In theory, Lukas Tulovic wanted to compete in the German TT taking place in Schleiz this weekend. In practice, however, the IDM Superbike season-opener winner from Team Triple M Racing Ducati Frankfurt was too late to enter. All spots are already filled—including, of all people, by his biggest IDM rivals, Hannes Soomer and Leandro Mercado.
The Ducati team had hoped to use the next few days to prepare for the upcoming IDM weekend at the natural race track. It will take place from May 30 to June 1 on the track, which is spectacularly raced counterclockwise. But now Tulovic has a different plan and says: “I have to do an extremely high number of laps in Friday’s free practice to make up for lost training time. The Masteroil team is already there with all the BMW riders. That’s tough. Schleiz will be a whole new experience for me anyway, since I haven’t raced there in what feels like an eternity.” To be precise, it’s been exactly ten years. “Tulo’s” last appearance as a racer at the Schleizer Dreieck was in 2015, when he competed in the Yamaha Cup.
Tulo has had a few relaxing weeks since his victory in the second Superbike race two weeks ago at the season opener in Oschersleben. “And I was both happy and frustrated at the same time. Now I hope we don’t have another technical problem like we did in the first race,” says the 24-year-old from Bavaria, knocking on wood as he speaks. “We can’t afford to make any mistakes in the championship if we want to win the title. I also feel the pressure myself—I can’t afford to make any mistakes.”
In Oschersleben, Tulovic had to retire from the first race due to technical problems with his Superbike. In the second race, he scored a commanding victory on the Ducati Panigale V4R. At first, he hadn’t even dared to dream of that. “I started the new season with no expectations. The bike, the Pirelli tires, the team, and the championship—everything was new. I first had to find my footing, and I ended up in the top 5, even though we’d only had two days of testing in dry conditions. After qualifying, it became clear to me what was really possible. Plus, I’ve already done thousands of laps at Oschersleben and worked as an instructor at Hafeneger Trainings,” he reveals.
Plus, the Ducati’s electronics are a force to be reckoned with. The system works much more smoothly than it did last year. According to the mechanics, the old electronics were rougher, Tulovic says. There’s clear data on this from the Superbike World Championship. The Superbike rookie sees Honda and BMW as on par with Ducati, but he also says: “Right from the start, I pulled away from Florian Alt every time in the race. Second and third gears provide strong acceleration thanks to the Ducati’s reverse-acting flywheel and are less prone to wheelies.” Tulovic won the second IDM Superbike race by 3.760 seconds ahead of Hannes Soomer (Masteroil Alpha Van Zon BMW) and his own Ducati teammate Lorenzo Zanetti. In the overall standings, Tulovic is fifth after one of seven events. “If everything works out again in Schleiz, we’ll have a realistic chance to fight for the title.”
