That was close. With a lead of six hundredths of a second, Hungarian rider Bálint Kovács claimed the first pole position of his IDM Superbike career at the Hockenheimring.
The lap times in Superpole kept getting slower and slower. Lukas Tulovic had been leading the pack, but in the end, Bálint Kovács (Masteroil Alpha Van Zon BMW) beat all previous times with a lap of 1:25.533 min. He was already the fastest rider in yesterday’s Superpole pre-practice session. Bets are already being placed on whether the 24-year-old BMW rider might also secure his first victory in Germany’s top motorcycle class at the Motodrom in Baden.
Florian Alt passes a case of beer around the group
Florian Alt (Holzhauer Racing Promotion) was 0.063 seconds behind and will start from second on the grid in his Honda CBR 1000 RR-R. But first, he has to buy a few beers. The 29-year-old brought a case of Kölsch for his team to drink if he made it onto the front row of the grid. That’s now the case. “We have to be competitive,” says Alt, “that’s the only way we’ll have a chance to make a difference.”
Hannes Soomer (Masteroil Alpha Van Zon BMW) is in third place. Lukas Tulovic (Triple M Racing Ducati Frankfurt), who needs just nine more points to win the title, will start from the second row. The Ducati crew isn’t yet very familiar with the Hockenheimring. Nevertheless, Tulovic wants to cap off his hoped-for IDM championship with a victory. “Hopefully, I’ll clinch the title in the first race,” he hints, adding, “The IDM finale is an important event with key people—not just for us, but for Ducati as well.”
Twan Smits already has plans for 2026
In fifth place is Twan Smits, the fastest Yamaha rider. The Superbike rookie made steady progress throughout the season. The 21-year-old former Supersport rider, “El Raketo,” will remain with Team Apreco Ten Kate Yamaha Racing next year. That’s already a done deal, as is the goal: to secure top-five finishes.
Toni Finsterbusch (GERT56 by RS Speedbikes) rounds out the second row of the grid and is gritting his teeth. The Saxon is back in top form after recovering from a viral infection, but he’s absolutely certain: “It’s enough to go fast.” Finsterbusch is faster at the Hockenheimring than he was last year, “but doing a fast lap isn’t really my thing anyway. If I make it to the second row of the grid, I’d be happy,” he said ahead of the Superpole decision. Goal achieved. Another notable development: Lorenzo Zanetti (Triple M Racing Ducati Frankfurt) had made the cut from Superpole 1 to Superpole 2 and worked his way up to tenth place there.
Superpole 1: Kevin ORGIS (BMW), Patrick HOBELSBERGER (Honda), Jan MOHR (Yamaha), Roberto TAMBURINI (BMW), Marco FETZ (BMW), Sandro WAGNER (BMW), Max ZACHMANN (BMW)
Superpole 2: Bálint KOVÁCS (BMW), Florian ALT (Honda), Hannes SOOMER (BMW), Lukas TULOVIC (Ducati), Twan SMITS (Yamaha), Toni FINSTERBUSCH (BMW), Jan-Ole JÄHNIG (BMW), Leandro MERCADO (BMW), Kevin ORGIS (BMW), Lorenzo ZANETTI (Ducati), Maximilian KOFLER (Yamaha), Leon ORGIS (BMW), Soma GÖRBE (BMW), Milan MERCKELBAGH (BMW), Patrick HOBELSBERGER (Honda)