The newly crowned Endurance World Champion is following up with another strong performance at the EURO MOTO Superbike Final in Hockenheim: Markus Reiterberger will start both Sunday races from pole position. The BMW rider from Obing took the top spot in Superpole 2 with a time of 1:24.198 minutes, relegating Marcel Schrötter (BMW) to second place by 0.144 seconds. Defending champion Lukas Tulovic (Ducati), on the other hand, was caught off guard: he was disqualified.
For Schrötter, the second starting position is more than just a good starting point. The BMW driver is keeping his title hopes alive. He trails Tulovic by 34.5 points, though Tulovic must first hold on to his lead until the finish.
The Ducati rider crashed during Superpole 2 but managed to make it back to the pits under his own power and, after a tire change, got back on the track with the Panigale V4R. After the incident, he was unable to secure a better starting position than sixth. He was disqualified following the session. Tulovic had run the Ducati at a speed 106 revolutions per minute above the permitted RPM limit. The maximum allowed is 15,600 rpm. No tolerance is granted.
Consequently, Tulovic’s result in Superpole 2 was nullified, and he was moved to the back of the Superpole 2 grid. The rider from Baden-Württemberg will therefore start from ninth place.
Tulo's lead in the standings is very comfortable, but now there's pressure that the 26-year-old will have to handle. The title is no longer a sure thing.
Only Tulovic, Schrötter, Jan-Ole Jähnig (BMW), and Milan Merckelbagh (BMW) have finished every race so far and earned points. Jähnig is on the front row for the second time this year and is fighting for his first podium finish of the season. Merckelbagh, on the other hand, is not happy with his position. The Dutchman will start from last place.
Florian Alt is the only Honda driver in the field to secure fourth place on the grid. After the Nürburgring races, the season’s third performance checkpoint was reached. Following an analysis of the data, Honda was cleared to use a kit camshaft set to be competitive at Hockenheim. Team principal Jens Holzhauer declined the offer: “Given the short timeframe, it wasn’t feasible.”
Hannes Soomer (BMW), Leon Orgis (BMW), and Balint Kovács (Ducati) had qualified through Superpole 1 to compete for the best starting positions. They are all lined up on the third row.
The collaboration between BCC team manager Andreas Gerlich and guest driver Martin Vugrinec (BMW) is off to a promising start. This short-term partnership could develop into a permanent arrangement in 2027. Initial discussions have taken place.