch, then he tucked in behind Alt and took the lead from the twelfth lap onward.
Mikhalchik looked completely at ease on his bike, just as he had in yesterday’s qualifying. Alt wouldn’t let the Ukrainian pull away, but he couldn’t get within striking distance either. Behind him, Bálint Kovács had settled into second place—just as he had in the first race—and had already opened up a small gap over Finsterbusch, whom he had passed. The Hungarian was also closing in on Alt, who posted a 1:25 lap to pull away from Kovács again. The top three held their positions all the way to the finish: Mikhalchik ahead of Alt and Kovács. The victory by the 27-year-old Ukrainian from Kyiv was flawless, “even though Oschersleben is absolutely not my kind of track,” as he put it. “But I also broke the lap record this weekend, even if it was only in practice.” Alt wasn’t quite as happy, but he showed improvement over the first race and took the lead in the standings with two more points than Mikhalchik. Kovács, on the other hand, was grinning from ear to ear: “That was totally crazy and completely different from the usual battle for fifth place. Battling it out with Mikhalchik and Alt was a whole different story.”
Lorenzo Zanetti finished seventh twice on his Ducati at Oschersleben. He is currently in third place in the overall standings. Hobelsberger has slipped from first place down to fourth. The Bavarian suffered another bitter setback. He had completed his two long laps, but during the second one, the yellow flag had been waved at Turn 2 and the LEDs on the scoreboards were flashing. Because the long lap is not considered complete under these circumstances, the penalty was imposed on him again. Believing he had already completed the penalty, Hobelsberger made no move to drive the extended lap again. Race Director Ottmar Bange imposed the now-mandated drive-through penalty through the pit lane. To no avail. “That led to disqualification, and the black flag was waved at Hobelsberger.” Zero points.
IDM Superbike, Round 2
1. Ilya MIKHALCHIK (UKR/BMW)
2. Florian ALT (D/Honda)
3. Bálint KOVÁCS (HU/BMW)
4. Toni FINSTERBUSCH (D/BMW)
5. Leandro MERCADO (ARG/Kawasaki)
6. Jan-Ole JÄHNIG (D/BMW)
7. Lorenzo ZANETTI (IT/Ducati)
8. Hannes SOOMER (EST/BMW)
9. Leon ORGIS (D/Yamaha)
10. Luca GRÜNWALD (D/BMW)
11. Milan MERCKELBAGH (NL/BMW)
12. Vladimir LEONOV (UAE/Ducati)
13. Max ENDERLEIN (D/Yamaha)
14. Thomas GRADINGER (AUT/Yamaha)
15. Federico CARICASULO (IT/Kawasaki)