The IDM Superbike Superpole pre-practice session at the TT Circuit Assen has concluded. The twelve fastest riders have been determined and will advance directly to Superpole 2 tomorrow. Missing from the list: Patrick “Pax” Hobelsberger, the winner of the season opener. What’s going on with the current fourth-place rider in the IDM from Team GERT56?
The 27-year-old BMW driver, who has his sights set on the title, has taken a hit after his disqualification in Oschersleben and a flat tire in Most. He now trails current leader Ilya Mikhalchik by 71 points. After four rounds, Hobelsberger sits in fourth place in the standings, sandwiched between his teammates Toni Finsterbusch and Jan-Ole Jähnig. “Fibu” has one more point, and “JO” has three fewer championship points. Will Hobelsberger ease off a bit in light of the nearly hopeless title race?
No, despite the setbacks, the fire still burns brightly within the trained carpenter from Landau an der Isar. Hobelsberger is a racer through and through. “I’m not letting this go by me at all. My goal now is to at least finish third in the championship. Given the normal course of the season, becoming champion or runner-up is probably unrealistic. I lost too many points in Oschersleben for that. But I have to make the best of it now. The fact that JO is now so strong and right behind me doesn’t surprise me. He’s developing as hoped, and that goes for his entire crew around him.”
Hobelsberger, however, decided to sit out the rain-soaked free practice session at the TT Circuit Assen. “I didn’t want to crash—we’ve been through that before. We’ll let the others take the lead.” Especially since the weather forecast for the next few days doesn’t call for any rain. The fact that Hobelsberger failed to qualify directly for SP2 after finishing 14th in the Superpole pre-practice didn’t bother him much. “Then I’ll have an extra quarter of an hour of track time.” His father Günter had calculated that for him as well. However, Hobelsberger must be one of the three fastest riders in SP1 tomorrow to still advance to SP2, where the final starting grid positions in the front row are decided.
