He was the clear favorite, and he didn't put a foot wrong: Lukas Tulovic (Triple M Racing Ducati Frankfurt) won the first IDM Superbike race this Sunday at the Motorsport Arena in Oschersleben on his red Ducati Panigale V4R. However, the new points leader at the halfway point of the season is Florian Alt (Holzhauer Racing Promotion), riding the only Honda in the field.
“We’ve got one here who’s faster than the rest,” said Hannes Soomer (Masteroil Alpha Van Zon BMW) while still on the starting grid, referring to Tulo in pole position. “The Ducati is very fast,” added team manager Werner Daemen, “but Hannes wants to win the championship, so he has to score points in every race.” After six races, Soomer led the overall standings with 112 points, ahead of Florian Alt (103) and Lukas Tulovic (86).
Florian Alt’s team manager, Jens Holzhauer—who can only use the upcoming summer break for testing purposes—raised his hands in doubt about what his crew would face at Oschersleben: “We’re at our limit. We just have to push through here. But we haven’t made any more changes to the Honda either. We still have Assen, the Nürburgring, and Hockenheim coming up.”
The race followed its own rules. At the start, Tulo’s front wheel lifted off the ground on his Ducati. Toni Finsterbusch’s (GERT56 by RS Speedbikes) BMW also shot up into the air. Florian Alt immediately passed the rider from Saxony. Tulovic, however, quickly regained his composure and set out to do his own thing at the front, pulling away from the rest of the field. Alt kept a close eye on Finsterbusch’s teammate, Jan-Ole Jähnig.
The GERT56 motorcycles were the only ones in the front half of the field equipped with a harder Pirelli tire compound. Everyone else had the softer “X” on their rims. It was a chaotic race.
Alt overtook Jähnig, who was now being challenged by Finsterbusch. Behind them, Leandro Mercado (Masteroil Alpha Van Zon BMW) and Hannes Soomer were battling it out, though it seemed there were no team orders in play despite the title race. But the Estonian knew he had to stay close to keep his chances alive.
It didn’t take long before the 27-year-old from Tallinn really got going. Soomer overtook one opponent after another on the inside line. After a rather subdued start, he now pulled off some incredibly strong moves, culminating in a battle with Florian Alt: At the halfway point, the red Honda and the black-and-yellow BMW were battling for second place. Soomer squeezed past Alt, who had to make way for him. Then came the setback: Soomer hit the curbs too hard and couldn’t get back on the track in time. The front wheel of the BMW M 1000 RR dug into the grass, and Soomer crashed out of the race in a cloud of dust.
Tulovic was oblivious to all of this. Wearing start number “3,” he won his third race of the year. His lead over Florian Alt was 3.916 seconds. The rider from North Rhine-Westphalia had also been under less pressure following Soomer’s crash and held a lead of another 4.871 seconds over Leandro Mercado. The Argentine, in turn, had to hold off Lorenzo Zanetti (Triple M Racing Ducati Frankfurt), who crossed the finish line just one-tenth of a second behind him. In the overall standings, Alt has increased his total to 123 points. Tulovic has 121 points, and Soomer remains at 112.
IDM Superbike Results, Round 1
1. Lukas TULOVIC (GER), Ducati
2. Florian ALT (GER), Honda
3. Leandro MERCADO (ARG), BMW
4. Lorenzo ZANETTI (ITA), Ducati
5. Jan-Ole JÄHNIG (GER), BMW
6. Bálint KOVÁCS (HUN), BMW
7. Leon ORGIS (GER), BMW
8. Soma GÖRBE (HUN), BMW
9. Twan SMITS (NED), Yamaha
10.Martin VUGRINEC (CRO), Kawasaki
11.Toni FINSTERBUSCH (GER), BMW
12. Milan MERCKELBAGH (NLD), BMW
13. Maximilian KOFLER (AUT), Yamaha
14. Christoph BEINLICH (DEU), BMW
15. Marco FETZ (DEU), BMW
