Euro Moto Oschersleben: Stepan Zuda pulls clear with a sportbike one-two

Stepan Zuda remains the man to beat in the Euro Moto Sportbike class. The Czech rider won the first race after the four-week summer break at Oschersleben in commanding fashion, ahead of Tobias Kitzbichler. Behind them, Jules Bercot provided the next highlight for the ERC team, taking the Kawasaki onto the podium in third place for the first time this season.

Zuda (Freudenberg RoRa-Paligo Racing) got off to a good start from pole position and held on to the lead ahead of Kitzbichler (ViVa by Peuker & Streeb). Behind them, the action was considerably more turbulent. Jakob Rosenthaler (RT Motosports) in particular made rapid progress early on in Most on his comeback following an injury-enforced break. Starting from 10th on the grid, the Austrian moved up to 7th place on the very first lap and subsequently worked his way further up the field, position by position.

At the front, however, Zuda set the pace. Kitzbichler initially stuck tenaciously to the championship leader’s tail and didn’t let the Czech rider pull away. “I pushed right to the end because Tobias was so close on my heels,” explained Zuda after the race. The pole-setter certainly still had some reserves left: “I’d still had something up my sleeve if it had come down to the wire.”

In the final quarter of the race, Kitzbichler began to experience increasing problems with his rear tyre and could no longer keep up with the pace. Zuda pulled away and crossed the finish line after 13 laps with a lead of 1.944 seconds. The Czech rider also set the fastest lap of the race with a time of 1:31.025 minutes.

Kitzbichler is still waiting for his first win

Kitzbichler thus had to settle for second place once again. The Austrian had stuck close to Zuda for a long time, but wasn’t really satisfied with his race. “The rear grip just wasn’t ideal today. That made it a very difficult race for me to stay up there with the leaders. In the final laps, the tyres were simply too worn, so I had no options left,” explained Kitzbichler, who is still waiting for his first win of the season.

Behind the leading duo, however, a close battle unfolded for the final place on the podium. Rosenthaler continued his comeback and had indeed worked his way up to third place by the midway point of the race. After his injury lay-off, however, the 24-year-old had to ease off slightly as the race progressed and fell back.

Jules Bercot was among those to benefit from this. The Frenchman had struggled at the start but found his rhythm increasingly as the race progressed. After several changes in position, he finally brought his Kawasaki home in third place, securing ERC’s first podium of the season.

A close battle for the podium

Behind Bercot, the finish was incredibly close. Ruben Bijman (Freudenberg RoRa-Paligo Racing) secured fourth place, just 0.373 seconds behind the Frenchman. A mere 0.069 seconds further back, Rosenthaler followed in fifth. Mika Siebdrath (Freudenberg RoRa-Paligo Racing) rounded off the closely contested group in sixth place. At the finish, the gap between third and sixth place was a mere 0.650 seconds.

Euro Moto Sportbike, Race 1

1. Stepan ZUDA (#23/CZ), Triumph Daytona 660

2. Tobias KITZBICHLER (#38/A), Aprilia RS660

3. Jules BERCOT (#25/F), Kawasaki Ninja ZX 6R

4. Ruben BIJMAN (#17/NL), Triumph Daytona 660

5. Jakob ROSENTHALER (#78/A), Triumph Daytona 660

6. Mika SIEBDRATH (#98/D), Triumph Daytona 660

7. Kiyano VEIJER (#53/NL), Triumph Daytona 660

8. Julian VAN KALKEREN (#34/NL), Triumph Daytona 660

9. Alexander WEIZEL (#22/D), Aprilia RS660

10. Felix KAUERTZ (#37/D), Kawasaki Ninja ZX 6R

11. Tom KUIL (#55/NL), Triumph Daytona 660

12. Maksymilian PALMOWSKI (#95/PL), Aprilia RS660

13. Luis RAMMERSTORFER (#13/A), Triumph Daytona 660

14. Micky WINKLER (#86/D), Aprilia RS660

15. Rick KOOISTRA (#20/NL), Triumph Daytona 660

16. Jay Jay DEN HOED (#44/NL), Yamaha YZF R7

17. Magnus KRISTOFFERSEN (#30/DK), Aprilia RS660

18. Max STAUFFER (#27/AUS), Yamaha YZF R7

19. Ty HENRIKSEN (#46/DK), Aprilia RS660

20. Lucas SØRENSEN (#18/DK), Aprilia RS660

21. Sasha DE VITS (#19/B), Kawasaki Ninja ZX 6R

Mit der Triumph vorne weg

Foto: Thorsten Horn

Euro Moto Sportbike Race 2

Following his victory on Saturday, Stepan Zuda (Freudenberg RoRa-Paligo Racing) struck again on Sunday. This time, however, the Czech rider had to fight much harder for it. Sasha de Vits took the ERC Team’s Kawasaki right to the front and engaged in a thrilling battle with Zuda for victory in the final laps. A mere 0.153 seconds separated the two at the finish. Tobias Kitzbichler (ViVa by Peuker & Streeb) completed the podium.

