This time, GERT56 team boss Karsten Wolf took his time. Assessing the last two years in IDM history took an unusually long time for the talkative team led by the eloquent “KW.” But now the influential Saxon has spoken up and announced Toni Finsterbusch and Jan-Ole “JO” Jähnig as the riders of the BMW M 1000 RR in the IDM Superbike class for 2025.
The focus for 2025 is on the development of Jan-Ole Jähnig, who has decided to stay with GERT56 despite receiving several offers from other teams. He will be joined by Toni Finsterbusch, who says he is “far from done.”
Karsten Wolf has given the matter some thought and taken a sober look at the past season. He reflects: “The fact that we were even further from the IDM title in 2024 than we were the previous year—and thus failed to meet the shared goals of Patrick Hobelsberger and the team—is the cold, hard reality.” As a reminder: Winning the title was the goal. Hobelsberger had returned home from the season opener at the Sachsenring as the championship leader. After the Hockenheim finale, he went down in history as the overall fourth-place finisher.
“And what message does a 31-year-old Toni Finsterbusch send us with a sensational third-place finish in the championship?” Wolf asks, then muses: “That success also lies in smart risk management? That you attack when you can and play it safe when things get tight? Sounds boring, doesn’t it? Far from it! We’re talking about the top 3 in Europe’s strongest Superbike series, beaten only by the current champion and last year’s champion. And where did he come from? After a complicated tibia and fibula fracture in the winter, he limped onto the podium at the Sachsenring. A brutal crash in FP1 at Schleiz didn’t stop him from racking up big points at Schleiz and Assen despite a battered knee. And if you ask him how he’s doing, you’ll always get a “I’m fine” in response. As a drivers’ representative, he is respected and valued, a fact that culminated not least in the sound solution he reached together with race director Stefan Beck amid the fog chaos at the Nürburgring. A solution that prioritized both the sport and the safety of the drivers.” Was that the best Toni Finsterbusch of all time? If he gets through the winter without injury, 2025 could also be his best year yet.
Everyone was talking this year about the 23-year-old from Thuringia, “JO,” whom the team manager praises highly. “He’s made full use of every option we’ve provided him with as a team. He’s clearly focused on the riding itself and uses the technical advancements as a tool to help him. His acceleration out of the corners, his line choice, and his agility embody Superbike riding at the highest level. Sure, after the three crashes in a row, we analyzed and discussed the situation. But after the third crash in a row, I made sure to speak with my young rider. Whether those were the right words and whether they made a difference, we’ll never know. He more than fulfilled the request to execute his attacks more clearly and consistently with two second-place finishes at Hockenheim.”
According to Wolf, the 2024 season was a major challenge from a logistical, personnel, and financial standpoint. While the situation presented many opportunities, it also created problems. It had been clear from early on that the team would field only two motorcycles again in 2025.
