It’s too late for the title race, but the current runner-up, Twan Smits (Team Apreco), showed with another victory in the IDM Supersport that the competition must always count on him, despite his mixed season. Dirk Geiger (MCA Racing) finished second again. Ducati rider Daniel Blin from Poland finished third, limiting the damage after his crash in the first race.
Twan Smits, Dirk Geiger, and Andreas Kofler (Yamalube Kofler Motorsport) set the pace at the start of the second IDM Supersport race at the Nürburgring. In the first race, championship leader Kofler had botched the start. That was unusual, as the Austrian is actually known for his lightning-fast starts. However, the fact that Smits and Geiger were now ahead of him didn’t bother him much in terms of the overall standings, since neither of them plays a role in his title fight. Kofler simply had to make sure that his direct rival, Luca de Vleeschauwer (MotoLife), stayed behind him.
Smits and Geiger soon put on a show at the front. The two know each other outside of the IDM and train together in Spain during the winter. Both are absolute machines on the brakes. Geiger kept trying to find an opening to pass. At the same time, he kept an eye on the riders behind him. Kofler and Blin had locked horns in a duel. “If I lose the slipstream behind Twan now, they’ll catch me from behind eventually,” Geiger explained afterward. So he focused exclusively on the Dutchman. The Yamaha rider had long since heard Geiger’s Honda engine and spread out in front of him like a bus. Geiger had no chance to pass, and it stayed that way until the end. The margin at the finish was 0.157 seconds. “That was an incredibly awesome race,” Geiger summed up, even though he lost to Smits, “I had something planned for the final lap, but it didn’t work out.”
Meanwhile, de Vleeschauwer had briefly slipped in between Kofler and Blin (AF Racing). Blin then overtook Kofler, while de Vleeschauwer fell back. And 17-year-old Luca Göttlicher (Triumph Germany Supersport Racing) was back in the mix as well. In the final meters, he overtook Lennox Lehmann (Yamalube Motorsport Kofler), finishing 0.002 seconds ahead of the Saxon. In the overall standings, the teenager also moved up two spots and is now seventh after the Nürburgring weekend. Lehmann had been running in tenth place early on and then fought his way up the field.
Andy Kofler heads to the season finale in Hockenheim from September 20 to 22 with 206 championship points, followed by Luca de Vleeschauwer (169.5), Lennox Lehmann (158), and Daniel Blin (155.5). Theoretically, De Vleeschauwer and Lehmann still have a chance at the title. In practice, however, leader Kofler already has a comfortable points lead.
IDM Supersport, 2. Rennen
1. Twan SMITS (NLD), Yamaha
2. Dirk GEIGER (GER), Honda
3. Daniel BLIN (POL), Ducati
4. Andreas KOFLER (AUT), Yamaha
5. Luca GÖTTLICHER (GER), Triumph
6. Lennox LEHMANN (GER), Yamaha
7. Luca DE VLEESCHAUWER (BEL), Triumph
8. Kyle SMITH (GBR), Kawasaki
9. Filip FEIGL (CZE), Triumph
10. Kas BEEKMANS (NLD), Yamaha
11. Kilian HOLZER (AUT), Yamaha
12. Julius Caesar RÖRIG (GER), Honda
13. Jef VAN CALSTER (BEL), Ducati
14. Damien RAEMY (SUI), Yamaha
15. Jorke ERWIG (GER), Kawasaki
