It was like a miracle for him and a sensation for all German-speaking fans of the Motorcycle World Championship: Austrian Leo Rammerstorfer is set to compete in his first Grand Prix season in the Moto3 class. This means that in 2026, there will at least be one German-speaking rider back in the paddock—and his springboard was the International German Motorcycle Championship (IDM), from which the new EURO MOTO has now emerged.
Over the past few days, the phone has been ringing off the hook at the Rammerstorfers’ home in Feldkirchen. Sponsors have been calling, the press wanted more details, and schedules had to be coordinated. The Italian team SIC58 Squadra Corse had previously announced the signing of Leo Rammerstorfer for the 2026 Moto3 season. The 21-year-old Austrian secured the spot originally reserved for Swiss rider Noah Dettwiler. Dettwiler had relinquished his claim to the seat despite his rapid recovery following the disastrous crash in Sepang. For Dettwiler, the new season is coming too soon.
Leo Rammerstorfer was part of the Saxon Freudenberg team’s roster for three years. When he and his father spontaneously drove to the Lausitzring for the International German Motorcycle Championship (IDM) in 2020, the trip felt almost like a suicide mission. The Freudenberg team in the Supersport 300 class gave the two of them a place to stay and also took care of the Yamaha they had brought along. At the end of the season, he switched brands and, like his teammates Lennox Lehmann and Dirk Geiger, rode a KTM RC 390 R. A year later, Rammerstorfer secured his first podium finish at the Red Bull Ring, and in 2020 he bid farewell to the Freudenberg team and the IDM Supersport 300 with three wins and three additional podium finishes. The foundation for his World Championship career was laid on German soil. His subsequent performances in the Red Bull Rookies Cup and the FIM Junior GP brought the trained plumber to where he is today.
“I couldn’t believe what had happened,” says Leo Rammerstorfer, who is still overwhelmed by the events. “I’ve been in touch with Team SIC58 Squadra Corse ever since Noah Dettwiler’s crash. Things started to take shape in Valencia, and an Italian manager got involved. My dad knows all the details.”
While 21-year-old Leo will compete alongside his Irish teammate Casey James O’Gorman in the Moto3 World Championship in the future, his brother Luis Rammerstorfer is carrying on the tradition and will join the Freudenberg-RORA Paligo Racing team’s youth development program for sport bikes in 2026 in the EURO MOTO series, the successor to the IDM.
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