Euro Moto Sportbike: The title race is getting tight – decision to be made at Hockenheim

Ruben Bijman (Freudenberg RoRa Paligo Racing) has turned his pole position at the Nürburgring into a victory. The Dutchman prevailed over Tobias Kitzbichler (ViVa by Peuker & Streeb) in the first race of the EURO MOTO Sportbike series. A mere 0.045 seconds separated the pair as they crossed the finish line. Championship leader Stepan Zuda (Freudenberg RoRa Paligo Racing) completed the podium in third place.

Zuda remains the number one title contender

Initially, it was Zuda who got off to the best start. The Czech rider entered the first lap in the lead, with Kitzbichler following ahead of Mika Siebdrath (Freudenberg RoRa Paligo Racing) and Bijman. However, the pole-sitter didn’t take long to make his move. After just two laps, Bijman had worked his way up to second place; one lap later, he took the lead. From then on, the Dutchman remained firmly in the lead. Kitzbichler settled into second place behind him, followed by Stepan Zuda.

But the race was far from decided. Kitzbichler remained within striking distance throughout the race and kept Bijman under constant pressure right to the end. Bijman, for his part, knew full well that someone was lying in wait behind him, waiting for their chance. “I could hear a motorbike behind me the whole time, so I tried to brake as late as possible. That’s how I managed to stay out in front and leave no room for an attack. In the end, it was enough and I managed to win the race,” explained Bijman. Kitzbichler was pipped to the post by a mere 0.045 seconds after 13 laps, but was still pleased with second place.

A calculated risk

Zuda, on the other hand, made a conscious decision to avoid taking any unnecessary risks. Following his crash in qualifying on Friday, the championship leader safely secured third place and picked up a further 16 points. At the finish line, he was 1.393 seconds behind Bijman. “I’m completely satisfied with the points and third place. I wasn’t at the limit today, but I had the feeling I would have been very quick there as soon as I’d pushed harder. I didn’t want to take that risk. The pace simply wasn’t there today. Now we need to look into why that was,” explained Zuda.

Behind him, Siebdrath put in a consistently strong performance to finish fourth. Tom Kuil (RT Motorsports) rounded off the top five. The battle for the positions behind was much tighter. Alexander Weizel (Weizel Racing Team) secured sixth place, followed just one thousandth of a second behind by Julian van Kalkeren (SRTD Pearle Gebben). Jay Jay den Hoed (Team SWPN), Ty Henriksen (Nordic Vikings) and Kiyano Veijer (Dutch Talent Racing) rounded off the top ten.

Euro Moto Sportbike, Race 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

11. Maksymilian PALMOWSKI (#95/POL), Aprilia RS660

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

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

14. Lucy MICHEL (#G16/GER), Yamaha YZF R7
    
    

Sportbike Siegerehrung Nummer 2

Foto: Thorsten Horn

Race 2: Another victory for the Netherlands

Ruben Bijman (Freudenberg RORA PALIGO Racing) was the man of the weekend at the Nürburgring. Following his narrow victory on Saturday, the Dutchman followed it up on Sunday to complete a one-two finish. After a turbulent start to the race, Bijman pulled clear and won with a lead of 4.671 seconds over Tom Kuil (RT Motorsports). Championship leader Stepan Zuda (Freudenberg RORA PALIGO Racing) completed the podium.

At first, however, it all looked set to be a strong race for Tobias Kitzbichler (ViVa by Peuker & Streeb). Starting from third on the grid, the Austrian shot straight to the front. Behind him, the action was intense and the order was shaken up several times. Kitzbichler dropped back at one stage, but fought his way back to the front within a few laps. Then, on lap 5, came the setback: whilst leading, the Austrian crashed and was thus out of the running for victory.

This cleared the way for Bijman. “It wasn’t that easy at the start because of all the jostling. I tried to stay out of the whole commotion. When Tobias crashed, I stepped it up a gear and put my foot down. After that, I just rode at my own pace right to the finish.” And it paid off. Bijman pulled further ahead lap after lap and, in 1:30.782 minutes, also clocked the fastest lap of the race amongst all riders who finished. By the finish line, he had built up an unusually substantial lead of 4.671 seconds for the Sportbike class.

Kuil phones home

Behind Bijman, Kuil also put in a strong performance. On Saturday, the Dutchman had already secured his best result of the season so far with a fifth-place finish. A day later, he went one better and crossed the line in second place. Just how much this result meant to him became clear shortly before the podium ceremony. His mother, who was unable to be at the Nürburgring this weekend, rang him in tears of joy, he revealed in his winner’s interview. “It’s great to be back on the podium at last. It shows that we’re developing step by step and getting better and better. Of course, we want to catch up with Ruben at some point too. We’re taking this feeling with us to Hockenheim now, where we’ll try to carry on in exactly the same way,” said Kuil, in high spirits.

The pressure’s mounting for Zuda

There was plenty of action behind the leaders too. Mika Siebdrath didn’t get off to the best start, but was in good form in the chasing pack and put pressure on his team-mate Stepan Zuda. At the same time, Julian van Kalkeren (SRTD Pearle Gebben) was applying pressure from behind Siebdrath. In the final laps, Siebdrath tried to snatch third place from the championship leader, but Zuda fought back and reclaimed third. In the end, Siebdrath finished fourth, with van Kalkeren just 0.028 seconds behind in fifth. Stepan Zuda was relieved. “I’d half expected that I might not be quite as strong here at the Nürburgring. Thursday and Friday went very well, mind you, but I just wasn’t 100 per cent on form this weekend. That’s also down to the hand injury I picked up during my guest appearance in the World Championship. That’s why I’m glad to have secured two podium finishes and picked up some important points despite that. Now my full focus is on Hockenheim and on clinching the season title there,” said the Czech rider ahead of the podium ceremony.

Euro Moto Sportbike, Race 2

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

9. Maksymilian PALMOWSKI (#95/POL), Aprilia RS660

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

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

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

13. Lucy MICHEL (#G16/GER), Yamaha YZF R7

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