A lap record, pole position, a one-two finish, and the championship lead. Lukas Tulovic achieved all of this at the EURO MOTO season opener at the Sachsenring. It doesn’t get any better than this. The competition had sensed it and feared it. No less spectacular, however, was the performance of underdog Kevin Orgis, who went head-to-head with none other than four-time champion Markus Reiterberger in the second Superbike race.
Usually, Lukas Tulovic (Triple M Racing Ducati Frankfurt) opens the throttle on his Ducati and pulls away. But in the second Superbike race, too, the 25-year-old defending champion didn’t get off to the best start. Twan Smits (Team Apreco Yamaha), on the other hand, got off to another excellent start, but this time Tulo managed to hold onto his pole position through the first corner and prevented the Dutchman from making any overtaking moves right from the start.
Hannes Soomer and Markus Reiterberger (Masteroil Alpha Van Zon BMW) followed close behind in a tight pack. Kevin Orgis (ORM Racing Team) put pressure on Marcel Schrötter (GERT56 by RS Speedbikes). Orgis was the star of the show. No one had the 26-year-old from Arnsdorf on their radar, and it was a moment of glory for the Saxon when, toward the end of the race, he was even in third place and had bested luminaries like former World Championship riders Schrötter and Reiterberger—albeit briefly. But it was like David versus Goliath: Orgis showed no fear of the big names at his home race and, with a flawless pass on Markus Reiterberger, proved that even a private family team can occasionally keep up with the factory teams when everything comes together.
Lukas Tulovic, seven seconds ahead, was on his way to a one-two finish on the brand-new Ducati Panigale V4R; before the podium ceremony, he suggestively sucked on a “Nimm 2” candy with “Ducati” printed on the wrapper, laughed heartily, and declared to the crowd, “I owe it all to my team.” Superbike rookie Schrötter, drawing on his years of experience in MotoGP and the Supersport World Championship, assessed that Tulo was likely unbeatable on his own merits.
Finishing second after 18 laps over 3.671 km, the only Yamaha rider in the entire field was celebrated: Twan Smits. The Dutchman was at a loss for words and could only stammer, “This is unbelievable.” The fact is: the former underdog and 2023 Supersport runner-up has now made his mark in the Superbike class as well. After several position changes, Hannes Soomer crossed the finish line in third place, and Marcel Schrötter also refused to let Kevin Orgis fend him off for long. Orgis, however, kept former champion Reiterberger at bay until the very end.
Florian Alt (Holzhauer Racing Promotion) lost positions as early as the first lap. The Honda team had completely overhauled the Fireblade’s setup. Compared to the first race, Alt moved up one position and finished seventh this time. The 30-year-old found himself in illustrious company for a long time. He was bunched up tightly with Jan-Ole Jähnig, Leon Orgis, Soma Görbe, and Jan Mohr, only to break away from the group again at the end.
Patrick “Pax” Hobelsberger did not make the start. He has been feeling under the weather for a week, but wanted to see the weekend through anyway. It just wasn’t working out. He left early on Sunday afternoon.
EURO MOTO Superbike, Round 2
1. Lukas TULOVIC (GER/Ducati)
2. Twan SMITS (NED/Yamaha)
3. Hannes SOOMER (EST/BMW)
4. Marcel SCHRÖTTER (GER/BMW)
5. Kevin ORGIS (GER/BMW)
6. Markus REITERBERGER (GER/BMW)
7. Florian ALT (GER/Honda)
8. Toni FINSTERBUSCH (GER/BMW)
9. Leon ORGIS (GER/BMW)
10.Lorenzo ZANETTI (ITA/Ducati)
11.Soma GÖRBE (HUN/BMW)
12. Jan MOHR (AUT/BMW)
13. Jan-Ole JÄHNIG (GER/BMW)
14. Milan MERCKELBAGH (NED/BMW)
15. Marco FETZ (GER/BMW)
16. Christoph BEINLICH (GER/BMW)