A week ago, Estonian rider Hannes Soomer claimed his first Superbike victory of the season at the IDM opener in Oschersleben and also took the lead in the championship. His debut with the Masteroil Alpha Van Zon BMW team was a huge success. And yet the Motorsport Arena isn’t even his favorite track. In an interview, the 27-year-old from Tallinn told us how he feels about everything, why he didn’t veto the lack of blue, and why he’s not naming any title favorites.
Hannes, did you handle the win and taking the lead well?
We celebrated properly on Sunday and flew home on Monday morning. Starting Tuesday, it was back to work as usual. After all, it was only the first race weekend of a long season. The problem with celebrating after a race weekend is that the fatigue from the weekend takes over around 9:30 p.m., and you fall asleep whether you want to or not. We’re saving the big celebrations for the end of the year.
What did your mom say?
She was still a little upset because the motorcycle wasn't blue—since that's how she could usually spot me right away—but winning on Mother's Day made up for it.
Your BMW M 1000 RR is painted almost entirely in black and yellow. Couldn’t you have vetoed that?
To be completely honest, I didn’t really want to veto it. I had the chance to race against the big boys again in a small privateer team with a blue bike, or in an official team like I am now. This is something special. I believe that with the yellow bike, I have the best chance of fighting for the championship this year, and that’s the ultimate goal. I’ll keep the blue with the boots and the helmet.
What do you like best about the BMW?
I think it has the best all-around package on the grid. It responds instantly and directly the moment you pull out of the pits. The lap times we’re posting on a production motorcycle are incredibly fast.
Does the bike feel right to you yet, or is there anything you’d like to change?
We’re still working on fully understanding where we stand with the bike’s setup. The suspension is new to me. We’ve been working with ZF since this year. I still need a few more laps to find the best compromise. If we can find a bit more speed at the start of the race and in Superpole and maintain the pace at the end of the race, I can make life very difficult for my competitors.
Do you think you can keep up this level of performance in the long run?
I feel like this is the kind of performance the team expects from me—and the kind I expect from the team. The plan is to keep it up.
After the races in Oschersleben, you’ll be able to really assess your competitors for the first time. What do you think of Tati Mercado, Florian Alt, Lukas Tulovic, Jan-Ole Jähnig, and the rest?
I think the overall level of the championship has risen another notch this year. This year’s race time was 9 seconds faster than last year’s. That’s a big leap, especially given that the conditions weren’t all that different. I think there will be a lot of different winners this year.
What are your favorite tracks, and which ones do you really dislike?
If I’d had to pick my least favorite track before the season started, I would have said Oschersleben. I think my favorites are Most or Assen.
Thank you for the interview, Hannes Soomer.
The next IDM event will take place from May 30 to June 1, 2025, at the Schleizer Dreieck.
