Breathtaking battles, double winners in all IDM classes, a rollercoaster of emotions, and over 30,500 spectators made last weekend’s International German Motorcycle Championship (IDM) races a truly spectacular event. Germany’s premier motorcycle racing series celebrated the highlight of its season at the Schleizer Dreieck.
Exactly 100 years ago, the first round of the German Motorcycle Championship took place on the famous natural race track in Thuringia. The top category featured non-tax-exempt motorcycles with engines over 500 cc. Toni Bauhofer won the 200-kilometer race on a Megola. He also achieved the fastest average speed of the day at 78 km/h.
Now, 100 years later, the motorcycles in the top class have over 200 hp and reach speeds of at least 300 km/h.
Ilya Mikhalchik (Champion Alpha Van Zon) won both races over the weekend ahead of guest rider Markus Reiterberger (Masteroil by MRP) and Florian Alt (Holzhauer Racing Promotion). With this result, the BMW rider from Ukraine took the lead in the overall standings from the German defending champion on Honda. Alt now trails the new leader by eight points. The 28-year-old from Engelskirchen had been playing it safe. At the start of the first race, he had taken the lead ahead of 30-year-old four-time Superbike champion Markus Reiterberger. The crowd favorite had started from third position. The two engaged in a battle on equal footing. Alt had been looking forward to facing the guest rider beforehand.
Mikhalchik watched the duel from behind, and his riding style radiated sheer composure. But it was clear that the 27-year-old BMW rider still had something up his sleeve. And Mikhalchik was indeed shrewd enough to first deal with Alt and later the Bavarian. Nothing stood in the way of Mikhalchik’s fourth victory of the season.
The second race was a carbon copy of the first, except that Reiterberger and Mikhalchik battled it out at the front, with the Ukrainian once again coming out on top. Reiterberger was left feeling wistful; as a guest rider, he didn’t earn any points, but he would have loved to win in his “green living room.” The Bavarian enjoys cult status in Schleiz and has been immortalized on a commemorative stele in the town since setting his first track record in 2013. He is firmly convinced: “If we had started Friday with the brand-new bike in the same condition it’s in today, I would have crossed the finish line in the lead over the last 100 meters.” Exciting: Florian Alt was joined by Jan-Ole Jähnig. The Thuringian, who has only been racing in the IDM Superbike for two years, actually put the defending champion under serious pressure. And the latter knew full well that “JO” is someone to watch these days. The rookie from the GERT56 team has come into his own and finished fourth. Kawasaki and Yamaha still have their strongest contenders in the mix with Leandro Mercado from Argentina and Austrian Thomas Gradinger. Both secured a top-ten finish. Ducati star Lorenzo was absent from Schleiz due to injury: a broken left collarbone.
During the cool-down lap, all the riders were celebrated like heroes. Mikhalchik took off his knee pads and threw them into the crowd. Spectators stormed the track to high-five the riders. Flares sent yellow plumes of smoke into the air. That’s how a race at the Schleizer Dreieck comes to an end.
In the IDM Supersport class, it was Twan Smits’ weekend. The Dutch rider had struggled so much at the start of the season, but now everything is back on track: a one-two finish for the 20-year-old Yamaha rider from Team Apreco in the Netherlands.
As has become almost customary, Andreas Kofler got off to a lightning-fast start from pole position. After two laps, Dirk Geiger (MCA Racing, Honda), Lennox Lehmann (Yamalube Motorsport Kofler), Twan Smits, and Luca de Vleeschauwer (MotoLife) had lined up behind the Austrian. It was clear that runner-up Smits was in top form. In the second sector, he was nearly a second faster than the leading Kofler. And Kofler was completely surprised when the 20-year-old Dutchman suddenly appeared alongside him and even overtook him. The two Yamaha riders were now setting the pace. On the tenth lap, chaos ensued. Smits and Kofler slid off the track side by side. It looked like an oil spill. Two more riders followed. The red flag was waved. The final standings were determined by the riders’ positions after the last full lap. However, they had to return to the pits with their motorcycles within five minutes. From the leading group, these were Twan Smits, Lennox Lehmann, Dirk Geiger, and Daniel Blin. One was missing: Andreas Kofler. He was disqualified. Only half the points were awarded for the nine laps completed instead of the scheduled 15.
In the second race, Kofler finished third behind the dominant Twan Smits and Lennox Lehmann from Dresden. However, since his closest rivals didn’t finish at the front on the natural track, Kofler remains comfortably in the lead in the overall standings. Other notable points: All motorcycle brands represented in this class scored points in the race: Yamaha, Ducati, Triumph, Honda, Kawasaki, and MV Agusta.
In the IDM Supersport 300 junior class, Oliver Svendsen (Freudenberg KTM-Paligo Racing) won both races. The 20-year-old Dane, who recently made his World Championship debut as a guest rider and finished sixth right off the bat, won the first race by a razor-thin margin of 0.065 seconds ahead of his teammates Ruben Bijman and Philipp Tonn. The second race was prematurely stopped due to an oil spill on the track. Svendsen left Schleiz as the new championship leader.
Fans in Schleiz were treated to a mix of weather-related challenges, as well as highs and lows, in the sidecar class this weekend. Although the British brothers Sam and Tom Christie (Hannafin/LCR Yamaha) won both races, they were not classified as guest starters. Instead, the French duo Ted and Vincent Peugeot (Seventy Four Racing Team/LCR Yamaha) secured two victories and significantly extended their lead in the IDM standings, which were the focus of attention in Schleiz. Because the Schleizer Dreieck, with its unique atmosphere, holds a special place, World Championship riders such as Pekka Päivärinta, defending champion Todd Ellis, and Bennie Streuer had also made the trip. Ironically, it was Markus Schlosser and local hero Luca Schmidt (Team Schlosser/LCR Yamaha) who had to take a step back. In the sprint race, they chose the wrong tires, and in the second race, while leading on the final lap, their sidecar broke down right in front of the spectators on the Buchhübel due to engine failure.
Bottom line: Schleiz was once again worth the trip, and the program was rounded out by three cup classes and an autograph session in the paddock. That’s motorsports up close and personal.
