IDM Assen: Double victory and two trophies

August 18, 2025

IDM-Assen---saturday-16-08-2025---photo-Damon-Teerink-0590

The summer break for the International German Championship (IDM) came to an end last weekend. The TT Circuit in Assen, Netherlands, was the destination for the Masteroil-alpha-Van Zon-BMW team with its Belgian boss Werner Daemen. As always, he had his Superbike squad with Leandro Mercado (Argentina), Hannes Soomer (Estonia), Bálint Kovács (Hungary), and Milan Merckelbagh (Netherlands). Ricardo Brink (Netherlands), Julius Ilmberger (Germany), and Ouri Bikkems (Belgium) competed for the BMW team again in the Pro Superstock 1000.

Leandro Mercado had a short but successful summer break. The Argentinean traveled to Japan at the beginning of August and brought home a trophy for second place in the Superstock classification from the World Endurance Championship race in Suzuka. “The Suzuka party is over,” said Mercado in good spirits before leaving for Assen, “now it’s back to focusing fully on the IDM. I really like Assen. I’ve adjusted my goals in the meantime. I was third, I was second, what I need now is a win. That will require some good training.” The Team Masteroil-alpha-Van Zon-BMW rider delivered as promised, securing third place on the front row of the grid behind Lukas Tulovic and Dominique Aegerter, the guest rider from WorldSBK.

At the start, occasional drizzle made life difficult for the racers. Mercado had opted for the hardest tire compound in view of the distance and the sharp drop in temperatures. But what would have been a harmless excursion onto the kerbs in normal weather turned into a slippery affair in Assen. The Argentinean skidded, saved the situation, but ended up at the back of the field. With fighting spirit, he worked his way back up to sixth place. “I felt really good after practice,” said Mercado, describing his Sunday. “I had a really strong setup. But after the mistake in the first race, I was really angry. It was a small mistake that almost caused me to crash.”

Mercado then kept a clean sheet in the second race. There was an impressive battle with WorldSBK guest Dominique Aegerter over the entire distance. Mercado put the Swiss rider, who was not eligible for points, under intense pressure but couldn’t find a safe way past. He then secured a trophy for third place and 20 points in the championship standings. “We made a small change to the setup,” he reveals, “and it was a really good race with Domi. I was close, but he was just a little better in the final section of the track. I’ll keep at it and keep fighting in the next races. Tulovic is fast and hard to beat, but I’ll give it a shot.”

Hannes Soomer had a stroke of luck during the IDM summer break. In Oschersleben, he suffered massive injuries to his right hand, including broken fingers, after a crash in the race. The subsequent IDM break gave the Estonian time to recover from his injuries. After a test in Estonia, the doctors gave him the green light and he was able to travel to Assen to fight for the IDM points he had lost. Things went well for the BMW rider right from the start in practice. However, a crash in Superpole 2 ruined his well-deserved reward and he had to start from 13th place after his mistake.

On a track that was damp in places on Sunday morning, the Team Masteroil-alpha-Van Zon-BMW rider had a tough task ahead of him. But the Estonian fought bravely and battled his way to seventh place in both races. “I didn’t hurt myself in the crash in practice,” assured the Estonian, “and my hand is fine too. I was in pretty good shape this weekend. But we had a lot to do with the bike. We didn’t perform so well in qualifying with Superpole 2 and the two races. What can I say, it was a really difficult weekend for me from Friday onwards. We have to learn from this and draw our conclusions for the next race at the Nürburgring if I want to be back among the front runners there.”

Bálint Kovács had an exciting summer break, crowned by a visit from the Superbike World Championship riders to his native Hungary. The IDM Superbike rider had an equally exciting tour of the World Championship paddock at the Balaton Ring in Hungary. He even did a few practice laps on the Pannoniaring. “It was also nice to have a few days off in between,“ he revealed. ”But I’m looking forward to Assen. It’s great to ride on a MotoGP track, of course. The fact that World Championship rider Domi Aegerter is riding with us makes it a special competition. I want to fight for a place in the leading group, even though it’s extremely difficult to catch the Ducati this year.” The Hungarian started the race from ninth place.

The damp asphalt in places in the first race seemed to be just right for the BMW rider. After a snappy start, he immediately stuck to the rear wheel of former champion Florian Alt and put in a flawless performance right to the end, never letting his opponents out of his sight for a second. With a surprise attack on the outside line, Kovács took his front-runner by surprise in the last corner and crossed the finish line in third place. “It’s incredible to be standing here now,” he said with a broad grin on his face. “On Monday, I was still sick at home and couldn’t train. Here, I managed my tires well in the race. I had an amazing start and feel strong. Florian took very different lines at the end, so I tried it from the outside line. I had seen that he was having a few problems with his rear wheel and knew I had to get past him.”

