IDM Schleiz: Not for the faint-hearted + Double win in Pro Superstock 1000

June 2, 2025

IDM Schleiz sunday 01-06-2025 - photo Damon Teerink-2918

IDM Schleiz: Not for the faint-hearted

The Masteroil-alpha-Van Zon-BMW team travelled to Thuringia last weekend. The riders and thousands of fans of the International German Championship (IDM) gathered at the Schleizer Dreieck for the second of seven race weekends in the 2025 season. Belgian team boss Werner Daemen travelled with the entire IDM Superbike quartet for the first time this year: Hannes Soomer from Estonia, Leandro Mercado from Argentina, who lives in Italy, Milan Merckelbagh from the Netherlands and Bálint Kovács from Hungary.

Our Pro Superstock 1000 team kicked off the season at Schleiz with a fantastic weekend: Ricardo Brink secured a double victory, while Julius Ilmberger Jr. and Ouri Bikkems showed significant improvement throughout the weekend.

Hannes Soomer travelled to Schleiz as the overall leader after a successful start to the season at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben and, like his colleagues and competitors, had completed a few test laps on the natural race track the week before. The good preparations made the Estonian even more relaxed than usual.

Soomer did not finish on the podium this weekend, but he scored solid points with two fourth places and left the race track as championship leader. ‘The first race was five laps too long and the second five laps too short,’ was his conclusion. It had rained shortly before the start of race 1 and the track was mostly wet. However, in addition to the puddles, there were also places where the asphalt was already drying out. Soomer kept his cool and decided to start the race on rain tyres. He managed to hold the lead until the final laps. But then, on increasingly dry asphalt, the hour of the drivers who had opted for slicks struck. Soomer had to let three rivals pass him at the finish line. Thanks to his good work earlier on, he still managed to finish fourth on his treaded tyres. ‘From the third lap onwards, I knew how the race would go,’ said Soomer. ‘The track was drying up visibly, metre by metre. I knew what was coming.’

In the second race, the BMW rider battled for third place with his brand colleague Jan-Ole Jähnig for lap after lap. However, Soomer was unable to find a way past the fastest rider in practice. ‘I needed a few more laps,’ he concluded. “I tried twice in the last two laps. My lap times were okay, but I don’t find it easy in a duel at the start. But the result from both races is okay.‘

Leandro Mercado suffered a bitter setback at the start of the Oschersleben race after the otherwise reliable Argentinean crashed while in the lead. He had been able to prepare well for the IDM weekend during a test in Schleiz a week earlier. ’I’m fine now,” he explained after arriving in Thuringia. ‘The pain in my knee after the crash in Oschersleben is much better. It’s not 100% yet, but it’s much better.’

‘The test was very important,’ he admitted, ‘because even though I like Schleiz, it’s a special track. I’ve been pretty fast here in the last two years. But let’s wait and see what the weather brings.’ This caused excitement, especially in the first race, when a rain shower came down shortly before the start. Mercado, who was supposed to start the race from seventh place, checked out the track during the first of the two warm-up laps and, like a handful of other riders, took a gamble and had slick tyres fitted. From the back of the grid, it was difficult to find dry patches, especially in the early stages. But as the race progressed, the track dried out and the riders on slicks got faster. From the back of the field, Mercado fought his way up to third place.

‘It was very wet, especially at the corners,’ he said of his slippery ride. “For a moment, I thought I’d made the wrong decision. Florian Alt was really fast. I stayed calm and tried to get a feel for the conditions and my pace. It was difficult to overtake because there was only a very narrow strip that was dry. But after Oschersleben, I’m happy to be on the podium here.”

Race 2 is quickly told. Mercado had once again emerged in the leading group, but was unable to reap the rewards of his efforts. His BMW failed him and Mercado’s race ended prematurely with huge disappointment. ‘We had an electronic problem,’ explained team boss Werner Daemen. ‘We don’t know exactly what happened yet. But we’re installing a completely new wiring harness for the next race to avoid any further risks. We’ll investigate the wiring harness from Schleiz later.’

Like many of his colleagues, Milan Merckelbagh described the race track around the Schleizer Dreieck as ‘special’. After all, most of the track consists of roads that are open to public traffic during the week. Nevertheless, the young rider from the Masteroil-alpha-Van Zon-BMW team made it straight into Superpole 2 and secured 13th place on the starting grid.

