Exactly 41.5 points separate Lukas Tulovic from his rival Marcel Schrötter as he seeks to defend his title in the Superbike class. Theoretically, Tulo could clinch the title tomorrow at the Öhlins EURO MOTO event at the Nürburgring. But it’s not quite that simple. If only because Twan Smits is starting the race from pole position—with a qualifying time that’s nothing to sneeze at.
In yesterday's Superpole pre-practice session, Smits (Apreco-Yamaha), Tulovic (Triple M Ducati Frankfurt), Schrötter (GERT56 by RS Speedbikes), Florian Alt (Holzhauer Racing Promotion), Jan-Ole Jähnig (GERT56 by RS Speedbikes), and Kevin Orgis (ORM Racing) qualified for Superpole 2. Today, Leon Orgis (ORM Racing), Markus Reiterberger (Masteroil Alpha Van Zon-BMW), and Toni Finsterbusch (GERT56 by RS Speedbikes) joined them as the three fastest riders from Superpole 1. This meant the entire GERT56 family was in the running for starting positions in the first three rows—as were the brothers from the Orgis family.
Smits secured pole position with a lap time of 1:22.936 minutes. It was a triumph. No other rider broke the 1:22 mark. Tulovic clocked a time of 1:23.174 minutes. Schrötter followed him, just 0.099 seconds behind.
That means: In Sunday's two Superbike races, a Yamaha, a Ducati, and a BMW will be on the front row of the grid. The seven fastest riders were separated by less than a second.
Reiterberger was in a better mood after Superpole 2 than he was yesterday. The four-time champion had missed out on direct qualification during Superpole pre-practice and had to take the detour through Superpole 1. There, he faced off against his own teammate, Hannes Soomer, but the Estonian was slower. In Superpole 2, Reiti then fought his way up to fifth place.
Florian Alt is starting from an unusually low position: P8. The Honda team doesn’t exactly have a love affair with the Nürburgring. But one thing is certain: Alt wouldn’t be Alt if he didn’t use this as motivation. You can always count on this fighter from the Holzhauer Racing Promotion Team to be a force to be reckoned with during the race.
Superpole 2
1. Twan SMITS (NLD/Yamaha)
2. Lukas TULOVIC (GER/Ducati)
3. Marcel SCHRÖTTER (GER/BMW)
4. Jan-Ole JÄHNIG (GER/BMW)
5. Leon ORGIS (GER/BMW)
6. Markus REITERBERGER (GER/BMW)
7. Kevin ORGIS (GER/BMW)
8. Florian ALT (GER/Honda)
9. Toni FINSTERBUSCH (GER/BMW)
Superpole 1
1. Leon ORGIS (GER/BMW)
2. Markus REITERBERGER (GER/BMW)
3. Toni FINSTERBUSCH (GER/BMW)
4. Hannes SOOMER (EST/BMW)
5. Martin VUGRINEC (CRO/BMW)
6. Jan MOHR (AUT/BMW)
7. Marco FETZ (GER/BMW)
8. Lorenzo ZANETTI (ITA/Ducati)
9. Milan MERCKELBAGH (NLD/BMW)
10. Christoph BEINLICH (GER/BMW)