The IDM summer break is over. Last weekend, the International German Motorcycle Championship returned to the track. At the TT Circuit Assen, the results set the stage for a completely new situation in the individual classes as the series enters its final stretch.
IDM Superbike: Tulovic takes the lead in the standings
In the Netherlands, Lukas Tulovic (Triple M Racing Ducati Frankfurt) took the overall lead from the previous leader, Florian Alt (Holzhauer Racing Promotion), in the first Superbike race and further extended his lead in the second race. In addition, the 25-year-old German managed to outpace the experienced Superbike World Championship 12th-place finisher Dominique Aegerter, who had taken over the Yamaha of injured SWPN regular Jan Mohr for the weekend and was racing around the track at an impressively fast pace.
“Anyone who ever gets to experience riding a motorcycle like that—flying, soaring, being in another world—I’m happy for them. I wish everyone could feel, just once in their life, the way I felt out there during the race. I just really enjoyed it. Phenomenal,” Tulo said, clearly overwhelmed. For the Ducati rider, this was perhaps a very important weekend in his career. He makes no secret of his desire to race in the World Superbike Championship next year. He took a big step closer to the IDM Superbike title in Assen, but the battle isn’t over yet. Honda’s star rider, Florian Alt, is 15 points behind, but there are still another 100 points up for grabs before the end of the season. Alt didn’t make it onto the podium at the TT Circuit; instead, he finished fourth, behind Argentine rider Leandro Mercado (Masteroil Alpha Van Zon BMW) and his teammate Bálint Kovács.
IDM Supersport: First Win for Switzerland's Marcel Brenner
In the IDM Supersport class, defending champion Andreas Kofler (Yamalube Motorsport Kofler) and Swiss rider Marcel Brenner (MotoLife) split the wins. In the first race, a group of five riders battled it out among themselves. When the leading Honda favorite, Dirk Geiger (MCA Racing), made a costly mistake on the final lap, his rivals piled up behind him. The German himself saw only one way to avoid crashing. He plowed through the final chicane. It was clear: race officials would not tolerate this move. Geiger received a 0.5-second penalty, which dropped the Mannheim native to third place. The winner was Kofler. He had seized the moment: “I saw that four riders were all going for the same spot. I just went for it, and it worked.”
After Domi Aegerter claimed his first victory in the IDM Superbike class, fellow Swiss rider Marcel Brenner followed suit in the second race of the lower-tier IDM class, the “ Supersport .” The race was cut short due to rain. Brenner could hardly believe his luck at securing his first-ever victory. Kofler and Luca de Vleeschauwer (Track and Trades Wixx Racing) rounded out the podium. Or: Two Ducatis and one Yamaha. Or: a Swiss rider, an Austrian, and a Belgian. Title favorite Geiger offered his congratulations but was less than pleased with how Sunday had turned out, as he—the defending champion Kofler’s main rival—had lost further ground in the overall standings.
IDM Sportbike: Two New Winners and Harsh Penalties
In the IDM Sportbike class, events unfolded at a rapid pace. Five-time winner Oliver Svendsen of the Triumph Germany Racing Team was walking through the paddock wearing a brace. He had been riding his motorcycle at an event in Denmark and had crashed. The result: a broken left tibia and fibula. Consequently, the 21-year-old was there as a spectator. The first race ended with a Suzuki victory by Dutch guest rider Kas Beekmans. Iñigo Iglesias (Wematik Racing by RT Motorsport), who finished second, still earned full championship points, as guest riders are not included in the standings.
In theory, Iglesias would therefore have been awarded another 25 points in the second race, but in the end, penalties were handed out left and right. Eight of the 16 riders had not turned on their rain lights. Each of them was moved back three places. Korbinian Brandl (AK Racing Team) benefited from this. It was his first-ever podium finish. At the same time, it was the first victory for an Aprilia RS 660 in the sportbike class. Iglesias has closed the gap in the overall standings. It remains exciting: The Spaniard now has exactly as many points as his longtime rival Svendsen in the championship standings.
Road Races with a Twist
In the FIM Sidecar World Championship, Harry Payne and Kevin Rousseau have taken the lead after the Steinhausen team won both races. The previous points leader, Markus Schlosser of Switzerland, and his German passenger Luca Schmidt struggled with the sidecar’s electronics but managed to limit the damage with two fourth-place finishes, dropping to third place. The standings are so tight that even the British brothers Sam Christie and Tom Christie managed to overtake Schlosser.
With two additional cup races on the supporting program, the IDM in Assen had even more attractions to offer. “I think it was a very successful event. The variety of brands competing at the top of the individual championship classes creates a special sense of excitement. There were more fans in the stands than ever before,” summarizes series manager Normann Broy. The action continues in just two weeks. From September 5–7, 2025, the IDM will make a stop at the legendary Nürburgring.