Starting from pole position, Zuda once again got off to a strong start and held onto the lead ahead of Kitzbichler and de Vits. Jakob Rosenthaler (RT Motorsports) also made up places straight after the start, just as he had done on Saturday. Starting from 10th on the grid, the Austrian had already moved up to 6th place by the end of the first lap.

Triumph over Kawasaki in the showdown

De Vits led ahead of Zuda and Kitzbichler, but the Czech rider didn’t let up. Instead of launching a hasty attack, he kept a close eye on his rival and waited for his chance. “The race was once again significantly tougher than yesterday. The standard was even higher – I hadn’t expected that. I kept an eye on Sasha in front of me and waited for my chance, because I knew I could still get something out of the final laps,” explained Zuda.

On lap 11, the moment had arrived. Zuda seized the opportunity, overtook de Vits once more and took the lead. The ERC rider immediately stuck to the Czech’s rear wheel and stayed on his tail right up to the finish line. However, he was unable to find a final opening.

After 13 laps, Zuda held on to a razor-thin lead of 0.153 seconds as he crossed the finish line, sealing a one-two finish at Oschersleben. “It worked out and I’m very satisfied,” said the Czech rider, summing up his race. He has now extended his lead in the championship to a total of 154 points.

Although De Vits was beaten by the narrowest of margins, he was able to demonstrate the potential of the revised Kawasaki following his technical problem and 21st place in the first race. With a time of 1:30.475 minutes, the Belgian even set the fastest lap of the race. “The team has done an incredible job to ensure we’re competitive here,” said de Vits, praising his team. Following team-mate Jules Bercot’s third place on Saturday, an ERC Kawasaki was once again on the podium in the second race.

Kitzbichler was unable to quite keep up with the pace of the two leaders in the final laps and crossed the line in third place, 1.585 seconds behind Zuda. Following his second-place finish on Saturday, the Austrian thus takes two podium finishes from Oschersleben. “The lap times were very fast today, which is why I made lots of small mistakes that cost me time. But I’m very happy with the podium finishes and the weekend,” Kitzbichler summed up.

Jakob Rosenthaler made the best of a difficult weekend following his injury-enforced break at Most. Following a strong start, he settled into fourth place as the race progressed and held on to it safely until the finish. With two solid results in fifth and fourth place, the Austrian picked up important points that could still play a role in the ongoing battle for the championship.

Euro Moto Sportbike, Race 2

1. Stepan ZUDA (#23/CZ), Triumph Daytona 660

2. Sasha DE VITS (#19/B), Kawasaki Ninja ZX 6R

3. Tobias KITZBICHLER (#38/A), Aprilia RS660

4. Jakob ROSENTHALER (#78/A), Triumph Daytona 660

5. Ruben BIJMAN (#17/NL), Triumph Daytona 660

6. Mika SIEBDRATH (#98/D), Triumph Daytona 660

7. Tom KUIL (#55/NL), Triumph Daytona 660

8. Jules BERCOT (#25/F), Kawasaki Ninja ZX 6R

9. Kiyano VEIJER (#53/NL), Triumph Daytona 660

10. Felix KAUERTZ (#37/D), Kawasaki Ninja ZX 6R

11. Julian VAN KALKEREN (#34/NL), Triumph Daytona 660

12. Maksymilian PALMOWSKI (#95/PL), Aprilia RS660

13. Alexander WEIZEL (#22/D), Aprilia RS660

14. Luis RAMMERSTORFER (#13/A), Triumph Daytona 660

15. Max STAUFFER (#27/AUS), Yamaha YZF R7

16. Rick KOOISTRA (#20/NL), Triumph Daytona 660

17. Jay Jay DEN HOED (#44/NL), Yamaha YZF R7

18. Ty HENRIKSEN (#46/DK), Aprilia RS660

19. DNF: Lucas SØRENSEN (#18/DK), Aprilia RS660

20. DNS: Micky WINKLER (#86/GER), Aprilia RS660