He won five races in the IDM Supersport last year and was crowned champion. Now Andreas Kofler from Austria is looking to defend his title, but faces tougher competition than ever before.
“I’m not racing with the number 1 on my fairing,” Kofler makes clear right away, adding, “Even though I won the championship, I’m still the same old me, and I’m keeping the number 19 because it’s brought me luck.” And then he adds, “But it’s gold.”
So far, the 20-year-old Yamaha rider from the family-run team “Yamalube Kofler Motorsport” has only half-heartedly researched his competitors. There are still some unknowns. Kofler knows only that quite a few riders are just waiting to knock him off his throne. “Melvin van der Voort for sure, plus Luca de Vleeschauwer, Dirk Geiger, Lennox Lehmann, Marcel Brenner, and Marvin Siebdrath too. He was really good in testing. I think everyone who raced in the IDM Supersport last year has stepped it up a notch over the winter. With the current lineup, we’re facing the strongest Supersport field in a long time. A week from today, once qualifying is over, I’ll have a better idea.” The season opener of the International German Motorcycle Championship (IDM) will take place in Oschersleben from May 9 to 11.
Cramming at the police academy instead of test days
The Upper Austrian has never really let anything rattle him, even though he hasn’t spent much time on his motorcycle in recent months due to health issues. “It just wasn’t possible, either time-wise or financially. But we’ve been testing in Oschersleben now, and I feel in good shape,” says the Upper Austrian, “very fit, in fact. I’m at last year’s level, if not even better.” And the racer from Attnang-Puchheim leaves no doubt when he says: “We definitely want to be right up front, and I’m very confident about that.”
Instead of spending more time on his motorcycle, Kofler has been buried in his textbooks from police academy. He has quite a bit of studying to do. “Before our team heads to Oschersleben on Thursday, I have a criminal law exam on Wednesday.”