The battle for pole position in the IDM Superbike has begun. A total of 29 riders, including five guest starters, competed for the last time this season at the grand finale at Hockenheim. Today, Friday, the fastest twelve riders qualified for Superpole 2 during a half-hour “Superpole Pre-Practice” session. Tomorrow, the top starting positions in the premier class will be decided in Superpole 2. The fastest rider of the day, earning direct entry into SP2, was the new four-time champion Ilya Mikhalchik (Champion Alpha-Van Zon-BMW).
Even after winning his fourth IDM Superbike title, Ilya Mikhalchik is still going all out and shows no signs of slowing down. And Florian Alt (Holzhauer Racing Promotion) is hot on his heels with his Honda. The 28-year-old German was—and remains—Mikhalchik’s most dangerous rival, and Mikhalchik is determined to win the season finale as well. For Alt, the focus is now on defending his second-place finish in the overall standings. The GERT56 team, represented by Jan-Ole Jähnig and Toni Finsterbusch, tucked in behind Alt during Superpole Pre-Practice. Kevin Orgis (ORM Racing Team) worked his way up from 15th to fifth place in the second half of the session.
Max Enderlein was both surprised and relieved by his sixth-place finish. “I can’t say how it happened. We didn’t change anything on the bike. I’ve been pushing hard all season, and nothing helped. And suddenly, it’s working.”
Shocking: All twelve riders who qualified directly for Superpole 2 are within one second of each other on the timing sheet. The gaps between them are minimal. Only two thousandths of a second separate Orgis and Enderlein!
Once again, Patrick Hobelsberger (GERT56), who finished in 15th place, must go through Superpole 1
The Bavarian is once again taking a little longer to set a fastest lap that will propel him forward. He hasn’t been able to train between IDM events since Schleiz. “Due to unfortunate circumstances,” as he puts it, “the motorcycle broke down once, and the RV twice.” The fourth-place IDM rider will battle it out with his teammate Toni Finsterbusch for third place in the overall standings in the two Superbike races on Sunday.
Leandro Mercado (Kawasaki Weber Racing) is unusually far back in 18th place. The Argentine shrugs. “Last week at the 24-hour race in Le Castellet, I wasn’t exactly the slowest. Here, I’m missing my crew chief right now. He’s in Cremona at the Superbike World Championship. I hope things go better tomorrow.” If he finishes in the top 3 in Superpole 1, he’ll be able to compete in Superpole 2. The top three make the cut.
IDM Superbike, Superpole Pre-Practice
1. Ilya MIKHALCHIK (UKR), BMW
2. Florian ALT (GER), Honda
3. Jan-Ole JÄHNIG (GER), BMW
4. Toni FINSTERBUSCH (GER), BMW
5. Kevin ORGIS (GER), BMW
6. Max ENDERLEIN (GER), Yamaha
7. Maximilian KOFLER (AUT), Yamaha
8. Bálint KOVÁCS (HUN), BMW
9. Thomas GRADINGER (AUT), Yamaha
10. Jan MOHR (AUT), BMW
11. Colin VELTHUIZEN (NLD), BMW
12. Lorenzo ZANETTI (ITA), Ducati