The fifth of seven rounds of the International German Motorcycle Championship (IDM) has intensified the battle among the title contenders. At the TT Circuit Assen last weekend, new dynamics were established for the final sprint, which begins in just a week and a half at the Nürburgring. And one team has already clinched the championship: the French father-son duo Ted and Vincent Peugeot in the IDM sidecar class standings.
Florian Alt’s (Holzhauer Racing Promotion) crash and its aftermath have put Ilya Mikhalchik (Champion Alpha Van Zon BMW) in a comfortable position in the IDM Superbike overall standings in terms of winning the title. His goal: to become champion in the top class for the fourth time. In the absence of defending Honda champion Florian Alt, the 28-year-old Ukrainian won both races at the 4.555-kilometer TT Circuit in the Netherlands. The German crashed on a highside in the very first lap of the first race. The team diagnosed a tire defect. Alt will need surgery on his right hand. His title chances have plummeted after the weekend. The German is now 58 points behind leader Mikhalchik, from whom he had actually intended to reclaim the overall lead at Assen. Honda rider Alt would have been the only one at Assen capable of leaving the BMW armada at the front behind him or at least breaking through their phalanx. Following his retirement, the Bavarian brand swept the entire podium after both races, with the same lineup each time: winner Ilya Mikhalchik ahead of Estonian Hannes Soomer (Enos Motorsport) and Patrick Hobelsberger (GERT56). It was an international show of strength, with the outcomes decided in the final laps. Hobelsberger thus displaced his teammate Toni Finsterbusch from third place in the standings. With Italian Lorenzo Zanetti (Triple M Racing Ducati Frankfurt) and Argentine Leandro Mercado (Kawasaki Weber Racing), two other brands still have strong contenders in the top ten. The fastest Yamaha is listed just behind in 11th place and belongs to Maximilian Kofler from Austria.
In the IDM Supersport class, rookie Lennox Lehmann (Yamalube Kofler Racing) Supersport his first win of the season. After already securing three podium finishes, he had finally made it to the top. Luca de Vleeschauwer had actually been in contention for the win and had led almost the entire first race on his Triumph. The 22-year-old Belgian from Team MotoLife was on track until the final lap, when Lehmann outbraked him at the entrance to the fast chicane. A few minutes earlier, the Dresden native had already boldly and skillfully edged past his teammate Andreas Kofler and his Yamaha. For the pole-sitter, it was a back-and-forth battle throughout the 13-lap race. In the end, he finished third, 0.009 seconds behind de Vleeschauwer. 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 bruised from head to toe. He had to check in at the Medical Center. One day later, he set the fastest lap of the race.
Kofler, who had been beaten by Lehmann in the first race, left nothing to chance in the second race and led the pack around the track, followed by Luca de Vleeschauwer, Lennox Lehmann, Daniel Blin, Sasha de Vits from Belgium, Dirk Geiger, and the Dutch riders Kas Beekmans and Twan Smits. It was clear that de Vleeschauwer had something up his sleeve at the end to overtake Kofler and win. It was a brutal but fair passing move that he initiated. But Kofler also pulled out all the stops. The fact that he would fight back from his position was a real shocker. And he succeeded: the fourth win of the season for the 20-year-old from Attnang-Puchheim. An Austrian on a Yamaha, a Belgian on a Triumph, and a Pole on a Ducati stood on the podium. It doesn’t get any more international than that.
In the IDM Supersport class, Germany’s Philipp Tonn (Freudenberg KTM-Paligo Racing) dominated both races this weekend. The KTM rider prevailed in thrilling, nail-biting finishes against his teammates Ruben Bijman and Oliver Svendsen. Tonn celebrated both his first victory of the season and a double podium finish at Assen, climbing to third place in the championship standings. World Championship rider Ruben Bijman secured second place twice. Yamaha rider Dylan Czarkowski (DC Racing) also made it onto the podium. The Dutchman snatched third place in the second race on his home track despite a time penalty.
The two teams led by Harry Payne and Markus Schlosser were locked in a thrilling neck-and-neck battle in the FIM Sidecar World Championship. In Saturday’s sprint race, Harry Payne and Kevin Rousseau (Steinhausen Racing / ARS Yamaha) dominated the action, leaving Markus Schlosser and Luca Schmidt (Team Schlosser / LCR Yamaha) with no chance to overtake. In Sunday’s main race, Markus Schlosser defended his pole position all the way to the checkered flag to secure the victory. Harry Payne staged an impressive comeback from over three seconds behind to finish in second place. Schlosser remains at the top of the World Championship standings. In the IDM standings, Lukas Wyssen and Ema Salmon (Team Gustoil Sidecar Racing/LCR Yamaha) won the first race. The father-son duo Ted and Vincent Peugeot (Seventy Four Racing Team/LCR Yamaha) secured victory in the second race and are already champions!