After missing the Sachsenring round, a slow start at Oschersleben, and now a return to form at Most: Hannes Soomer is back in top form and shaking up the IDM Superbike class. That said, his journey to the third round of the International German Motorcycle Championship (IDM) was an adventure in itself.
Hannes Soomer is used to a lot and has been almost everywhere in the world. But the 26-year-old from Tallinn has never had a trip like the one he’s just taken to Most. “It started off pretty strangely. We left ten hours later than planned. And then the police pulled us over, too,” reports the BMW driver from Enos Motorsport, who has to travel through Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Germany with his crew before reaching the Czech Republic. “The police wanted to check what we had in the cargo area. When they saw the motorcycles, they were totally thrilled, and we were able to keep going.”
But the 1,800-kilometer journey had even more surprises in store. In Poland, a tire came loose from the van while we were driving and rolled away.
After all that stress, Soomer won the second free practice session. He finished fifth in the Superpole pre-practice—he’s back to his old self. “I spent four days testing at the Porschering in Pärnu, back home in Estonia. I rode a lot of Supermoto and am back in shape. I don’t have to ride a new bike anymore, like I did in Oschersleben—I’ve gotten used to it now.”
Soomer switched from Honda to BMW this winter, but had to stay home for the IDM season opener. In April, he had injured his shoulder at the season opener of the World Endurance Championship at Le Mans. “Everything’s fine now,” the Estonian says with his usual smile.