The title is getting closer and closer for Ducati. Lukas Tulovic (Triple M Racing Ducati Frankfurt) claimed his sixth victory of the season in the Superbike class at the Öhlins IDM race at the Nürburgring. His false start caused some unusual excitement. On the podium, Tulo was flanked by his BMW teammates Hannes Soomer and Leandro “Tati” Mercado (Masteroil Alpha Van Zon BMW).
Tulo and Soomer were the only riders in Superpole to post a lap time under 1:24 minutes. Nevertheless, the competition was incredibly tight among the top six on the starting grid. When the lights turned green, there was no holding them back. After the first lap of the 3.618 km circuit, Tulo returned to the start-finish straight in the lead, ahead of the trio of Soomer, Bálint Kovács, and Mercado. The three teammates from the Masteroil Alpha Van Zon BMW team didn’t let up. As last year’s winner at the Nürburgring, Soomer clearly had the best chance of keeping up with championship leader Tulovic over the long haul.
Then came the shock for the German rider on the Ducati Panigale V4R: Race officials handed him two long-lap penalties for a false start. He had five laps to serve the penalty. “I was absolutely furious,” he blurted out. “All I could think was: Either I win this race now, or I’m throwing this thing away.” The Ducati survived the ordeal without a single scratch.
By the third lap, Tulo was already going even faster than he had in qualifying—despite having a full tank—and was building a lead over the BMW pack, which was still led by Soomer. However, Tulo served his penalty so flawlessly that it had virtually no impact on his lead over the Estonian.
Mercado and Kovács hadn’t been able to keep up the pace. But the remaining duo soon grew into a trio again. Toni Finsterbusch (GERT56 by RS Speedbikes) had worked his way forward meter by meter and even managed to clinch fourth place at the finish line. Jan-Ole Jähnig had already been the big loser at the start, slipping from third place on the front row to eighth. In the end, he finished ninth.
There was plenty of action in the middle of the pack. Twan Smits (Team Apreco) nearly crashed into Florian Alt’s (Holzhauer Racing Promotion) Honda during a battle for position. After that, the Dutch rider found himself up against Soma Görbe (BCI MW Racing Team) from Hungary. Lorenzo Zanetti (Triple M Racing Ducati Frankfurt) dropped back to 16th place at one point. Alt fought tooth and nail and still managed to finish fifth, just nine hundredths of a second behind Toni Finsterbusch. Jan Mohr (Team SWPN), who had returned after suffering a severe concussion, was rewarded with one point on his comeback.
Winner Tulovic reported that he, too, had a race marred by mistakes. “I braked too hard a few times, and once the Ducati shifted out of gear.” Nevertheless, the rider from Baden-Württemberg won comfortably by a margin of 1.755 seconds.
IDM Superbike, Race 1:
1. Lukas TULOVIC (GER), Ducati
2. Hannes SOOMER (EST), BMW
3. Leandro MERCADO (ARG), BMW
4. Toni FINSTERBUSCH (GER), BMW
5. Florian ALT (GER), Honda
6. Bálint KOVÁCS (HUN), BMW
7. Twan SMITS (NLD), Yamaha
8. Soma GÖRBE (HUN), BMW
9. Jan-Ole JÄHNIG (GER), BMW
10.Leon ORGIS (GER), BMW
11.Max SCHMIDT (GER), BMW
12. Lorenzo ZANETTI (ITA), Ducati
13. Maximilian KOFLER (AUT), Yamaha
14. Milan MERCKELBAGH (NLD), BMW
15. Jan MOHR (AUT), Yamaha