All "Reiti" fans need to stay strong now. Four-time Superbike champion Markus Reiterberger won’t be starting from pole position in either of the two EURO MOTO Superbike races at the Sachsenring. Defending champion Lukas Tulovic has struck again. And Reiti’s teammate Hannes Soomer was also faster in the Superpole session.
The competition is groaning. Lukas Tulovic and the new Ducati Panigale V4R seem to be a dream team, just like last year. Compared to its predecessor, the 2026 model has received extensive technical updates, including a “Hollow Symmetrical” double-sided swingarm that’s nearly three and a half kilograms lighter, larger winglets, and a new transmission. The neutral gear is no longer located between first and second gear, as was previously the case, but below first gear, as in MotoGP. Because the Superbike must weigh at least 175 kilograms according to EURO MOTO regulations, additional weights were added to the “new baby” at Triple M Racing Ducati Frankfurt.
In Superpole, the cards were laid on the table for the first time ever between Tulovic and the eagerly anticipated returnee Markus Reiterberger. The two had never raced against each other before. In the timesheets, 0.445 seconds separate them. Almost half a second—but what does that really mean? “I’m not worried about it,” Reiterberger says flatly. “Before the season, I missed a three-day test. I couldn’t go to Valencia because of my cold and was completely out of commission. I was only in Oschersleben for two days of testing and did five laps each day.”
After 13 years, Reiterberger is making his comeback at the Sachsenring with the Masteroil Alpha Van Zon BMW team. He has a vague memory of the track. The BMW, on the other hand, he knows inside and out. “Yes, I’m familiar with the M 1000 RR,” the 32-year-old confirms, but admits “it’s all different again. The team has switched from Öhlins suspension to ZF, and there are both old and new people. It’s not worse than before, just different. I don’t have a base setup yet and almost got knocked out of Superpole 1. I can’t complain about anything; I just have to work on my own issues first. “I still need a little more time.” By the next EURO MOTO event in Brno on the last weekend in May, everything should be running smoothly. Of all the venues in the series, the Grand Prix circuit in the Czech Republic appeals to Reiterberger the most.
Further competition lurks within his own team in the form of Hannes Soomer. The Estonian is on a roll. He racked up two wins last year, and at the Sachsenring he’ll be lining up right next to Tulovic.
Starting from the second row are Honda’s star rider Florian Alt (Holzhauer Racing Promotion) and Twan Smits (Team Apreco), the only Yamaha rider in the race. Like Toni Finsterbusch (GERT56 by RS Speedbikes) and Markus Reiterberger, Smits had to go through Superpole 1 to reach Superpole 2, where the starting positions among the nine fastest riders are determined.
Superpole 1:
1. Twan SMITS (NLD/Yamaha), 2. Toni FINSTERBUSCH (GER/BMW), 3. Markus REITERBERGER (GER/BMW), 4. Kevin ORGIS (GER/BMW), 5. Lorenzo ZANETTI (ITA/Ducati), 6. Jan MOHR (AUT/BMW), 7. Leon ORGIS (GER/BMW), 8. Milan MERCKELBAGH (NLD/BMW), 9. Marco FETZ (GER/BMW), 10. Christoph BEINLICH (GER/BMW), 11. Patrick HOBELSBERGER (GER/Honda).
Superpole 2:
1. Lukas TULOVIC (GER/Ducati), 2. Hannes SOOMER (EST/BMW), 3. Markus REITERBERGER (GER/BMW), 4. Florian ALT (GER/Honda), 5. Twan SMITS (NED/Yamaha), 6. Toni FINSTERBUSCH (GER/BMW), 7. Marcel SCHRÖTTER (GER/BMW), 8. Jan-Ole JÄHNIG (GER/BMW), 9. Soma GÖRBE (GER/BMW).