Lukas Tulovic's Ducati Panigale V4R is flying. The defending champion in the Superbike class left nothing to chance in the Superpole pre-practice session at the Sachsenring, beating Florian Alt (Honda) by 0.046 seconds. Marcel Schrötter (BMW) finished third. Markus Reiterberger (BMW) crashed and ended up eighth on the timesheet.
Reiterberger (#28) shone in the practice sessions at the season opener, but the Bavarian was eliminated in the Superpole pre-practice. However, all is not lost for the four-time champion. Today, in exactly 30 minutes, the six fastest riders qualified directly for Superpole 2, where the top starting positions are decided. So Reiti hasn’t secured his spot just yet. But three more riders will join him from the remaining field, who will be determined tomorrow as the fastest in Superpole 1.
Superpole 2 determines starting positions 1 through 9. The remaining starting positions are determined in order based on the Superpole 1 results. These starting positions apply to both races.
For Christoph Beinlich (#71), the top of the field isn’t a concern. “Almost all of the guys are constantly out testing or at least on a motorcycle. I can’t keep up with that. For me, it’s all about having fun,” says the BMW rider from the family-run team. “There’s no alternative to EURO MOTO—the four World Championship circuits alone—Sachsenring, Brno, Most, and Assen—are interesting enough.”
Superpole Pre-Practice Results:
1. Lukas TULOVIC (GER/Ducati), 2. Florian ALT (GER/Honda), 3. Marcel Schrötter (GER/BMW), 4. Hannes SOOMER (EST/BMW), 5. Jan-Ole JÄHNIG (GER/BMW), 6. Soma GÖRBE (HUN/BMW), 7. Kevin ORGIS (GER/BMW), 8. Markus REITERBERGER (GER/BMW), 9. Lorenzo ZANETTI (ITA/Ducati), 10. Milan MERCKELBAGH (NED/BMW), 11. Toni FINSTERBUSCH (GER/BMW), 12. Jan MOHR (AUT/BMW), 13. Twan SMITS (NLD/Yamaha), 14. Marco FETZ (GER/BMW), 15. Christoph BEINLICH (GER/BMW), 16. Patrick HOBELSBERGER (GER/Honda), 17. Leon ORGIS (GER/BMW).