Things are getting more and more interesting with Jan-Ole Jähnig. The young rider from Team GERT56 is scoring points for third place in the IDM Superbike class—even without knee pads. And now the 23-year-old BMW rider is seriously hot on the heels of his teammates in the standings. Third place in the IDM Superbike overall standings is within reach. Jähnig’s home race at the Schleizer Dreieck was a statement.
A week after the season’s highlight on the natural race track, the news comes out. Very few people knew about it. Jan-Ole Jähnig had actually crashed during the second free practice session. “Toni Finsterbusch had just turned around, Max Enderlein was right next to me, and Florian Alt was behind me—otherwise, no one even noticed,” grins the Lehndorf native. “It was no big deal. I got the bike back up right away and kept riding. Back at the pit wall, the team thought I’d just briefly skidded across the grass or swerved a bit.”
Although it was his home race—where the 23-year-old scored 27 points in the two IDM Superbike races held—his mother Kathrin was so proud that she was also glad “we made it home safe and sound after the weekend,” the young rider reports.
And it could very well have been his knee that took the brunt of it. Jähnig explains: “In the second race, I lost my knee slider on the sixth lap. That limited me a bit, but I was just barely able to manage. On the straight heading toward the city, it just gave out. The left one, of all things—even though the track is so left-biased. The right one would have been better. I tried touching down with my knee briefly, but pulled it back up really quickly. Now the suit is being repaired. I’ll get it back in Assen.”
In Schleiz, Jähnig secured his first front-row start in the International German Motorcycle Championship (IDM) in his Superbike career and even went head-to-head with defending champion Florian Alt (Honda) in the second race. He didn’t manage to beat him, nor did he make it onto the podium. Ilya Mikhalchik, Markus Reiterberger, and Florian Alt had that under control. Because “Reiti” was racing as a guest rider and was not eligible for the standings, Jähnig received points for third place. And he’s a quick learner, sticking close on the heels of the riders ahead of him. Whenever the opportunity arises, he practically crawls right into their exhaust. Just like with Florian Alt.
In the overall standings, Jähnig is in fifth place—three points behind Patrick Hobelsberger and four points behind Toni Finsterbusch.
“There’s still room for improvement,” Jähnig says calmly, “but I’m not putting any pressure on myself at all.” Even better: next week, he’ll be flying to Spain with Finsterbusch and Julian Puffe for BMW’s endurance testing. The three of them are test drivers and friends.