After the rain shower shortly before the start of the first race, he also had to decide which tyres to choose. ‘I opted for the safe option,’ he explained, ‘and went for rain tyres. In this case, the decision is entirely up to the rider.’ In the end, his choice was rewarded with sixth place. ‘When Florian Alt came past on his slick tyres,’ said the Dutchman, ‘I knew that the other slick riders were still to come. But on the last lap, I was able to overtake my team-mate Bálint Kovács in the final chicane. If it had stayed wet any longer, I could have fought for third place.’

In the second race, which started with all riders on slick tyres and in dry conditions, Merckelbagh had to contend mainly with Soma Görbe, who was also riding a BMW. ‘Because it worked so well in the first race,’ reveals Merckelbagh, ‘I successfully repeated the move in the last chicane and finished eighth.’ However, as was the case at the season opener in Oschersleben, the Dutchman was satisfied with the results, but he makes no secret of the fact that top ten finishes are not enough for him. The top five remains his goal.

Bálint Kovács had a big grin on his face on Friday. It was the Hungarian’s first IDM race of the season. The rider from Székesfehérvár crashed heavily at the 24 Hours of Le Mans on 19 April, breaking his collarbone. Everything has now healed and the Hungarian is back in the saddle. ‘Back on track,’ he said happily after qualifying eighth in Superpole 2. “I’ve really missed this feeling. Even if I’m not back to 100 per cent yet. But I feel strong enough to tackle the weekend in Schleiz.‘ Clear words, considering that the Schleizer Dreieck is also a physically demanding challenge.

’Even though I always felt a little tired after practice,‘ he admitted, ’it was the right moment to come back. It’s great with the new BMW, even if I still have a bit to learn. But with all the information available, it wasn’t that difficult to find a good set-up.” In the first race, Kovács opted for rain tyres on the wet track, as did most of the field, despite the asphalt drying out. It was the right decision, especially at the start. Even though he had to let the riders who had chosen the riskier option with their slicks pass him at the end, he still finished seventh. And because he seemed to have enjoyed it, he repeated his seventh place in race 2.

‘In the wet conditions, I stayed on the safe side with rain tyres,’ said the Hungarian, “that was the right decision after my injury break. In the end, the gamble paid off for the drivers with slick tyres. I was even in P3 for a while at the start and had the fourth-fastest time of the drivers on rain tyres. In Race 2, I realised that I’m not back to my old level of physical fitness yet. I couldn’t do anything for six weeks. In the end, I was really exhausted. But it’s getting better every day.”

The next IDM round will take place in three weeks’ time, when the Masteroil-alpha-Van Zon-BMW team travels to the Autodrom Most in the Czech Republic.

IDM Superbike

Qualifying

1. Jan-Ole Jähnig (D/BMW) 1.23,546 min
2. Florian Alt (D/Honda) 1.23,683 min
3. Lukas Tulovic (D/Ducati) 1,23,774 min
5. Hannes Soomer (EST/BMW) 1.24,079 min
7. Leandro Mercado (RA/BMW) 1.24,537 min
8. Bálint Kovács (HR/BMW) 1.24,959 min
13. Milan Merckelbagh (NL/BMW) 1.25,131 min

IDM Superbike Race 1

1. Florian Alt (D/Honda)
2. Lukas Tulovic (D/Ducati)
3. Leandro Mercado (RA/BMW)
4. Hannes Soomer (EST/BMW)
6. Milan Merckelbagh (NL/BMW)
7. Bálint Kovács (HR/BMW)

IDM Superbike Race 2

1. Lukas Tulovic (D/Ducati)
2. Florian Alt (D/Honda)
3. Jan-Ole Jähnig (D/BMW)
4. Hannes Soomer (EST/BMW)
7. Bálint Kovács (HR/BMW)
8. Milan Merckelbagh (NL/BMW)
DNF Leandro Mercado (RA/BMW)

IDM Superbike Standing after 4 of 14 Races

1. 71 Punkte Hannes Soomer (EST/BMW)
2. 70 Punkte Lukas Tulovic (D/Ducati)
3. 58 Punkte Florian Alt (D/Honda)
7. 34 Punkte Milan Merckelbagh (NL/BMW)
8. 25 Punkte Leandro Mercado (RA/BMW)
12.18 Punkte Bálint Kovács (HR/BMW)