The time has come. Everything is set for this coming weekend’s races at the Schleizer Dreieck. From July 26 to 28, 2024, the International German Motorcycle Championship (IDM) will celebrate the highlight of its season. The lineup of teams and riders is spectacular. In the “green living room” of Germany’s premier road racing series, fans will be talking shop, cheering, celebrating, and suffering. Tens of thousands of fans are expected at the natural race track in Thuringia.
Last Saturday, people once again turned out in large numbers with rakes, shovels, and brooms to put the finishing touches on the Dreieck. Outside of race days, large sections of the track are part of normal road traffic. But now everything is cordoned off, and the 3.805-kilometer-long course with its 14 turns is becoming a hotspot in the region.
In the top IDM Superbike class, where the motorcycles reach speeds of over 300 km/h and have more than 200 PS, there is currently a neck-and-neck race between defending German champion Florian Alt on a Honda and Ukrainian Ilya Mikhalchik on a BMW, who has already won the championship in this class three times. Just two points separate the rivals. The 28-year-old Alt has the edge. It’s going to be exciting. Last year, both won a race at the Schleizer Dreieck. Alt won the first race and Mikhalchik the second. And the title favorites are in top form right now, too. Just last weekend, Mikhalchik, riding for the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team, achieved the team’s best-ever result in Japan at the Suzuka 8-Hour Race. So things won’t be easy in Schleiz, especially since Lorenzo Zanetti (Ducati) and Toni Finsterbusch (BMW) are lurking right behind them. The latter is eager to claim the first IDM Superbike victory of his career. Finsterbusch is the lead rider for Team GERT56 from Pirna, Saxony. His teammates Patrick Hobelsberger and local hero Jan-Ole Jähnig are right behind him in the overall standings (see photo). Jähnig is 23 years old, hails from Lehndorf, and has gone from underdog to podium contender in Germany’s top motorcycle class within a year. Three brands dominate, but with Leandro Mercado from Argentina and Maximilian Kofler from Austria, Kawasaki and Yamaha also have strong contenders positioned in the top ten.
The guest appearance of four-time Superbike champion Markus Reiterberger is generating a lot of excitement. The 30-year-old Bavarian enjoys cult status here and says, “I’m really looking forward to the weekend in Schleiz. Schleiz is always something very special to me.” In his last IDM Superbike appearance two years ago, he won both races ahead of the current defending champion, Florian Alt (Honda). BMW specialist Reiterberger has already set several records on the natural race track in Thuringia, earning him a place on the monument in the center of Schleiz. Numerous motorcycle racing records are listed on the stele. When “Reiti” takes the M 1000 RR to the track from July 26 to 28, 2024, he won’t earn any points as a guest rider, however, since he’ll be racing outside the official standings.
In the IDM Supersport class, four motorcycle brands Supersport represented in the top 5: Yamaha, Triumph, Ducati, and Honda. The field has tightened up considerably. Andreas Kofler from Austria, known for his lightning-fast starts, currently dominates the class and holds a 31-point lead over Belgian rider Luca de Vleeschauwer. Daniel Blin has proven to be a consistent presence in third place. Even the newcomers following behind—Lennox Lehmann from Dresden and Dirk Geiger from Mannheim—have managed to secure podium finishes. These two rising stars were already tough and outstanding competitors in the smaller 300cc class.
In the Supersport junior class, a small but talented field is causing quite a stir this year. Leader Jeffrey Buis, Oliver Svendsen, and Ruben Bijman form a powerhouse in orange at the front of the pack and are part of the Freudenberg-KTM-PALIGO Racing junior program. Dylan Czarkowski and Senna van den Hoven, riding Yamaha and Kawasaki respectively, still manage time and again to break the trio’s dominance.
Another highlight on the iconic track in Thuringia is the sidecar race. At the Schleizer Dreieck, the focus is exclusively on points in the IDM standings, for which teams whose greatest sporting successes are still ahead of them are eligible to compete. The French duo Ted Peugeot and Vincent Peugeot have accumulated 91 points after four races, 13 more than Lukas Wyssen and Ema Salmon (CH/FRA). In third place in the standings are Lennard Göttlich and Lucas Krieg. At 19 and 21 years old, respectively, the two Germans are by far the youngest team. In fourth place is Patrick Werkstetter—who is also just 19—with his French passenger, Valentin Pirat. The sidecar field, which had been aging in recent years, has once again become much younger.
Even though, as already mentioned, two IDM races will be held and they won’t earn any points in those events, the Schleizer Dreieck remains a magnet for the sidecar elite, who have announced their participation as guests. World Championship leader Markus Schlosser says: “Why am I going there? Because it’s special and it’s fun.” Riding alongside the Swiss rider is none other than 20-year-old Luca Schmidt, who began his career in Zeulenroda and has now moved directly to Schleiz—with a direct connection to the track, so to speak. He aims to compete for the World Championship title alongside Schlosser. Schmidt has had a remarkable career. Three years ago, he won the IDM title as Josef Sattler’s passenger. Never before in the history of the German Sidecar Championship had there been such a young rider or passenger. And now they’re already going for the world championship crown.
Bennie Streuer, the 2015 world champion, will take about nine hours to travel from Assen to Schleiz. “I’ll be arriving on Wednesday.” Five-time sidecar world champion Pekka Päivärinta from Finland already set out on Monday. The trip from Helsinki takes a little longer.
Breathtaking races in four IDM classes and three cups will have Buchhübel and the legendary Seng track buzzing. The Schleizer Dreieck is one of the few racetracks where drivers must prove their mettle by racing counterclockwise on a track that averages about ten meters in width. At the Race Party, the excitement continues well into the night.
The best part is: the IDM remains a series you can experience up close. During autograph sessions, fans get closer to the riders than ever before. Ticket prices for the races range from 30.00 euros on Saturday to 35.00 euros on Sunday. You can save money with a weekend pass, which costs 45.00 euros. All tickets include free access to the grandstands and the paddock. Children and teens up to age 17 get in for free.
