He has finally made his mark in the IDM Supersport class. In the first race at Assen, Lennox Lehmann (Yamalube Kofler Motorsport) defeated Triumph rider Luca de Vleeschauwer (MotoLife), who had led for much of the race, as well as his teammate Andreas Kofler. The Austrian leads the championship but can’t afford to rest on his laurels.
It certainly didn’t look like he had much respect for his teammate. When Supersport rookie Lennox Lehmann moved in to pass Kofler, Kofler didn’t bat an eye. Off the track, the two get along great, but on the track, they’re rivals. It doesn’t matter whether one of them is leading the championship or not. And it certainly doesn’t matter when the race is on the line—especially since this would be Lehmann’s first victory.
Kofler started from pole position on his Yamaha—as has become almost routine—and was the first to cross the finish line after 4.555 km. Luca de Vleeschauwer set the pace on the third lap. The Belgian had already announced his intention to win at the TT Circuit Assen. His plan was looking good until the final lap, when Lehmann outbraked him at the entrance to the fast chicane. He couldn’t just stand by and watch as the Belgian was on the verge of securing what could have been his third victory of the season. A few minutes earlier, the Dresden native had already boldly and skillfully edged past Kofler. For the pole-sitter, it was a back-and-forth battle throughout the 13 race laps. In the end, he finished third, 0.009 seconds behind de Vleeschauwer. Today was a day on which he was unable to mount an attack.
That’s why Kofler has never been certain of the title and, despite his lead of more than 30 points in the standings, has remained rather modest so far. The fact that Daniel Blin (AF Racing Team) finished fourth on the Ducati was an enormous feat of determination. The Pole had crashed in qualifying and was covered in bruises from head to toe. Yesterday he still had to go for a check-up at the Medical Center. Today he was part of the group of four battling for the win and even set the fastest lap of the race.
Honda’s top rider, Dirk Geiger (MCA Racing), was less than thrilled with his spot on the second row of the grid and started in the second group. Kyle Smith breathed a sigh of relief: in the very first lap of the first qualifying session, his Weber-Kawasaki had been written off. Although he hadn’t set a single lap time, the team completely rebuilt the bike. After testing in the warm-up, it was clear that the Brit would be racing. Without any practice time, Smith had to start from the very back. He moved up from P20 to P15.
IDM Supersport, Race 1
1. Lennox LEHMANN (GER), Yamaha
2. Luca DE VLEESCHAUWER (BEL), Triumph
3. Andreas KOFLER (AUT), Yamaha
4. Daniel BLIN (POL), Ducati
5. Twan SMITS (NED), Yamaha
6. Dirk GEIGER (GER), Honda
7. Luca GÖTTLICHER (GER), Triumph
8. Sasha DE VITS (BEL), Yamaha
9. Kas BEEKMANS (NED), Yamaha
10.Filip FEIGL (CZE), Triumph
11.Marvin SIEBDRATH (GER), Yamaha
12. Jef VAN CALSTER (BEL), Ducati
13. Julius Caesar RÖRIG (GER), Honda
14. Thijs WESTENBRINK (NLD), Yamaha
15. Kyle SMITH (GBR), Kawasaki