Florian Alt is back. After a mixed start to the season at the Sachsenring, the Honda rider is in top form at the second race of the season in Brno: he set the fastest time in Superpole pre-practice.
“The Honda feels better than it did at the Sachsenring. Here in Brno, we have more stop-and-go sections. The track suits the bike’s setup. Braking and accelerating—that’s what the Honda likes, and that’s what I like,” said Alt (Holzhauer Racing Promotion), sounding relieved after the weekend’s first test of strength. With a slim lead of 29 hundredths of a second, he was the fastest on the CBR 1000 RR-R in the Superpole Pre-Practice. The gap to Markus Reiterberger (Masteroil Alpha Van Zon BMW) in second place is only a fraction of a second, but it’s decisive. “I can’t say whether it will be enough for the podium this weekend,” Alt prefers to play it safe at the Brno Autodrom. The fact is that the Honda team benefits from the rise in summer temperatures. Currently, temperatures around 26 degrees Celsius are forecast for race Sunday. “Every degree higher helps us. It doesn’t make us faster,” Alt explains, “but the Honda likes it hot, and the others slow down.”
EURO MOTO Superbike rider Markus Reiterberger had personally hoped for more after his strong performance this morning, “because we made a huge step forward with the BMW’s suspension and geometry in just one day. I was even surprised myself that I clocked a 1:57.147 this morning. In the afternoon I had little grip; it was too hot out there. If I could wish for anything for the weekend, it would be a feeling like this morning and fewer problems when it gets warm. Because then it gets tough when accelerating.” Reiterberger also wasn’t particularly pleased that the competition had been using his slipstream en masse to achieve their times. He wasn’t alone in that, however.
Leon Orgis (ORM Racing) delivered the ultimate thrill. This time, it was the younger of the Orgis brothers who took the full risk. At first, it seemed unrealistic to get the privateer BMW into the top 6. That’s because today, in the Superpole Pre-Practice session lasting exactly 30 minutes, the six fastest riders qualified directly for Superpole 2, where the front-row starting positions will be determined tomorrow. Joining them are the three fastest riders from the remaining field, who will be determined in Superpole 1. However, Leon Orgis drove straight into Superpole 2 in today’s session with the third-fastest time. The Saxon shouted his joy from under his helmet into the pit. Father René was on cloud nine. Three weeks ago, son Kevin had narrowly missed his first podium. Today, Leon was in the fast lane.
Orgis’s charge into the top 6 sent shockwaves through the Ducati camp. As a result, Lukas Tulovic (Triple M Racing Ducati Frankfurt) slipped out of the leading group and must now finish in the top three in tomorrow’s Superpole 1 to keep his chances of a front-row starting position alive. His teammate Lorenzo Zanetti immediately secured a spot in Superpole 2. Marcel Schrötter (GERT56) and Twan Smits (Team Apreco) can also sit back for now. This also means that every motorcycle brand represented in the EURO MOTO Superbike has at least one rider in the top 6. What happens next will be decided tomorrow starting at 12:50 p.m. It’s sure to be exciting.
Superpole Pre-Practice
1. Florian ALT (Honda/GER)
2. Markus REITERBERGER (BMW/GER)
3. Leon ORGIS (BMW/GER),
4. Twan SMITS (Yamaha/NED),
5. Marcel SCHRÖTTER (BMW/GER),
6. Lorenzo ZANETTI (Ducati/ITA)
7. Lukas TULOVIC (Ducati/GER)
8. Jan MOHR (BMW/AUT)
9. Patrick HOBELSBERGER (Honda/GER)
10. Soma GÖRBE (BMW/HUN)
11. Toni FINSTERBUSCH (BMW/GER)
12. Kevin ORGIS (BMW/GER)
13. Jan-Ole JÄHNIG (BMW/GER)
14. Marco FETZ (BMW/GER)
15. Christoph BEINLICH (BMW/GER)
16. Milan MERCKELBAGH (BMW/NED)
