Zum dritten Mal in diesem Jahr stand Andreas Kofler auf der Pole Position in der IDM Supersport. Dass er nach der Sommerpause das erste Rennen vor Luca de Vleeschauwer und Dirk Geiger gewann, war jedoch eine ganz brenzlige Geschichte.
After one of his usual lightning-fast starts, Andreas Kofler (Yamalube Motorsport Kofler) was looking to pull away quickly at the TT Circuit Assen. Dirk Geiger (MCA Racing) prevented that with a sudden, aggressive move. Before the Austrian knew it, he found himself in second place, staring at the back of Geiger’s Honda exhaust. Teammate Marvin Siebdrath, who also started from the front row and had high hopes, initially dropped back to fifth place. While attempting to pass Swiss rider Marcel Brenner on the Ducati, the Saxon slid out of the race after his Yamaha’s front wheel lost traction, but returned after a brief pause.
Three brands ensure plenty of entertainment
A group of five battled it out for the top spots: Dirk Geiger, Andreas Kofler, Daniel Blin (AF Racing), Marcel Brenner (MotoLife), and Luca de Vleeschauwer (Track and Trades Wixx Racing). In other words: one Honda rider, one Yamaha rider, and a trio of Ducati riders.
Brenner was the first to pass Blin. De Vleeschauwer led the race after eight of 13 laps. Ruben Bijman, who had been in the clear up to that point, received a long-lap penalty on his home track for going outside the track limits. There are exactly five corners at Assen where track limits are enforced. Bijman had hit one of those corners with pinpoint accuracy. Filip Feigl, who had performed so well in qualifying on his new Triumph Street Triple 765, crashed. Dylan Czarkowski and Till Belczykowski, who rides the only MV Agusta in the field, also retired.
Oliver Barr from the UK and Germany’s Jorke Erwig, both competing in the British Championship, finished just ahead of Luca Göttlicher, who secured his third top-ten finish of the year on a Kawasaki.
Individual penalty for Geiger
In the very last turn of the race, Geiger was back in the lead. One lap later, Geiger was back in the lead, but then made a costly mistake that caused the riders behind him to pile up. Geiger himself saw only one way to avoid crashing and plowed through the final chicane. This is always a critical moment, but as he crossed the finish line, it was perfectly clear: race officials would not simply let this move slide. Geiger was handed a 0.5-second penalty. Unlike in the World Championship, the IDM does not impose a standard penalty; instead, a case-by-case decision is made.
Geiger blamed his misfortune on finishing third. His neck was swollen. The race hadn’t gone as he’d hoped. De Vleeschauwer was placed second, and Kofler was declared the winner. The Austrian had seized the moment: “After I messed up a bit on the track myself, I saw the traffic jam ahead of me. Four riders were all going for the same spot. I just went for it, and it worked.”
IDM Supersport, 1. Rennen:
1. Andreas KOFLER (AUT), Yamaha
2. Luca DE VLEESCHAUWER (BEL), Ducati
3. Dirk GEIGER (GER), Honda
4. Marcel BRENNER (SUI), Ducati
5. Daniel BLIN (POL), Ducati
6. Lennox LEHMANN (GER), Yamaha
7. Oliver BARR (GBR), Ducati
8. Jorke ERWIG (GER), Ducati
9. Luca GÖTTLICHER (GER), Kawasaki
10. Ruben BIJMAN (NED), Honda
11. Štepán ZUDA (CZE), Yamaha
12. Julian VAN KALKEREN (NLD), Yamaha
13. Richard IRMSCHER (DEU), Honda
14. Marvin KREIMES (DEU), Honda
15. Jonáš KOCOUREK (CZE), Honda