In the IDM Supersport class, tensions Supersport ahead of this coming weekend’s grand finale at Hockenheim. Although Andreas Kofler (Yamaha) holds a 36.5-point lead over second-place Luca de Vleeschauwer (Triumph), the Austrian cannot rest easy as a potential champion. His aggressive Belgian rival has already proven himself to be a tough competitor on multiple occasions and has a one-two finish under his belt. He won’t give up on the IDM title until the final checkered flag has fallen. After all, the final tally comes at the end. And the Belgian is under pressure himself. Lennox Lehmann (Yamaha), currently third in the overall standings, has him in his sights and is determined to challenge him for second place in the standings.
Lennox Lehmann, an 18-year-old from Dresden (Yamalube Kofler Motorsport), has announced his intention to overtake 22-year-old Luca de Vleeschauwer (MotoLife) in the overall standings to finish in second place. The Saxon is highly motivated. Just last weekend, at Yamaha’s invitation, he competed in the R7 European Cup SuperFinal in Le Castellet and won both races. Lehmann was overwhelmed by the experience and recounts: “Yamaha had sent Marvin Siebdrath and me there and organized everything. We flew from Frankfurt to Marseille and drove from there to the racetrack in a Fiat 500X. There were 28 riders from eleven countries on the starting grid. Except for one Greek and one Italian, I didn’t know a single one of them.”
Lehmann hadn't ridden an R7 yet, except for three days in February. “It was pretty exciting, but I started from pole position,” grins the Saxon, “it went back and forth a bit, it was a wild race, but I won the first race. In the second one, I also had a bit of luck. It was stopped early due to a crash. Since more than two-thirds of the distance had already been completed, the last full lap before the stoppage counted as the result. I was just in the lead at that point.” At one point, he had even been spotted in P9. Thanks to the two victories, Lehmann was not only the overall winner of the Yamaha R7 European Cup SuperFinal, but he also received a new R7 on top of that. Back home, he was kept grounded despite his success. He had to wash his own clothes before heading to Hockenheim on Thursday for the IDM finale.
A mere 11.5 points separate him at the finish from Triumph rider Luca de Vleeschauwer, who was no less successful last weekend. He is one of the riders who crossed the finish line in the 24-hour race at the prestigious Bol d’Or in Le Castellet, where Lehmann competed in the Yamaha R7 European Cup SuperFinal. Although a small stone had punctured the motorcycle’s oil cooler during the night—and the repair took a long time—the team ultimately secured 18th place after completing 693 laps, each 5.771 kilometers long.
Lehmann has set his sights high for the IDM finale and can’t afford to look back. The gaps to the riders behind him—Daniel Blin (Ducati), Twan Smits (Yamaha), and Dirk Geiger (Honda)—are just as tight as the gap to the lead. Anything is possible here.