The first IDM Superbike race in Most, Czech Republic, was a rollercoaster of emotions. As so often before, Hannes Soomer (Enemat Enos Motorsport) had set his sights on his first victory in the top class of the International German Motorcycle Championship (IDM), but to no avail. For the third time this year, Ilya Mikhalchik (Champion Alpha BMW Racing) triumphed, with defending champion Florian Alt (Holzhauer Racing Promotion) and Jan-Ole Jähnig (GERT56) joining him on the podium.
Florian Alt had been in the lead for laps on end in his Holzhauer Honda. On the straights, the Fireblade ran like a dream. But in the twisty section, a mistake occurred that the 28-year-old from Engelskirchen couldn’t recover from. Patrick Hobelsberger (GERT56) and Mikhalchik took full advantage of the situation and pulled ahead. When it came to braking, the competition was stronger than the defending champion at that moment.
Hobelsberger took the lead, then it was Mikhalchik’s turn, and finally Hannes Soomer joined the fray. The Estonian had really found his stride by halftime and was able to keep pace with three-time Superbike champion Mikhalchik. Soomer is no stranger to the podium. However, he has yet to secure a victory in the top class. The time was ripe. On the twelfth lap, the 26-year-old from Tallinn made his big move. Mikhalchik had just checked his rear when it happened. Soomer flashed his smurf-blue BMW alongside the Ukrainian and showed him his rear wheel. Now the Estonian had four laps left to go to finally secure his first victory.
A few meters further back, the battle for fourth place was raging. When Hobelsberger veered off the line, his GERT56 teammate Jan-Ole Jähnig darted into the gap, leading to a rough collision as Hobelsberger returned to the track—an incident that sent the former points leader tumbling back to 17th place. Things were looking very bleak for the Bavarian, who had already been badly shaken up recently at Oschersleben and is actually aiming to fight for the title.
Back to the front. It was clear that Mikhalchik would launch another attack on the leader, Soomer. And it didn’t stop at just one. The duel reached its climax just before the finish line when Soomer’s front wheel slipped out from under him, and all his chances of scoring points were lost in the gravel at the Most Autodrom. Conclusion: Three-time IDM Superbike champion Ilya Mikhalchik emerged as the winner of a race for the third time this season.
Due to Soomer’s crash, Florian Alt and Jan-Ole Jähnig moved up to the podium. Alt, who lost the overall IDM Superbike title to Mikhalchik as a result of this finish, said: “We had the best possible performance. If we can’t win with that, we’ll just have to settle for second place until everything falls into place. But our time will come.” Secretly, he hopes that temperatures will rise slightly by the second race so he can use a different tire.
What else happened: There were quite a few position changes among the chasing pack. Colin Velthuizen (RR Socia Racing) had withdrawn due to illness. Toni Finsterbusch (GERT56), after a promising start, took a detour through the gravel trap and finished tenth. Kevin Orgis (ORM Racing) crashed right at the start. And Thomas Gradinger (Eder Racing), who had barely qualified for Superpole via Superpole 1 and finished eighth there, even crossed the finish line in sixth place. Federico Caricasulo (Skach Motors Kawasaki) finished in the points but, as a guest rider, will not receive any championship points. And how did things go for Patrick Hobelsberger? The 27-year-old salvaged three points.
IDM Superbike, Race 1
1. Ilya MIKHALCHIK (UKR/BMW)
2. Florian ALT (GER/Honda)
3. Jan-Ole JÄHNIG (GER/BMW)
4. Lorenzo ZANETTI (I/Ducati)
5. Leandro MERCADO (ARG/Kawasaki)
6. Thomas GRADINGER (A/Yamaha)
7. Bálint KOVÁCS (HU/BMW)
8. Philipp STEINMAYR (A/BMW)
9. Maximilian KOFLER (A/Yamaha)
10. Toni FINSTERBUSCH (D/BMW)
11. Max SCHMIDT (D/BMW)
12. Luca GRÜNWALD (D/BMW)
13. Federico CARICASULO (I/Kawasaki)
14. Patrick HOBELSBERGER (D/BMW)
15. Kevin ORGIS (D/BMW)
