His low-key approach at the start of the season was likely just a diversionary tactic to avoid drawing too much attention. Now, the quiet around Marcel Schrötter is over. The newcomer to EURO MOTO Superbike secured pole position for the GERT56-BMW in Brno, Czech Republic. Dominant rider Lukas Tulovic stumbled.
Holger Homfeldt, one of the leaders of the German team, grinned: “Well, he had the right tires in Superpole, and since he’s riding for GERT56, he had to set a 56-second lap time. That’s obvious, isn’t it?” Former World Championship rider Schrötter had set a lap time of 1:56.965 at the Automotodrom that left the competition struggling to keep up. Florian Alt (Honda) was just under half a second behind, Markus Reiterberger (BMW) nine-tenths.
The Orgis brothers, Leon and Orgis, both competed in Q2. Leon had secured a direct spot yesterday during the Superpole pre-practice session. Kevin followed suit today, Saturday, in Q1, where the three fastest riders qualify for Q2. He finished second. Twan Smits, Lorenzo Zanetti, a recovered Patrick Hobelsberger—who even led at one point—and Milan Merckelbagh battled it out for the remaining spots on the first three rows of the grid. The Dutch rider had even crashed in Q1.
But where was Lukas Tulovic, the high-flyer on the red Ducati? The answer: the fourth row of the grid. The defending champion and two-time winner at the Sachsenring struggled with the bike’s cornering behavior on Friday, and a crisis meeting was held last night. It wasn’t until today, Saturday, that the problem was resolved. “The fact that he didn’t take a gamble with the tires in Q1, when it was drizzling lightly, is the reason he didn’t make it into Q2,” says his team boss Matthias Moser. And he adds right away: “For me, there’s still no doubt that Lukas will be in the mix for the win tomorrow.”
EURO MOTO Superbike, Qualifying
1. Marcel SCHRÖTTER (GER/BMW)
2. Florian ALT (GER/Honda)
3. Markus REITERBERGER (GER/BMW)
4. Leon ORGIS (GER/BMW)
5. Twan SMITS (NED/Yamaha)
6. Lorenzo ZANETTI (ITA/Ducati)
7. Patrick HOBELSBERGER (GER/Honda)
8. Kevin ORGIS (GER/BMW)
9. Milan MERCKELBAGH (NED/BMW)
10.Lukas TULOVIC (GER/Ducati)
11.Soma GÖRBE (HUN/BMW)
12. Jan-Ole JÄHNIG (GER/BMW)
13. Jan MOHR (AUT/BMW)
14. Toni FINSTERBUSCH (GER/BMW)
15. Marco FETZ (GER/BMW)
16. Christoph BEINLICH (GER/BMW)