With his victory in the first race of the IDM Superbike series, Ilya Mikhalchik (Champion Alpha Van Zon BMW) has moved one step closer to winning his fourth title in Germany’s top motorcycle racing class. If the 28-year-old Ukrainian finishes among the top 13 riders in the second race, he will be crowned champion today. The crown is on a silver platter. Mikhalchik just has to reach out and take it.
After five years, the International German Motorcycle Championship has returned to the Nürburgring. Back then, the Superbike class gave a taste of the high level of competition it represents as part of the Truck Grand Prix. The comeback didn’t go entirely smoothly. For two days, all classes had been struggling for hours in the fog, and several practice sessions were canceled. There’s still no cure for the Eifel weather, and it follows its own rules.
On this race Sunday, the skies around the Nürburgring are crystal clear, and the sun is shining brightly. Will this be a dream day for Ilya Mikhalchik, who has a chance to clinch the championship title early? His main rival, Florian Alt (Holzhauer Racing Promotion), had all but given up hope of defending his title after his disastrous crash two weeks ago in Assen, in which he suffered deep lacerations to his right hand, but he didn’t want to give up without a fight. The 28-year-old Honda rider had completed six laps in the warm-up. His taped and splinted hand held up, “but I don’t know how it will go over 18 laps, especially in the last ones,” Alt said, and then even admitted on the starting grid, “I’m in a hell of a lot of pain, but I’ll give it a try.”
Two races are on the schedule. In Race 1, the first few kilometers after the start saw the usual scramble for provisional positions. Once the field had settled, Mikhalchik finished ahead of Hannes Soomer (Enemat Enos Motorsport), the GERT56 trio of Patrick Hobelsberger, Toni Finsterbusch, and Jan-Ole Jähnig, as well as Florian Alt and Maximilian Kofler (Yamalube Motorsport Kofler) from the second lap.
Max Enderlein (Yamaha Racing by M32) and Oliver König (Hertrampf Racing Ducati) crashed. The Nürburgring is not an easy track, especially since it is a car circuit where they also lacked practice experience. Jähnig, too, only made it six laps. He had started from second place on the front row. The rookie from Team GERT56 is currently on a losing streak. In Assen, he had most recently started the Sunday races from third position and crashed in both races. The good news: The team stands firmly behind the rider from Thuringia. The 23-year-old has made a huge step forward in his development this year and must—and is allowed to—test his limits.
Meanwhile, at the front of the pack, the action was top-notch. Hannes Soomer overtook Mikhalchik. Finsterbusch was right on their heels. Lorenzo Zanetti (Triple M Racing Ducati Frankfurt), who had started the race in fourth place, dropped back to ninth, and then worked his way back up, passed Alt. Finsterbusch could no longer keep up with the pace of the leading duo, “I fell back heading toward Hatzenbach. But now I’m third. I’ve never held this position before. I was always second. Now all that’s missing is the win,” he summed up later. Mikhalchik was no longer willing to let Soomer stay ahead of him. It went back and forth between the two. In the end, the Ukrainian was so clever and cool-headed that he managed to surprise the Estonian with his passing move after all.
That added another 25 points to Mikhalchik’s tally, and he said: “After the crashes, I thought there might have been oil on the track and hesitated for a moment. But then I had everything under control.” With his eighth IDM Superbike victory this year, the 28-year-old has pulled even further ahead of his closest rival, Florian Alt, in the overall standings. The gap stands at 72 points heading into the next race. Despite his injured hand, Alt finished a commendable fifth.
Other highlights: Luca Grünwald, who was at a loss after qualifying, fought his way up from 18th on the grid to 10th place. Philipp Steinmayr crashed and was taken by helicopter to the hospital for examination. It was an all-BMW podium, but Zanetti, Alt, and Kofler ensured that other brands also made it into the top ten.
IDM Superbike, Race 1
1. Ilya MIKHALCHIK (UKR), BMW
2. Hannes SOOMER (EST), BMW
3. Toni FINSTERBUSCH (GER), BMW
4. Lorenzo ZANETTI (ITA), Ducati
5. Florian ALT (GER), Honda
6. Jan MOHR (AUT), BMW
7. Patrick HOBELSBERGER (GER), BMW
8. Bálint KOVÁCS (HUN), BMW
9. Maximilian KOFLER (AUT), Yamaha
10.Luca GRÜNWALD (GER), BMW
11. Leandro MERCADO (ARG), Kawasaki
12. Kevin ORGIS (GER), BMW
13. Martin VUGRINEC (CRO), Kawasaki
14. Thomas GRADINGER (AUT), Yamaha
15. Milan MERCKELBAGH (NED), BMW