Jan-Ole Jähnig’s performance in the IDM Superbike Superpole pre-practice session at the Schleizer Dreieck was top-notch. The 24-year-old BMW rider really went all out and posted a fabulous time that left the competition in the dust. If this keeps up, Germany’s top motorcycle class is shaping up to be a real thriller.
“Yes, the podium is our goal. A win would be nice, but let’s see how it turns out,” says “JO” Jan-Ole Jähnig, as calm as ever. Yet he was the only rider to stay under 1:24 minutes in pre-practice. He had precisely piloted the BMW M 1000 RR around the 3.805 km-long track—featuring Buchhübel, the Kohlbach chicane, and Seng—in a time of 1:23.797 min. That was even faster than three-time champion Ilya Mikhalchik’s time in pre-practice a year ago. Team boss “KW” Karsten Wolf was over the moon.
“We came here extremely well prepared, though,” says Jähnig. Together with his GERT56 by RS Speedbikes teammate, Toni Finsterbusch, he trained last weekend at the Schleizer Dreieck as part of the German TT. That’s paying off now, “and our race pace is pretty good, too. I think I can consistently run a few laps in the 1:24.3 and 1:24.4 range.” There is one downside for the team: Finsterbusch went off the track during pre-practice after a seemingly harmless slide, but the BMW didn’t come to a stop until after a violent rollover. This means a lot of hard work for the mechanics now, but the main thing is that Finsterbusch is okay and has secured his spot in Superpole 2 tomorrow, Sunday.
Tulovic on the Ducati: Room for Improvement
The Masteroil Alpha Van Zon BMW team also showed up at the German TT, and team boss Werner Daemen placed his entire lineup among the top 12 riders in pre-practice today: opening-round winner Hannes Soomer, Leandro Mercado, Bálint Kovács, and Milan Merckelbagh.
For a long time, Florian Alt was by far the only non-BMW rider competing at the very front of the pack. On his HRP Honda, he almost seemed like the isolated troublemaker. But he’s a force to be reckoned with, even if the 29-year-old is currently more focused on keeping up with the leaders than on winning.
Lukas Tulovic set the fourth-fastest time of the session on the Ducati Panigale V4R right at the very end. “That was a tough start today,” he said with a sigh. “We started from scratch. The bike’s setup wasn’t right. We didn’t have any testing. Nothing.” It was a long day of hard work for Tulo and Triple M Racing Ducati Frankfurt. “But there’s still room for improvement,” he assures us, knowing full well: “We can still make one or two more steps forward. Jan-Ole Jähnig is probably the guy we’ll have to beat this weekend.”
A Round of Orgis with a Surprise Twist
Leon Orgis (ORM Racing Team) put in a strong performance. The 23-year-old from Saxony completed just a single lap and immediately posted the fifth-fastest time. “I just went for it and hit the track on new tires. Sometimes that kind of thing works. Actually, it’s our goal to be right where we are now.”
Today, in a half-hour “Superpole Pre-Practice” session, the twelve fastest riders qualified for Superpole 2, where the top starting positions are determined.
So they won't be there tomorrow when all the other Superpole 1 riders battle for their starting positions. The top three from Superpole 1 will advance to Superpole 2, thereby keeping their chances alive for one of the top spots. Superpole 2 will determine starting positions 1 through 15. The remaining starting positions will be assigned in order based on the Superpole 1 results. These starting positions will apply to both races.
Pre-Practice Results: Jan-Ole JÄHNIG (BMW), Hannes SOOMER (BMW), Florian ALT (Honda), Lukas TULOVIC (Ducati), Leon ORGIS (BMW), Leandro MERCADO (BMW), Lorenzo ZANETTI (Ducati), Kevin ORGIS (BMW), Bálint KOVÁCS (BMW), Toni FINSTERBUSCH (BMW), Milan MERCKELBAGH (BMW), Jan MOHR (Yamaha).