What do Lightning McQueen and Richard Irmscher have in common? The #95 race number and a love of racing. The 15-year-old from Saxony has entered the Supersport as an IDM rookie—on a Honda.
We were heartbroken when Lightning McQueen, the red Piston Cup race car, had to head to Los Angeles for the tiebreaker race after three consecutive ties—only to be separated from his transport truck in the middle of the night. The animated film “Cars” captivated everyone. In “Cars,” all the characters are cars that behave like humans—and even animals. Lightning McQueen is the hero of the film and raced full throttle into the hearts of moviegoers. For film fan Richard Irmscher, there was therefore only one starting number at the beginning of his racing career on two wheels—the “95.” And that has remained the case to this day.
He was four when he first got on a motorcycle. He inherited his talent from his father, Andreas, and his career so far has followed a classic Saxon path: racing school at the Sachsenring at age five, three years in the pocket bike class, entry into the ADAC Mini Bike Cup, and his first championship title in 2021. Two years later, high school student Irmscher won the Honda Talent Challenge. In 2024, he finished as runner-up in the Northern Talent Cup (NTC). Now 15 years old, this Marc Márquez fan has a wealth of experience under his belt.
The high school student from Burgstädt will have to wait a little longer before he can compete against his new Supersport on the Honda CBR 600 RR. He’ll have to sit out the season opener in early May because, by that date, Richard won’t yet be 16— Supersport required to compete in the IDM Supersport . And Schleiz has been crossed off the list as a precaution. Although the rookie would have reached the minimum age on May 23, “my parents would rather I ride on a permanent racetrack for the first time, and that would be in mid-June at Most.” His father accompanies him to every event. His mother, Anja, drives him on Tuesdays and Thursdays to the Olympic Training Center in Chemnitz, where all ADAC motorsport athletes from the surrounding area meet for joint training.
Irmscher is meticulous, ambitious, determined, and fearless. He challenges himself against everyone he can—in sports and at school. “If others do something better, I have to figure out why and change the situation.” Where is this journey headed? “Given my height, the IDM Supersport the path to my goal, which is currently the Moto2 European Championship.” Irmscher has already surpassed the 169-centimeter height of his MotoGP hero, Marc Márquez, by five centimeters.