Last weekend's Öhlins IDM race went down in history as a success story at the Nürburgring. Under a bright blue sky, thousands of spectators watched as Europe's top racing series charged toward the finish line.
Extremely exciting races, riders from over ten countries on the starting grid, a pit walk with an autograph session in front of the pits, and stars like Stefan Bradl in the paddock—that’s what the live on-site program looked like at the Nürburgring. The penultimate round of the season once again showcased the quality of Germany’s top motorcycle racing teams.
IDM Superbike: Tulovic's Seventh Win on Ducati
In the premier IDM Superbike class, the championship title is within Lukas Tulovic’s (Triple M Racing Ducati Frankfurt) grasp after two more victories. The 25-year-old from Baden-Württemberg is now just nine points away from his goal. He briefly kept things exciting in the first race and even got a shock himself: a false start. Race officials handed him a penalty of two long-lap laps. “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, the Ducati rider had already opened up a gap at the front from the BMW pack behind him. Serving his penalty therefore had little impact. On the podium, “Tulo” was flanked by his BMW teammates Hannes Soomer and Leandro “Tati” Mercado (Masteroil Alpha Van Zon BMW) after 18 laps and 65.124 kilometers.
In the second race, Tulovic held off the not-exactly-gentle Hannes Soomer right in the first turn and then cruised to his seventh win of the season, seemingly in a league of his own. Later, Leandro Mercado battled his teammate Soomer and passed him with clinical precision, securing second place. “It’s impossible to fight for the win,” the Argentina-born rider, who lives in Italy, has long known with regard to Tulovic. Florian Alt (Holzhauer Racing Promotion), one of the title favorites riding the only Honda in the field, shot forward from the third row of the grid and limited the damage with a fifth-place finish in the first race and fourth in the second. The Nürburgring wasn’t his forte: not enough grip.
IDM Supersport: Back-and-forth battle between Kofler and Geiger, Yamaha and Honda
In the smaller Supersport, defending champion Andreas Kofler (Yamalube Motorsport Kofler) of Austria was hoping for a one-two finish, as that’s something he hasn’t achieved yet this season. His German rival Dirk Geiger (MCA Racing) prevented that from happening in the second race.
Honda rider Geiger was also in the lead in the first race until Kofler, on his Yamaha, pulled off the decisive move just before the finish, which brought him back to the front, where he had been at the start. At the finish line, the 21-year-old had a big grin on his face. “I really enjoyed the race. We had a few close calls, too.” Geiger was certain: “Andy took a gamble,” and immediately added, “Next time, I’ll beat him.”
In the first 15 of 16 laps of Race 2, however, it felt like nothing was happening. Nerves were on edge at Yamaha, Honda, and Ducati. Up front, Kofler was under close watch. Geiger was playing a tactical game. Daniel Blin (AF Racing Team), who had finished third in the first race, was more of a passive player who didn’t get involved but would have been ready to pounce if the opportunity arose. In the final lap, the moment finally arrived. In the AMG Arena, Geiger pulled past Kofler. The Austrian had no chance to counter; instead, he lost his composure and made a riding error. That was exactly the moment Blin had been waiting for. The Pole also consistently pushed past the Austrian, who ultimately finished third. Consequently, the podium had an international flavor with three motorcycle brands and riders from three countries. It doesn’t get any better than that. In the overall standings, Kofler holds a 15-point lead over Geiger heading into the Hockenheim finale.
IDM Sportbike: Drama in a neck-and-neck race
The smallest IDM class reached the peak of the excitement curve. Denmark’s Oliver Svendsen (Triumph Germany Racing Team) and Spain’s Iñigo Iglesias (Wematik Racing by RT Motorsports) went into the race at the Nürburgring tied on points. Although Svendsen had broken his calf and shinbone four weeks earlier, he firmly believed he could win. However, the top prize in the first race went to Iglesias despite a long-lap penalty he had carried over from the previous event at Assen. The Spaniard had been determined to be at fault in a collision with another competitor. With Iglesias, Svendsen, and Rick Kooistra (Pearle Gebben Racing), the podium was exclusively filled with riders on Triumph Daytona 660s.
The second race turned into a drama. Svendsen crashed during the formation lap, but after a medical check, he later chased after the field from the pit lane. Iglesias retired due to engine trouble. That would have been Svendsen’s chance to make up points, but in the end he was not classified because he had not completed the required 75 percent of the race distance.
The 25 points for the win went to 17-year-old Luis Rammerstorfer (Freudenberg RORA-PALIGO Racing) on a Triumph for the first time. Aprilia rider Korbinian Brandl (AK Racing Team) finished second, while Rick Kooistra came in third, further boosting Triumph’s success rate. Czech Aprilia rider Petr Svoboda (WRP Racing) had to watch from the sidelines with an injured heel after crashing in practice, effectively ending his title hopes. Iglesias and Svendsen are separated by five points heading into the finale at Hockenheim.
Title Decided in Northern Talent CupSupport Race
As part of the IDM at the Nürburgring, the Northern Talent Cup title race was decided ahead of schedule. Fifteen-year-old Fynn Kratochwil won the two races—both filled with constant overtaking maneuvers—by margins of 0.018 seconds and 0.005 seconds, respectively. In the Pro Superstock 1000 class, the IDM-experienced Dutch rider Ricardo Brink confidently secured the title ahead of schedule. In addition, two races each were held in the ADAC Junior Cup and the Kawasaki ZX-4RR Cup.
“There really was a bit of everything,” says IDM Series Manager Normann Broy, looking back on the past weekend, adding, “We had more spectators than ever before. And the competition remains tight in all classes, so all the IDM titles won’t be decided until the finale at Hockenheim. The level of competition in the IDM is incredibly high.”
2025 Dates:
May 9–11, 2025 – Oschersleben
May 30–June 1, 2025 – Schleiz
June 20–22, 2025 – Most (CZ)
July 4–6, 2025 – Oschersleben
August 15–17, 2025 – Assen (NL)
September 5–7, 2025 – Nürburgring
September 26–28, 2025 – Hockenheim