It was Twan Smits’ weekend. The Dutchman had struggled so much at the start of the season. Now the runner-up from last year has finally broken through. It was his second victory at the Schleizer Dreieck. Behind him, his Yamalube Motorsport Kofler teammates Lennox Lehmann and Andreas Kofler crossed the finish line. Since his closest competitors weren’t quite at the front on the natural race track either, Kofler remains comfortably in the lead in the IDM Supersport.
After his crash on the oil-slicked track in the first race, it was a miracle that 19-year-old Andreas Kofler (Yamalube Motorsport Kofler) was even able to race again. Exactly five minutes before the pit lane opened, the badly damaged motorcycle was back in the makeshift pit, ready to race. Only a few scratches on the Yamaha remained as a reminder of the morning’s incident. Five people had worked around the clock to fix it.
There was no doubt about Twan Smits’ (Team Apreco) second victory of the day. The Dutchman was in a league of his own. With a lead of 5.947 seconds, “El Raketo” won the race ahead of the competition and never once lost his rhythm. The 20-year-old consistently lapped faster than his pursuers. Behind him, Dirk Geiger (MCA Racing), Lennox Lehmann (Yamalube Motorsport Kofler), and Daniel Blin (AF-Racing) were chasing Andreas Kofler, who had pulled just a little ahead. Geiger shielded himself from the riders behind by riding hard over the bumps and not always staying exactly on the ideal line. No one could get past him, even though Lehmann was practically breathing down his neck. The rider from Dresden gritted his teeth.
Bit by bit, the trio closed in on Kofler, who was trying vehemently to defend second place. But the gap behind him was shrinking—and there were still three laps to go. What happened next was inevitable: the trio became a quartet. And so it continued: Geiger lost a gear, the rookie fell back, and Lehmann overtook his teammate Kofler to claim second place. The Austrian then had the aggressive Daniel Blin on Ducati behind him, who raced past the podium by a hair’s breadth. Only a good two-tenths of a second separated him from Kofler.
Further back, a 17-year-old had everyone holding their breath: Luca Göttlicher. He was the only rider left from the Hertrampf Team on the Schleizer Dreieck. Superbike riders Vladimir Leonov and Oliver König hadn’t made the trip due to injuries. Supersport rider Kevin Wahr had ended his season early. Instead, rookie Göttlicher, riding a Triumph Street Triple RS, overtook one rider after another in the field. In the final meters, he even overtook Marvin Siebdrath. Göttlicher had actually managed to move up from 12th to 6th place. For a long time, he had been just as fast as title contender Kofler in the battle for second place.
Another thing that stood out: All motorcycle brands represented in this class scored points in the race.
IDM Superbike, Rennen 2
1. Twan SMITS (NLD), Yamaha
2. Lennox LEHMANN (AUT), Yamaha
3. Andreas KOFLER (AUT), Yamaha
4. Daniel BLIN (POL), Ducati
5. Dirk GEIGER (DEU), Honda
6. Luca GÖTTLICHER (GER), Triumph
7. Marvin SIEBDRATH (GER), Yamaha
8. Luca DE VLEESCHAUWER (BEL), Triumph
9. Sasha DE VITS (BEL), Yamaha
10.Kas BEEKMANS (NED), Yamaha
11. Filip FEIGL (CZE), Triumph
12. Kyle SMITH (GBR), Kawasaki
13. Wiljan VAN WIKSELAAR (NLD), Ducati
14. Jef VAN CALSTER (BEL), Ducati
15. Till BELCZYKOWSKI (DEU), MV Agusta
