IDM Oschersleben: One double victory and four trophies
The Champion-Alpha-Van Zon-BMW team was on tour again last weekend. At the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben, they met up with the Superbike competition of the International German Motorcycle Championship IDM for the second round of the 2024 season. The successful team led by team boss Werner Daemen competed with three-time champion Ilya Mikhalchik from Ukraine, Austrian Philipp Steinmayr, German Max Schmidt and Hungarian Bálint Kovács. Jan Mohr was only there as a mascot this time. The Austrian had suffered an injury to his shoulder blade in the run-up to testing and had to sit out the points chase in Oschersleben.
Ilya Mikhalchik had already warmed up a good week before the IDM event at a test on the Oschersleben circuit and was therefore well prepared for the IDM weekend. On Friday, he set the fastest times in the 28-strong field in the free practice sessions and the pre-practice for the Superpole. On Saturday, the Ukrainian title hunter also won the third free practice session and the Superpole. ‘I’m happy,’ said Mikhalchik after pulverising last year’s record and securing pole position with a 1m24.307s. ‘On this lap, I even made a mistake in the final sector. I’m finally feeling better, I was ill all last week.’ Mikhalchik, who probably experienced his personal IDM low point last year with two crashes in two races, has now clarified his relationship with the race track. ‘I’m clear in my head,’ assured the pole-sitter. ‘I like the track and the track likes me. I learnt a lot last year and am using this experience for the future.’
The BMW driver continued to ride the wave of success in Race 1. A good start, the lead and ultimately a start-finish victory with a six-second lead over one of his fiercest rivals in the battle for the championship crown, Florian Alt. And all this in light drizzle. ‘The race wasn’t easy and it wasn’t difficult,’ was the winner’s verdict. ‘Something in between. At the beginning I wavered between pushing and waiting. I then focussed completely on myself. The tyre went in a bit at the end, but my lead was just right. Thanks to my team, who got me back to the front with their good vibes.’ Because it was so nice, Mikhalchik also grabbed the biggest trophy in the second race. But this time he made it a little more exciting than in the morning. He was in the leading four-man group for a long time before taking over first place and being unassailably ahead until the black and white chequered flag. ‘Great,’ is how the Ukrainian described his feeling after being welcomed to the finish line by his mother and wife, who had travelled from Kiev. ‘Oschersleben is not my favourite track, but I tried to like it. Of course we had hoped for the result. And it was perfect. Pole position, lap record and the double victory.’ As a result, Mikhalchik is back in the fight for the championship.
Bálint Kovács had already put in a great performance at the joint test with his colleagues in the run-up to the IDM weekend and was beaming all over his face on Friday evening. ‘A super day,’ he said happily. ‘I was at the front the whole time, with the third-best time in Superpole Pre-Practice, and I qualified directly for Superpole 2. To be honest, I’ve never had such a good Friday in the IDM. It made a big difference to test the track and the bike beforehand.’ The Hungarian also did well on Saturday and was delighted to secure fourth place on the grid after Superpole.
Kovács then utilised this position on the second row perfectly in the first race. Even though his team-mate Ilya Mikhalchik and Florian Alt did their own thing at the front, Kovács skilfully asserted himself in the chasing pack, despite some minor and major scuffles with the competition at the beginning. In the end, the BMW rider did not hesitate for long and left the rest of the chasing group behind him, finished the race flawlessly and celebrated his first IDM podium at the finish line in third place. ‘It’s madness,’ he summarised. ‘I can’t get the grin off my face. The test gave me a good start to the weekend. Starting the race from 4th place obviously makes things easier. In the end, tyre management was the key, I managed that well.’ And the Hungarian had a taste for the podium celebrations. ‘After third place in the first race, I’m calmer now,’ he said while still on the grid for race 2. ‘Everything that comes next is a gift.’ The BMW driver then gave himself the present in the form of another trophy. He lined up in the leading group after the start, skilfully held his own against the attackers and finished in third place again. ‘Simply crazy,’ said the celebrating Hungarian. ‘Riding at the front from the start and battling with Ilya and Florian Alt is something else. The good grid position made the difference this weekend. I am happy.’
Like his team-mates, Philipp Steinmayr was able to prepare intensively for the IDM weekend at the two-day Oschersleben test. ‘It was really good to get some riding in,’ said the Austrian. ‘Especially in view of the mixed weather forecast for the IDM weekend, you always have to expect that one or two sessions will be lost. The biggest problems are with myself. In terms of riding, there is still room for improvement here and there and I will work on that.’
The Austrian started the IDM weekend with confidence and, contrary to the forecasts, even the weather played along. Friday got off to a good start and Saturday also went reasonably well for Steinmayr. ‘We had finally taken a step forwards,’ reports Steinmayr. ‘In qualifying, I didn’t want to risk too much with the used tyres.’ When he went out on the new tyres, the practice session was not entirely flawless and ended earlier than planned with a red flag. Steinmayr finished 15th on the grid and was not happy with 14th and 17th place in the race. ‘The weather didn’t quite play ball on Sunday morning,’ he describes, ‘and I realised that it would be difficult from that grid position. The first start was still good, but I struggled a lot because I had zero grip right from the start. I couldn’t drive my line and couldn’t get past anywhere. So I got stuck at the back.’ More grip came with the changes for the second race, but this created new problems. After a mixed weekend, the best solution for the BMW rider is to tick the box and look to the future.
After the Oschersleben test the week before the IDM round, Max Schmidt had planned a few minor adjustments. ‘The bike is in pretty good shape,’ he assured before the first kilometres of IDM practice, ‘there’s still a bit of work to do on the grip.’ The student skilfully made it through to Superpole 1 via the small diversions via Superpole 2, where the best grid positions were at stake on Saturday. The BMW rider was able to improve again in the final practice session and secured eleventh grid position for the two races on Sunday.
Light drizzle made life difficult for the drivers in the first race in the morning. It had disappeared by the afternoon, but the wind was blowing all the harder. Schmidt’s points haul in Oschersleben was not really productive. In the first race, he bravely fought his way through and scored three championship points for 13th place. Things got worse in race 2, when Schmidt did not even make it to the finish line. He crashed and the race ended prematurely for him. ‘It didn’t go to plan,’ was the verdict on a not-so-easy Oschersleben weekend. ‘In principle, it wasn’t too bad. But unfortunately my starts were not so good. Then I got stuck at the back of a group. I was able to fight my way forward in the first race, but the gap to the front was correspondingly large. Actually, much more would have been possible. In the second race, the start was a bit better, but not the yellow of the egg either. Then I was stuck behind two Yamaha riders. My pace was better, I was able to keep up, but I couldn’t overtake them. Then I got right behind Thomas Gradinger to attack before the next corner. But he decelerated longer than I expected when I braked. I touched his rear end and flew over the top.’ Schmidt doesn’t let it get him down. ‘Keep going,’ is his motto.
Keep going is also the motto of the team boss and part of his team, who will continue straight from Oschersleben to the World Endurance Championship round in Belgium. The IDM is back from 21 – 23 June, then with weekend number 3 in Most in the Czech Republic.
