After winning his fourth title in the International German Motorcycle Championship (IDM), Ilya Mikhalchik (Champion Alpha Van Zon-BMW) made sure to cap off the season with a race victory as well.
After finishing third in the first race, he really needed to let off some steam. His GERT56 teammates Patrick Hobelsberger and Toni Finsterbusch decided the fate of the remaining podium spots. For other riders, an era came to an end. For Marc Moser (Triple M Racing Ducati Frankfurt) and Björn Stuppi (RR SOCIA RACING CO2 compensated by BCI), the second Superbike race was the last of their careers. Both are retiring.
After an extremely brief red light phase at the start, Ilya Mikhalchik returned from the first lap in the lead. His bright yellow helmet was visible from a distance. He was followed by Jan-Ole Jähnig, Florian Alt (Holzhauer Racing Promotion), Patrick Hobelsberger, Bálint Kovács, Kevin Orgis (ORM Racing Management), Toni Finsterbusch, Maximilian Kofler (Yamalube Kofler Motorsport), and Lorenzo Zanetti (Triple M Racing Ducati Frankfurt). An incident occurred on the third lap that could have ended very differently. Jähnig went too wide and was pushed to the outside. Alt saw the gap as an invitation and darted in. Jähnig, in turn, tried to correct his course, returned to his original line, and collided with Alt in the process. Thanks to his experience, Alt reacted with confidence and composure. Otherwise, both riders would likely have ended up in the dirt. The incident helped widen the gap to the leading BMW dominator, Ilya Mikhalchik, who ultimately won the race with a 6.321-second lead.
Jähnig, Hobelsberger, Alt, and Zanetti kept things exciting behind the leaders. For Hobelsberger, in particular, it was a do-or-die situation. Going into the weekend, only 11 points separated him from his GERT56 teammate Toni Finsterbusch in third place in the overall standings. Hobelsberger, who had started the season with a win, wasn’t happy about that at all. Having set his sights on becoming champion this year, the 25-year-old was now at least trying to secure third place. For Finsterbusch, who was languishing at the bottom of the top ten, things didn’t look good at times. Kevin Orgi put up a fight in the battle for ninth place. When Jan Mohr dropped out later, Finsterbusch slipped to P8, and that was enough to remain third in the overall standings. It was a small point. At that moment, he felt as big as the world. Finsterbusch and Mikhalchik are the only Superbike riders to have finished and scored points in every race of the 2024 season.
Jähnig had a huge grin on his face after the race. Following his string of crashes at Assen and the Nürburgring, he hadn’t expected to make it back onto the podium this year. “After the collision with Flo, I’d already written the race off. That was a pretty hard hit.” Patrick “Pax” Hobelsberger actually managed to finish third and make it onto the podium. In the final meters, he outmaneuvered Alt, who then had no chance of getting in between them. That means: three BMW riders on the podium, but thanks to Alt, Zanetti, Kofler, and Mercado, all four other brands are also in the top ten. Honda, Ducati, Yamaha, Kawasaki.
So what happens next? Mikhalchik is heading back to Poland tomorrow, where he’s been living for over a year. This coming weekend, he’ll be competing in a motocross race. His team plans to treat the champion to a meal. Other than that, nothing is planned—not even for next season.
IDM Superbike, Round 2
1. Ilya MIKHALCHIK (UKR), BMW
2. Jan-Ole JÄHNIG (GER), BMW
3. Patrick HOBELSBERGER (GER), BMW
4. Florian ALT (GER), Honda
5. Lorenzo ZANETTI (ITA), Ducati
6. Bálint KOVÁCS (HUN), BMW
7. Maximilian KOFLER (AUT), Yamaha
8. Toni FINSTERBUSCH (GER), BMW
9. Kevin ORGIS (GER), BMW
10.Leandro MERCADO (ARG), Kawasaki
11.Colin VELTHUIZEN (NLD), BMW
12. Milan MERCKELBAGH (NLD), BMW
13. Max ENDERLEIN (DEU), Yamaha
14. Marco FETZ (DEU), BMW
15. Thomas GRADINGER (AUT), Yamaha