Oschersleben: Dramatic scenes following an engine blow-up in Superbike Race 1

Lukas Tulovic from Team Triple M Ducati Frankfurt had already set the pace in the morning warm-up shortly after breakfast. Just as he had done in Superpole 2, he clocked a lap in the 1.23s and, as in practice, left the competition half a second behind him. Joining him on the starting grid were Twan Smits (Yamaha) and Florian Alt (Honda). There was no BMW to be seen on the front row; the line-up continued with Marcel Schrötter, Markus Reiterberger and Jan-Ole Jähnig.

WorldSBK team boss Michael Galinski was once again attending a Superbike race and was hanging around the starting grid. “We come from the IDM, after all,” he recalled, “but when I see the lap times, it makes me nervous.” Three riders were missing at Oschersleben. Soma Görbe and Patrick Hobelsberger had each lost their main sponsors, whilst Hannes Soomer was at home in Estonia with a shoulder injury.

Das Ende einer Reise

Foto: Thorsten Horn

Twan Smits took the lead once again at the start, but in the third corner Tulovic made his first move, though he couldn’t get past just yet. A little later, the Ducati rider did manage to get past. After the first lap, Alt also squeezed past to thwart Tulovic’s attempt to break away. Markus Reiterberger was pushing hard behind Schrötter in fifth place. On the third lap, the Bavarian overtook his compatriot. The leader went into the fourth lap with a one-second lead – and the gap was growing.

Whilst Tulovic was doing his own thing at the front, the battle for the remaining podium places between Alt, Smits and Reiterberger was getting exciting. The GERT56 trio of Schrötter, Finsterbusch and Jähnig were a second behind, minding their own business. Things took a critical turn on lap 7. Smits’s engine blew up heading towards Hasseröder. Alt and Reiterberger were in his slipstream but stood no chance. Alt, Reiterberger, as well as Finsterbusch and Kevin Orgis, were caught up in the incident.

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Ein Superbike am Haken

Foto: Radio Viktoria Screenshot

Everyone was back on their feet a few minutes later. However, alongside Smits’s bike, Alt’s Honda and Reiterberger’s BMW were likely close to being written off, as both were sent flying high over the crash barriers. Far enough to sail over the heads of the photographers and marshals. Schrötter had reacted quickly and managed to swerve out of the way just in time. Orgis and Reiterberger – the Bavarian with his leather suit in tatters – bravely helped at the scene of the crash to clear up the wreckage.

There was no restart. Half the points were awarded for the distance covered. The teams had a good three hours to salvage what they could.

Viel Arbeit

Foto: Radio Viktoria Screenshot