After a year marked by several setbacks, Patrick “Pax” Hobelsberger is making a comeback to his home paddock with no strings attached. The 29-year-old Bavarian is taking on the competition in the EURO MOTO Superbike series and is enjoying the support of Honda Germany.
He wants to compete for the entire season again, not just make two appearances like he did last year. Hobelsberger says the private team is now running smoothly. Everything is well organized. Following his brief stint with Oliver Skach’s Kawasaki team—which ended in a hasty split—Hobelsberger has gotten the racing project back on its own feet.
All requirements have been met
“For us, this is the perfect next step: competing in a full championship once again,” says the die-hard racer. In 2025, he competed in the Alpe Adria Cup, the Dutch Championship, and the two IDM races in Assen and Hockenheim. In the IDM, the 2023 overall third-place finisher—then with the BMW Team GERT56—did not cross the finish line at either of the two IDM events. The trained carpenter from Landau an der Isar recalls that time with raised eyebrows and sums it up: “Actually, we had a very, very good season in 2025. However, it was marked by very high highs and very low lows.”
The mystery is solved
The Hockenheim finale was definitely one of the low points. But “Pax” no longer worries that his Honda might fail in cold weather. During winter testing in Spain, the crew got to the bottom of the bike’s erratic behavior. Hobelsberger explains: “I received my last Honda in April 2025, and we started building it very late. We never had a chance to test it in low temperatures. Most of the time, it was actually really hot outside and everything ran smoothly. Then Hockenheim was on the schedule. I never would have expected that our setup might not work in low temperatures at the end of September. But that’s how it was. During winter testing in Spain, the exact same phenomenon occurred. It was a carbon copy of Hockenheim. Completely crazy. Step by step, we figured everything out and now know that it was mainly due to the rear end.”
The injury he sustained at the end of the season has healed. The first parts for the brand-new Honda CBR1000RR-R are ready. Testing will resume in April. Hobelsberger doesn’t want to compete in the EURO MOTO just to see where he stands. “That would be the wrong motivation.” He wants to be in the mix at the front.