Er ist endgültig in der IDM Supersport angekommen. Lennox Lehmann (Yamalube Kofler Motorsport) besiegte im ersten Lauf in Assen den lange in Führung liegenden Triumph-Fahrer Luca de Vleeschauwer (MotoLife) und gleichzeitig auch noch seinen Teamkollegen Andreas Kofler. Der Österreicher führt die Meisterschaft an, kann sich aber nicht ausruhen.
Nach viel Respekt vor dem Teamkollegen sah das nicht aus. Als Supersport-Rookie Lennox Lehmann zum Überholmanöver auf Kofler ansetzte, zuckte er mit keiner Wimper. Neben der Strecke verstehen sich beide prächtig, aber im Rennen sind sie Gegner. Egal, ob da einer im Team die Meisterschaftsführung inne hat oder nicht. Und gleich gar nicht, wenn es um den Sieg geht, bei Lehmann immerhin dem ersten.
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