Patrick “Pax” Hobelsberger has now had nearly a week to reflect on the IDM races at the Nürburgring. The 28-year-old Bavarian from Landau an der Isar describes his performance in the top class as a “total disaster.” Too many things went wrong for him, and in the end, his brilliant GERT56 teammate Toni Finsterbusch edged him out of third place in the overall standings. What happens now?
The fog had blanketed the Eifel region for two days. There was little track time for any of the riders. Nevertheless, Hobelsberger quickly found his rhythm on the BMW M 1000 RR. His results in the IDM Superbike: second place in free practice and fifth on the grid after qualifying. “I felt really good; I was riding with ease and confidence,” he said optimistically.
A day later, he was at a loss for words. Hobelsberger describes his shock: “In the first race, I had a great start and was able to stay with the leading group in third place for a very long time, until I realized my lines were way too wide. I started pushing and was able to close the gap a bit. By the middle of the race, I was riding very consistently behind my teammate Toni. Unfortunately, I made a small mistake and had to swerve onto the grass because I was at the absolute limit. I ran into major problems with my tires and could hardly do anything about it. No matter what I tried, it just didn’t work.” Hobelsberger managed to limit the damage by finishing in seventh place.
In the second race, after several collisions, he came back from the first lap in tenth place. The tire problem returned, and another one arose. “I had several splashes of water on my visor, and my engine temperature kept getting hotter and hotter. On the straight, I had to pull out of the slipstream to cool my bike. On the start-finish straight, I was passed several times. I could barely stop the bike, was constantly losing the ideal line, and had no grip. And there was hardly a trace of power or acceleration. I guess I completely ran out of talent today to somehow react to the problems. Everything I tried didn’t make it better—it just made it more dangerous. So I decided to somehow make it to the finish line with limited resources and subpar riding performance and take whatever points I could reasonably manage to score. Hobelsberger finished twelfth, earning four championship points. “On Saturday evening, I would have thought such a scenario impossible. To be honest, for me it was a complete disaster.” In the overall standings, the BMW driver has slipped to fourth place. Teammate Finsterbusch is now in third.
“Sometimes you win, and sometimes you learn,” as the saying goes. “Today I can say I’ve learned a great deal!” Hobelsberger reflects, knowing “that my mechanic, Ronny Schlieder, will turn every single bolt 30 times clockwise and 30 times counterclockwise to get my bike in perfect shape for the finale at Hockenheim.” He also promises to come up with a plan to finish the season the way it began: with a victory.
