In Saturday’s first race of the IDM Sportbike class, one rider was clearly in the spotlight: Kas Beekmans (VLR-NIWA Racing). The Dutchman handled the windy conditions at the TT Circuit Assen best and prevailed after a thrilling battle at the front. “The race was a lot of fun,” beamed the Suzuki rider in the field before the podium ceremony—a nod to the intense battles at the front of the pack.
Guest starters Harrison Dessoy (PHR Performance Triumph) and Inigo Iglesias (Wematik Racing by RT Motorsports) were particularly aggressive there. For Iglesias, valuable championship points were at stake to close the gap on the injured leader, Oliver Svendsen. The positions at the front changed hands several times, with neither rider giving an inch. Even in the final lap, everything was still up for grabs—until Dessoy overbraked during an attack and held up Iglesias in the process. Beekmans took full advantage of the situation and cruised unchallenged to victory.
Closer to the mission
Iglesias held on to second place at the finish—and still earned the full 25 points, since guest rider Beekmans does not count toward the standings. “Our mission is to become champions this year—today we got a step closer to that,” the Spaniard summed up with satisfaction. Dessoy had to settle for third place after his mistake: “That was obviously frustrating. I had to brake hard, otherwise I would have crashed into Kas’s bike,” explained the Triumph rider, who is making his Assen debut and announced he’ll be out for revenge on Sunday.
Petr Svoboda (WRP Racing) put in a solid performance and finished fourth, though he wasn’t quite able to keep up with the pace of the leaders. Things got exciting behind him: Rick Kooistra (Pearle Gebben Racing) made up a lot of ground after a slow start, was right on the Czech rider’s tail by the middle of the race, and even passed him—but Svoboda fought back with all his experience and held on to fourth place until the finish.
Hänse is Germany's top finisher; Brandl defies the long lap
Justin Hänse (Motorradteile GYTR by Penz13) finished sixth as the top German driver, just ahead of Luis Rammerstorfer (Freudenberg Rora-Paligo Racing). Korbinian Brandl (RBR Racing) also put in a strong performance, fighting his way to eighth place despite a long-lap penalty—the result of a warning for dangerous driving in FP2. Behind them were guest starter Kevin de Haan (VLR-NIWA Racing) and Kristoffer König (ViVa by Peuker & Streeb), who rounded out the top 10.
The second race takes place this Sunday in Assen. Beekmans, Iglesias, and the rest of the field will be back on the starting grid at 2:40 p.m. – watch it live at www.idm.de/live.
IDM Sportbike, Race 1
- (G) Kas BEEKMANS (NLD), Suzuki GSX-8R
- Inigo IGLESIAS (ESP), Triumph Daytona 660
- (G) Harrison DESSOY (GBR), Triumph Daytona 660
- Petr SVOBODA (CZE), Aprilia RS 660
- Rick KOOISTRA (NLD), Triumph Daytona 660
- Justin HÄNSE (GER), Yamaha YZF-R7
- Luis RAMMERSTORFER (AUS), Triumph Daytona 660
- Korbinian BRANDL (GER), Aprilia RS 660
- (G) Kevin DE HAAN (NLD), Suzuki GSX-8R
- Kristoffer KÖNIG (GER), Aprilia RS 660
- (G) Micky WINKLER (GER), Aprilia RS 660
- Anton SÖDERGREN (SWE), Triumph Daytona 660
- Alexander WEIZEL (GER), Aprilia RS 660
- Cedric HOLME NIELSEN (GER), Yamaha YZF-R7
- Ty HENRIKSEN (DEN), Aprilia RS 660
- Sven SEIDLER (GER), Aprilia RS 660