For Luca Grünwald, the current IDM Superbike season has been fraught with challenges. It wasn’t until the Schleiz race weekend that things finally went smoothly for the 29-year-old Bavarian from the BCC-Alpha-Ilmberger Racing Team. And the bar in Germany’s top class is set higher than it was three years ago.
After winning the Supersport title on a Kawasaki in 2020, Luca Grünwald’s career led him straight into the IDM Superbike series. The rookie finished third overall on a BMW right off the bat. A year later, due to injury, he was able to race in only four races on a Honda. His subsequent appearances in 2023 were again limited to four races during the season, this time as a substitute rider for Kawasaki. Now, in 2024, the Bavarian returned to full-time racing on a BMW. Team boss Andy Gerlich kept his ace up his sleeve for a long time. After recovering from his leg injury, Grünwald was expected to perform well upon his return as a permanent IDM rider. Grünwald is the number “1” in the BCC-Alpha-Ilmberger crew, which is not affiliated with Werner Daemen’s BMW factory team.
Andy Gerlich said regarding their joint start that he hoped to see his rider finish among the top five riders over the course of the year. “If it takes a little while to get there, so be it,” Grünwald had commented.
Apart from the three consecutive races at the start of the season, in which he failed to score points—partly due to a crash and a penalty—things have been going much better since Schleiz. The KTM test rider has slowly been getting used to the BMW M 1000 RR. “Yes, it’s getting better. I also feel really comfortable on the bike. Every Superbike is different. It has to respond even more directly and immediately now. The electronics help with that and work well, but you have to learn how to use them properly. That also means adapting your riding style and your posture a bit. It’s brutal work,” explains the Bavarian, describing what often seems simple to outsiders.
At the Schleizer Dreieck, Grünwald’s team found a setup “that takes us further.” The weekend’s haul on the natural race track totaled 17 championship points. In the second race, Grünwald finished sixth. So he was either just short of or just missed his hoped-for goal. In the overall standings, he sits in 13th place due to the zeros he scored early on. That’s not to his liking.
Like many others, Grünwald has noticed that the level of competition in the IDM Superbike series has risen over the past three years. “To keep up, the preparation is extremely time-consuming. We also can’t go test on every track beforehand; we simply don’t have the necessary budget for that.” After a rough start to the season, however, the Waldkraiburg native now seems to be back on track. When he heads to Assen this coming weekend for the next round of the IDM, he’ll be accompanied by a good omen: he’s already stood on the podium in the Netherlands.
