IDM SPB: Photo-finish victory between Iglesias and Svendsen

The sportbike riders in the International German Motorcycle Championship (IDM) put on a spectacular show in the second race on Sunday in Most. A photo finish determined that Inigo Iglesias was the winner.

"I want to put on a good show," said Inigo Iglesias (Wematik Racing by RT Motorsports) in a TV interview before the race, as the field was getting ready for the second race—and he kept his word.
After the start, Svendsen (Triumph Germany Racing Team) initially defended his pole position, but Iglesias closed in faster than expected. The Spaniard didn’t hesitate and seized his chance to overtake immediately after the first chicane. But Svendsen was on his toes and countered at the very next opportunity. When two fight, the third man benefits—in this case, Petr Svoboda (WRP Racing). The Czech driver shot past Iglesias out of nowhere from behind, taking second place. From then on, a battle erupted among the three drivers, with the lead changing hands back and forth.

Overtaking maneuvers at the absolute limit

Since there had been a long oil spill during the sidecar race earlier and it took quite some time to clean the track, race officials shortened the sportbike race to ten laps instead of the originally scheduled eleven. By the midpoint of the race, the field had settled into a somewhat orderly formation, with Svendsen leading the race at the front while Iglesias lurked behind him. Finally, on lap seven, an overtaking maneuver pushed both riders to their limits. Svendsen went a bit too wide at one point, and Iglesias made his move. The Spaniard tried to pass the Dane, but Svendsen held his ground, causing his bike to start wobbling. On top of that, Iglesias suddenly let off the brakes and cut across the curbs, causing both of them to head toward the grass. “During the passing maneuver, I felt like I had a bit of oil on my tire from the track, which is why I let off the brakes; otherwise, we would both have crashed,” the World Championship veteran reported after the race. But both Svendsen and Iglesias regained control of their bikes and continued on—now with Iglesias in the lead.

It all comes down to the last centimeter

The intense duel came to a head in the final lap: Svendsen stuck to his opponent like glue, waiting for the right moment. But Iglesias took up as much space on the track as a bus, leaving no openings for an attack. So the race was decided in the final centimeters, after Svendsen tried to use momentum to come out of the slipstream and pass his rival after the last corner. The photo finish determined the winner: Inigo Iglesias crossed the finish line 0.005 seconds ahead of Svendsen. “We fought right at our limits and gave it our all,” Inigo Iglesias said afterward. “I’m so proud that I was able to give my new team a victory right away on our first race weekend together,” he continued. His team, Wematik Racing by RT Motorsports, was put together in Schleiz by his manager Rob Vennegoor after two team changes in the last three weeks and made a fresh start in Most. The 23-year-old scored a total of 45 points across the two races, even though his chain snapped during the sighting lap before the first race and the mechanics had to get the bike back in running order in a flash. However, Iglesias then had to start the race from the very back of the pack.

At the awards ceremony, a mechanic from Iglesias showed the broken chain lock that they had happened to find on the track during the evening practice session on Saturday night and that had caused the chain to break.

Oliver Svendsen wasn’t satisfied with his second-place finish after the tough battle and had some criticism for the Spaniard’s driving, which he felt had been very aggressive at times on the track. “Nevertheless, the points are important for the championship—and that’s what counts in the end,” commented the 21-year-old, who remains the points leader and who, on the cool-down lap, picked up his compatriot Ty Henriksen, who had crashed in the battle for sixth place on the final lap. Peter Svoboda was unable to keep up with the two leaders, but was pleased with third place.

Best result for Södergren; Hänse runs out of luck

Swedish rider Anton Södergren (Triumph Germany Racing Team) delivered a strong performance in the second race after sliding into the gravel on Saturday. For the Triumph rider, fourth place marks a personal best in his IDM season. Rick Kooistra (Pearle Gebben Racing) finished fifth, followed by Ben Kugler (MotoLife) in sixth place.

For Justin Hänse (Motorradtke GYTR by Penz13), who arrived at Most in second place in the championship standings, the weekend was a disappointment. Although he didn’t crash on Sunday, he botched the start and had trouble avoiding the cleared oil slick. He finished eighth behind Alexander Weizel (AK Racing Team).

IDM Sportbike, Race 2 Results