After rain during the first qualifying session, the weather gods took pity on the riders in the second session. The Schleizer Dreieck track was mostly dry. Nineteen-year-old Austrian Andreas Kofler (Yamaha) stormed to his fourth pole position of the year in the IDM Supersport class.
The first qualifying session on the wet track was a wash. Kyle Smith (Kawasaki Weber Racing) had topped the timesheets with a lap time of 1:35.152, but crashed later in the session. Dirk Geiger (MCA Racing, Honda) wasn’t exactly thrilled with his sixth-place finish. He had been struggling with engine braking. The only MV Augusta rider in the field, Till Belczykowski, was demoted three places for failing to turn on his rain light and thus found himself in 14th place.
In dry conditions, things looked very different. In the second qualifying session, Kofler managed to shave his time down to 1:27.453 minutes. He was 0.193 seconds ahead of the next-fastest Honda rider, Dirk Geiger. Kofler could have gone even faster, “but the track was absolutely packed, and there’s hardly any room to maneuver.” The average width of the Schleizer Dreieck track is ten meters.
Geiger was over the moon about his lap time and his second-place starting position. Unlike Kofler, he’d had a clear track and felt right at home. The mixed weather—a random mix of dry and wet patches—is exactly his thing. And with that, he also kept runner-up Twan Smits (Team Apreco) at bay, who will start third on the Supersport grid tomorrow.
Lennox Lehmann from Dresden will start from the second row. Because the track wasn’t completely dry during the second qualifying session, the Yamalube Motorsport Kofler Team opted for rain tires, unlike the pole-setter. That decision backfired. Lehmann had to switch tires after a few laps and would have been much better off with slicks. But time was running out. “We had to sacrifice two laps for that. Too bad—we could have used those to finish further up the grid. But we know the speed is definitely there.”
Daniel Blin (AF Racing Team) brought the fastest Ducati Panigale V2 to the track and will be attacking from fifth on the grid. The Pole will now receive full support and assistance. His Czech teammate Stepan Zuda, who won the season opener at the Sachsenring, is no longer with the team and has ended his season early.
Rounding out the second row of the grid is Dutch rider Sasha de Vits, the up-and-coming Yamaha teenager from Team SWPN. Every motorcycle brand represented in the IDM Supersport has at least one rider in the points. Luca de Vleeschauwer (MotoLife) is in P9 on the Triumph Street Triple. Kyle Smith on Kawasaki takes P10, and Till Belczykowski on the sole MV Agusta is in P15.
IDM Supersport Qualifying
1. Andreas KOFLER (A), Yamaha
2. Dirk GEIGER (GER), Honda
3. Twan SMITS (NED), Yamaha
4. Lennox LEHMANN (GER), Yamaha
5. Daniel BLIN (POL), Ducati
6. Sasha DE VITS (BEL), Yamaha
7. Kas BEEKMANS (NLD), Yamaha
8. Marvin SIEBDRATH (GER), Yamaha
9. Luca DE VLEESCHAUWER (BEL), Triumph)
10. Kyle SMITH (GBR), Kawasaki
11. Filip FEIGL (CZE), Triumph
12. Luca GÖTTLICHER (GER), Triumph
13. Jef VAN CALSTER (BEL), Ducati
14. Wiljan VAN WIKSELAAR (NED), Ducati
15. Till BELCZYKOWSKI (GER), MV Agusta
