It's done. Ilya Mikhalchik (Champion Alpha Van Zon BMW) has won the Superbike title in the International German Motorcycle Championship (IDM) for the fourth time. The Ukrainian would have loved to cap off his success with a win in the second race of the day, but Hannes Soomer (Enemat Enos Motorsport) snatched that victory away from him.
After 18 laps over 3.618 kilometers, it was finally official: 28-year-old Ukrainian Ilya Mikhalchik, riding a BMW, had clinched the IDM championship in the top class ahead of schedule—for the fourth time. Not much could go wrong. The championship leader, who traveled to the Eifel with a 58-point lead over defending champion Florian Alt (Holzhauer Racing Promotion), would have had to face a major setback to prevent the title from being decided. After his victory in the first race—his eighth of the current season—the title was practically handed to him on a silver platter. He had made sure of that himself in recent months. Mikhalchik’s partner Milana, his mother Ludmilla, his aunt, and even his grandmother had come to the Nürburgring to celebrate their personal superstar. After his great triumph, the BMW driver marched into the paddock for the podium ceremony, as befits his status, carrying the blue-and-yellow flag of Ukraine.
The big championship celebration won’t begin until the IDM finale at Hockenheim in three weeks, from September 20–22. In the Eifel, the new champion was first presented with the trophy for second place in the race. The largest trophy went to Hannes Soomer. The Estonian made history as the new winner of the IDM Superbike championship. He had been giving it his all for so long and had repeatedly fallen short just before the finish line—just like this morning. After a few slip-ups, the 26-year-old from Tallinn had long since given up on a top finish in the overall standings. For him, the focus was now solely on a victory. September 1, 2024, will go down as a milestone in his very personal history.
Soomer spotted an opening right at the start of the race and darted past Mikhalchik. The counterattack wasn’t long in coming. With Toni Finsterbusch (GERT56) in tow, the top trio remained unchanged from the morning session. A little way back followed Jan-Ole Jähnig (GERT56) and Florian Alt, as well as an unstoppable Lorenzo Zanetti (Triple M Racing Ducati Frankfurt), who immediately overtook both rivals and was three-tenths of a second faster than the leading trio. The Italian had fallen back in the chaos of the start, but quickly proved to be a wild card and moved up to fourth place. The original trio at the front thus became a quartet.
Florian Alt, who was the only rider to consistently hold his own against the BMW armada in the IDM Superbike series all year long, rode his Honda to a fifth-place finish without facing any real threat from the field. Given his lap times, he could easily have been up front, but the 28-year-old from Engelskirchen was too cautious at the start. What he achieved was incredible regardless. There are very few riders who would have started at all with such a hand injury, let alone compete in two Superbike races in a single day. He was in excruciating pain. But that’s Florian Alt: giving up is not an option.
On the twelfth lap, Mikhalchik made a mistake but managed to hold onto the lead ahead of Soomer. One lap later, Finsterbusch, known for his late braking, really did hit the brakes too late. Zanetti slipped through and didn’t relinquish third place for the rest of the race. Finsterbusch, however, could celebrate setting the fastest lap of the race with a time of 1:25.443 minutes (average speed 152.438 km/h). The Eifel showdown reached its climax in the 16th lap. In the Querspange, Soomer overtook Mikhalchik and this time truly didn’t let the victory slip away: “I pushed to the limit.”
In other news: Luca Grünwald’s (BCC Alpha Ilmberger Racing) odyssey continues. He left the race and headed for the pits. Max Enderlein (Yamaha Racing by M32) scored two points for Yamaha and, following the retirements of Thomas Gradinger (Eder Racing) and Maximilian Kofler (Yamalube Kofler Motorsport), was the only remaining YZF-R1 rider.
IDM Superbike, Race 2
1. Hannes SOOMER (EST), BMW
2. Ilya MIKHALCHIK (UKR), BMW
3. Lorenzo ZANETTI (ITA), Ducati
4. Toni FINSTERBUSCH (GER), BMW
5. Florian ALT (GER), Honda
6. Jan MOHR (AUT), BMW
7. Bálint KOVÁCS (HUN), BMW
8. Jan-Ole JÄHNIG (GER), BMW
9. Leandro MERCADO (ARG), Kawasaki
10.Kevin ORGIS (GER), BMW
11.Milan MERCKELBAGH (NED), BMW
12. Patrick HOBELSBERGER (GER), BMW
13. Marco FETZ (GER), BMW
14. Moritz JENKNER (GER), BMW
15. Max ENDERLEIN (GER), Yamaha