Andreas Kofler has got the hang of it. The 19-year-old Austrian not only managed to drive exactly one lap on command during qualifying, but he also secured the victory in the race. Today, the Yamaha rider claimed his second win of the current IDM Supersport season, thereby extending his lead in the overall standings. For Twan Smits (Team Apreco), on the other hand, second place was a relief.
Kawasaki rider Marcel Brenner, fresh from the World Championship, wanted to use the International German Motorcycle Championship (IDM) for testing purposes and admitted: “The top 10 can easily keep up in the Supersport World Championship.” As usual, there was plenty of action at the Autodrom Most. Race-winner Stepan Zuda (AF Racing Team) had to start from the pit lane and chase down the field because he had crossed the white line at the pit exit during qualifying. Till Belczykowski (LJ Racing, MV Agusta) and Julius Caesar Rörig (MCA Racing) fell victim to the chaos at the start in the first corner.
Andreas Kofler (Yamalube Kofler) got off to one of his trademark lightning-fast starts from pole position. Marcel Brenner defended his second-place position, and Kyle Smith (Kawasaki Weber) shot up from seventh to third. The race consisted of 14 laps. On the third lap, Smith crashed out of the race. It looked like Kofler was on his way to a solo victory; by the fifth lap, he already had a 3.2-second lead over his closest pursuer, Marcel Brenner. Behind him, Daniel Blin (AF-Racing Team), who had finished third in practice, was locked in a battle with runner-up Twan Smits. Smits, in turn, had suffered a string of bad luck in recent weeks and is currently far from his logical goal of winning the title in 2024. But the Dutchman isn’t giving up, because the final tally isn’t made until the end. And what he did today looked promising. Smits took advantage of every opportunity that presented itself to overtake, and that ultimately applied to both Blin and Brenner, who was ultimately pushed back to fifth place by Lennox Lehmann (Yamalube Kofler) at the finish.
Kofler had a nasty slip in the final lap—“yeah, the rear wheel started to slide a bit”—but he still held onto a 1.575-second lead at the finish line. Smits issued him a challenge for the second race tomorrow, Sunday: “I have to get a better start tomorrow, and then I’ll be in a fight with Andy.”
The field was a mixed bag. Luca de Vleeschauwer (MotoLife), who had secured Triumph’s first two victories at Oschersleben, finished sixth but was classified fifth because Marcel Brenner, who finished ahead of him as a guest rider, did not receive any points. Dirk Geiger could only manage P10 in the 14-lap race today on his Honda (MCA Racing). But Stepan Zuda, who started at the back of the field, staged an impressive comeback from last place. The Czech Ducati rider crossed the checkered flag in twelfth place.
IDM Supersport, Race 1
1. Andreas KOFLER (A/Yamaha)
2. Twan SMITS (NL/Yamaha)
3. Daniel BLIN (PL/Ducati)
4. Lennox LEHMANN (D/Yamaha)
5. Marcel BRENNER (CH/Kawasaki)
6. Luca DE VLEESCHAUWER (B/Triumph)
7. Jonáš KOCOUREK (CZ/Ducati)
8. Filip FEIGL (CZ/Triumph)
9. Luca GÖTTLICHER (D/Triumph)
10. Dirk GEIGER (D/Honda)
