What a finish, what a race! Oliver Svendsen capped off an already successful IDM season opener with a spectacular one-two finish in the new Sportbike class of the International German Motorcycle Championship (IDM) at Oschersleben. After a dramatic race on Sunday, the Dane also claimed victory in the second race—by a razor-thin margin of just 0.03 seconds ahead of Petr Svoboda. And third place made headlines as well: Justin Hänse celebrated the first podium finish of his career on his IDM debut.
Svendsen had already made a big impression on Saturday with his victory in the season opener. On Sunday, however, last year’s IDM Supersport champion surpassed that performance—pushing not only the Triumph Germany Racing team but also the fans lining the track to their limits.
At first, Petr Svoboda (WRP Racing) set the pace at the front. The Czech rider completed his laps with ease and looked like the sure winner for a long time—until, on lap ten, IDM rookie Luis Rammerstorfer (Freudenberg RoRa-Paligo Racing) suddenly made his move. The 17-year-old Austrian overtook the leading group and surprisingly took the lead. But his dream of a dominant run came to an abrupt end: with three laps to go, the chain on his bike snapped—it was all over, just when he was at his strongest.
Svoboda took the lead again, but Svendsen was lying in wait—and, just like in the first race, struck on the final lap. With a decisive pass, he snatched the lead, went all out—and shortly afterward found himself in trouble. Svendsen opened the throttle too aggressively, causing his Triumph to suddenly lurch violently. But the veteran rider managed to catch the bike just in time, narrowly avoiding a highside. As a result, Svoboda was back in the lead, with a 0.8-second advantage.
But Svendsen didn’t give up. With unwavering determination, he squeezed every ounce of performance out of his Triumph Daytona 660, practically flying through the final sector—and was right on his opponent’s tail again just before the final turn. In the final turn, Svendsen launched his final attack, went head-to-head with Svoboda onto the home stretch—and won the race by a tire’s width. 0.03 seconds! That was motorsport drama at its finest. “The day started anything but ideally—I crashed during the warm-up. But the race turned into a really intense battle,” Svendsen described. “Toward the end of the race, my tire grip dropped noticeably, and on the final lap, things got really dicey again with a near-highside that I was just barely able to catch. Giving up was out of the question for me. I gave it everything I had—and was rewarded. An all-around successful weekend for us.” Petr Svoboda once again had to settle for second place—but his performance showed once more that it’s only a matter of time before he, too, crosses the finish line first.
Meanwhile, Justin Hänse (Motorradtke GYTR by Penz13) was able to capitalize on Rammerstorfer’s misfortune. The 22-year-old from Harth-Pöllnitz snagged third place—and with it, the first IDM podium of his career. Hänse, who had previously been most at home in endurance racing, delivered a strong performance and showed consistency in his IDM debut.
“I’m thrilled about my third-place finish,” said Hänse after the race. “To be honest, I didn’t expect to be on the podium this early—even though I obviously benefited from Luis’s retirement. Still, this is a great result for me and a fantastic debut in the IDM.”
Just as in the first race, Rick Kooistra (Pearle Gebben Racing) and Ben Kugler (motolife) once again engaged in a fierce battle. Once again, the Dutchman Kooistra came out on top and secured fourth place. Kugler had to settle for fifth place.
Felix Kauertz (WSC-Racing by Aprilia & Racefoxx—runner-up in the 2024 Yamalube Yamaha R7 Cup—brought his Yamaha across the finish line in sixth place. Behind him was Korbinian Brandl (AK Racing Team), while IDM veteran Sven Seidler (ViVa by Peuker & Streeb), Alexander Weizel (AK Racing Team), and Anton Södergren (Triumph Germany Racing Team) rounded out the top 10.
IDM Sportbike Race 2 Results:
- Oliver SVENDSEN
- Petr SVOBODA
- Justin HÄNSE
- Rick KOOISTRA
- Ben KUGLER
- Felix KAUERTZ
- Korbinian Brandl
- Sven SEIDLER
- Alexander WEIZEL
- Anton SÖDERGREN
- Kristoffer KÖNIG
- Ty HENRIKSEN
- Cedric HOLME NIELSEN