It’s full of surprises. Superbike rider Martin Vugrinec has been benched by his team manager, Oliver Skach, just two weeks before the season opener. Philipp Steinmayr received a call and is now the second rider on the Kawasaki team.
Oliver Skach, team manager of Skach Motors Kawasaki Racing, is currently going through quite a rollercoaster ride. His rider, Martin Vugrinec, limped his way to the test at Oschersleben last week. Skach assumed this was a result of the Croatian’s leg injury from last year. But when Vugrinec got off the Kawasaki in obvious pain, the truth came to light. The 26-year-old fell on an oil slick while working as an instructor in Rijeka and broke his foot. He has already undergone surgery. Vugrinec tried to cover it up because he felt guilty toward the team, having already missed nearly half the season last year due to injury. After another, albeit minor, crash in Oschersleben, Skach immediately sent him to the sidelines. He is to take it easy at all costs. Vugrinec will race at the IDM opener in Oschersleben in a week and a half. It remains to be seen how fit he is.
Steinmayr thinks the Kawasaki is "cool"
Austrian rider Philipp Steinmayr had bid farewell to the IDM at the 2024 Hockenheim finale. He wanted to compete only in the World Endurance Championship. No more double commitments, just three races a year, more time for himself. Now things have turned out exactly the opposite. “Nothing meaningful came of the EWC. But I didn’t want to race there just to waste my time either.” And even though it’s actually far too time-consuming for him and he and his girlfriend are currently in the midst of a massive home renovation, he said “yes” and is returning to the IDM Superbike. The fascination is simply there.
Steinmayr had already made it known that he was available for test rides. However, following his debut on the Kawasaki ZX-10RR at the Pannoniaring last weekend, it is now official that the 31-year-old from Wolfern near Linz will return to the IDM Superbike series as a full-time rider. “Of course, we’re aware that as a former BMW rider, he most recently had a bike that set the benchmark, and we’re still in the development phase,” reports Skach from Hungary, adding, “but everything fell into place, and Philipp is a good fit for the team.”
Steinmayr himself says, “The Kawasaki is a cool bike. There are a lot of little things we need to work on, but there’s nothing I’d say I absolutely dislike about it.”