He would have liked to repeat the result in the second race. But things didn’t go quite as smoothly for the Hungarian as they had in the morning. “Somehow, the bike was different compared to the morning,” he said after finishing ninth. “Halfway through the race, I eased off the throttle a little. In the end, I wasn’t satisfied with the race. But I’m back on the podium, which is the most important thing.”

Milan Merckelbagh traveled to the race in his native Netherlands with some extra motivation. “Last year’s weekend at Assen was great for me,” recalls the young rider from the Masteroil-alpha-Van Zon-BMW team. “I achieved some fantastic results there. I hope it works out again this year. A few friends are coming, but not too many.“ However, the IDM is a highly competitive class, as Merckelbagh has also discovered: ”Although I set my personal best time here in Superpole, it’s still not enough for a place at the front of the grid. I’ll be starting the races from 14th place, which isn’t quite what I expected. We’ll try to find some more speed for the races. I’m focusing on the races, because that’s where the points are scored.”

The weather didn’t quite play along in Merckelbagh’s home country, so the first race was a slippery affair, with patches of wet asphalt and curbs like soap. The Dutchman was able to score five points after crossing the finish line. He moved up one more place in the afternoon. However, the Dutchman was not happy with 12th and 11th places. “To be honest,” he commented, “I had expected more this weekend. But I had problems finding more speed on the track. Yes, I scored points in both races, but I am far from satisfied. There is a lot of work to do before the next IDM event at the Nürburgring.”

Ricardo Brink was eagerly awaiting his home race in the Pro Superstock 1000 and, watched by numerous fans, his sponsors, and his family, he put his BMW neatly in pole position. He then made things exciting in Race 1 on Saturday. “After a great start, I was in the lead,” he reported, “but a small mistake sent me straight on and I had to rejoin the race in seventh place. I fought with everything I had to close the gap and won the race by 0.3 seconds.” The Dutchman also claimed his second victory, putting him firmly at the top of the series standings. “Another perfect race, and at home,” enthused Brink. “It wasn’t easy after the six-week break, but we were the fastest in all sessions and in both races. The team did a great job, everything went perfectly. We had a few things to do on the bike, but we got them sorted out well. Now we’ll see what happens at the Nürburgring.”

Julius Ilmberger was in good spirits after arriving in Assen and summed up the mood as “everything’s great.” He secured a place on the front row of the grid with the third fastest time in qualifying. He finished 10th and 4th in the two races. “The first race was good,” reported Ilmberger, “but I had a flat front tire and managed to get to the finish line. The second race was obviously very good in terms of the result.”

Ouri Bikkems arrived in Assen highly motivated after a great summer break, but made life difficult for himself in practice with a few slip-ups. He qualified in 15th place. In the races, the Belgian finished 19th and 15th. “It was a difficult weekend,” explained the Belgian. “In FP1, I had a heavy highside. In Q2, I lost control of the front wheel. I finished the races in pain all over my body. And I also served the long lap penalty from Oschersleben. I want to forget this weekend quickly and focus on the Nürburgring.”

After the trip to Assen, the IDM Superbike series returns to Germany for the penultimate round of the 2025 season at the Nürburgring from September 5 to 7.

IDM Superbike

Starting Grid
1. Lukas Tulovic (D/Ducati) 1.36,992 min
2. Dominique Aegerter (CH/Yamaha) 1.37,087 min
3. Leandro Mercado (RA/BMW) 1.37,630 min
9. Bálint Kovács (HR/BMW) 1.38,037 min
13. Hannes Soomer (EST/BMW) 1.38,645 min
14. Milan Merckelbagh (NL/BMW) 1.38,710 min

Race 1
1. Dominique Aegerter (CH/Yamaha)
2. Lukas Tulovic (D/Ducati)
3. Bálint Kovács (HR/BMW)
6. Leandro Mercado (RA/BMW)
7. Hannes Soomer (EST/BMW)
12. Milan Merckelbagh (NL/BMW)

Race 2
1. Lukas Tulovic (D/Ducati)
2. Dominique Aegerter (CH/Yamaha)
3. Leandro Mercado (RA/BMW)
7. Hannes Soomer (EST/BMW)
9. Bálint Kovács (HR/BMW)
11. Milan Merckelbagh (NL/BMW)

Overall standings (after 10 out of 14 races)
1. 186 Punkte Lukas Tulovic (D/Ducati)
2. 171 Punkte Florian Alt (D/Honda)
3. 132 Punkte Hannes Soomer (EST/BMW)
5. 116 Punkte Leandro Mercado (RA/BMW)
8. 79 Punkte Bálint Kovács (H/BMW)
10. 56 Punkte Milan Merckelbagh (NL/BMW)