Following Saturday’s turbulent race, the action picked right back up on Sunday in the Sportbike class of the International German Motorcycle Championship (IDM) in Schleiz. The second race of the new IDM Sportbike class featured not only a restart, but also a dominant double winner and a new face on the podium.
Strong start, rough landing
After the start, which was won by Inigo Iglesias (Freudenberg RoRa-Paligo Racing), Berlin-based Cedric Holme Nielsen (Motorradtke GYTR by Penz13) crashed in front of the grandstand at Buchhübel. The motorcycle remained on the track, prompting race officials to call off the race. Fortunately, the Yamaha rider was uninjured and was checked out at the medical center as a precaution.
After a brief interruption, the race was restarted with a quick start—seven laps at full throttle. Once again, it was Iglesias who set the pace, followed by Oliver Svendsen (Triumph Germany Racing Team) and Petr Svoboda (WRP Racing). But as early as the second lap, Svoboda made a mistake in the Kohlbach chicane and shot straight on. This cleared the way for Justin Hänse (Motorradtke GYTR by Penz13) and Ben Kugler (MotoLife), who didn’t need to be asked twice to pass him.
Svendsen crashes – Iglesias left on his own
At the front, Iglesias and Svendsen initially pulled away together—but then came the bitter end for the Dane: On lap three, he lost the front end and slid into the gravel trap. After a quick pit stop, Svendsen was able to continue the race, but his hopes of a podium finish were dashed. Iglesias, on the other hand, continued to lap the track alone—securing a one-two finish on his first IDM weekend as a substitute rider. “It was a fantastic weekend here for me, and I felt very comfortable here from the very first minute,” the Spaniard reported before the podium ceremony.
Hänse and Kugler manage
Local hero Justin Hänse took second place, having also benefited from Svendsen’s crash. “I saw him hit the gravel and from then on just wanted to hold onto my position,” said the 22-year-old from Harth-Pölnitz.
Behind him, Ben Kugler tried to apply pressure in the early laps, but there was no getting past the local hero. Instead of taking a risk, the Bavarian played it smart: “Justin had the better pace, so I thought to myself: Don’t overdo it, just stay on his tail.” His patience paid off—third place for Kugler, who celebrated his first IDM podium finish. A real milestone for the 20-year-old, who has only been actively racing for four years.
Best result for Brandl
Korbinian Brandl (AK Racing Team) delivered a big surprise today. After a disappointing first race on Saturday, in which he finished in last place, things went much better for him today. He crossed the finish line in fourth place, achieving his best result of the day. Petr Svoboda managed to finish in fifth place despite his braking error.
Despite his mistake at the chicane, Petr Svoboda still managed to finish in fifth place.
Henriksen perseveres – promise almost kept
In the battle for the top six, Ty Henriksen (Henriksen Racing) showed great determination. After Race 1, the young Dane had announced his intention to aim for fifth place in the second race—and fought tenaciously against Kristoffer König (ViVa by Peuker & Streeb). It ended well: He won the duel against the German and secured sixth place—a strong result for Henriksen, who narrowly missed the top 5 but impressively demonstrated his ambitions.
IDM Sportbike Race 2 Results:
- Inigo IGLESIAS (ESP), Triumph
- Justin HÄNSE (GER), Yamaha
- Ben KUGLER (GER), Aprilia
- Korbinian BRANDL (GER), Aprilia
- Petr SVOBODA (CZE), Aprilia
- Ty HENRIKSEN (DEN), Aprilia
- Kristoffer KÖNIG (GER), Aprilia
- Rick KOOISTRA (NLD), Triumph
- Anton SÖDERGREN (SWE), Triumph
- Sven SEIDLER (GER), Aprilia
- Alexander WEIZEL (GER), Aprilia
- Oliver SVENDSEN (DEN), Triumph