It would take a miracle for Lukas Tulovic not to win the IDM Superbike title. Following his spectacular victory in the second race of the premier class at the prestigious Nürburgring, the red carpet is already rolling out for the 25-year-old rider from Team Triple M Racing Ducati Frankfurt. Even Florian Alt on the Holzhauer-Honda is unlikely to be able to change that, but the final curtain won’t fall until after the last race at the grand finale on the last weekend of September in Hockenheim.
Lukas Tulovic held off the aggressive Hannes Soomer (Masteroil Alpha Van Zon BMW) right in the first corner and took the lead. He set out to dominate the Öhlins IDM race, and he succeeded. After 18 laps, the rider from Baden-Württemberg had built up a commanding 11.2-second lead over the field.
Tulovic: “I couldn’t be happier”
He even explained why: “I wanted to manage the race without taking any risks. Up until now, I’ve always kept an eye on the championship standings and didn’t want to make any mistakes, especially since we’ve already had technical issues. But in this race, I wouldn’t have even cared if I’d crashed, because I know I have a small lead. I wanted to push it to the limit today and show what this bike is capable of. My team gave me a fantastic bike that allowed me to perform so strongly. I couldn’t be happier.” Tulo holds a 41-point lead over Florian Alt in the overall standings. Nine points would be enough for him to become the new IDM champion with Ducati at the Hockenheim finale.
Mercado knows his limits
Leandro Mercado battled against his teammate Hannes Soomer and overtook him with clinical precision. That put him in second place. “It’s impossible to fight for the win,” the Argentina-born rider, who lives in Italy, has long known.
Starting from the third row, Florian Alt had shot up to P4 and now the North Rhine-Westphalian had set his sights on Soomer. The attack was promptly met with a counterattack, led by Bálint Kovács. The BMW armada from Team Masteroil Alpha Van Zon-BMW played its trump cards as a trio. Alt, the only Honda rider in the field, remained unfazed. On the contrary. He struck back again. First, the 29-year-old caught up to the hot-headed Hungarian Bálint Kovács, only to take on Hannes Soomer a few moments later. But this time, he was a bit tougher and had no qualms about it. After all, Soomer had already really taken the German to task.
Alt falls victim to a surprise attack
Flo Alt was stronger than ever this weekend. Would he really manage to make it onto the podium from ninth on the grid? On the final lap, Soomer put an end to that hope with a surprise attack. So, just as he had in the first race that morning, Tulo stood on the podium alongside his two Masteroil Alpha Van-Zon BMW teammates—only in reverse order. And Alt, finishing fourth, didn’t receive a trophy.
There was plenty of action in the pack behind. Twan Smits (Apreco Yamaha)’s move up from the Supersport to the Superbike class is increasingly paying off. Jan-Ole Jähnig (GERT56 by RS Speedbikes) once again botched his start from the front row and squandered the opportunities that came with it. The Orgis brothers, Leon and Kevin (ORM Racing), crossed the finish line side by side. And the duel between Milan Merckelbagh (Masteroil Alpha Van Zon BMW) and Max Schmidt (BCC Racing Team) was quite intense. Isaac Viñales Mares, who made his IDM debut with Team Skach Motors Kawasaki, finished in 15th place. However, as a guest rider, he did not receive the mandatory point for that position.
IDM Superbike, Race 2:
1. Lukas TULOVIC (GER), Ducati
2. Leandro MERCADO (ARG), BMW
3. Hannes SOOMER (EST), BMW
4. Florian ALT (GER), Honda
5. Bálint KOVÁCS (HUN), BMW
6. Lorenzo ZANETTI (ITA), Ducati
7. Jan-Ole JÄHNIG (GER), BMW
8. Twan SMITS (NED), Yamaha
9. Kevin ORGIS (GER), BMW
10.Leon ORGIS (GER), BMW
11.Milan MERCKELBAGH (NED), BMW
12. Max SCHMIDT (GER), BMW
13. Maximilian KOFLER (AUT), Yamaha
14. Jan MOHR (AUT), Yamaha
15. Isaac VINALES MARES (ESP), Kawasaki