Vugrinec puts himself in the running for the 2027 IDM with a personal best

Team BCC from Heilbronn had hoped to be in contention in the Euro Moto this year, but in the end Andy Gerlich and his team only took part in the last two race weekends. They had signed the Croatian rider Martin Vugrinec, who had raced here and there in 2026 but had been unable to secure a permanent contract. With a seventh-place finish in the second race of the Euro Moto finale at the Hockenheimring, he achieved his best result to date.

“Racing at Hockenheim is always something special,” he said after his outing on the BCC-BMW. “The season is drawing to a close, there are lots of spectators here, including plenty of Croatians – it’s just a completely different feeling.” As Vugrinec had already carried out testing beforehand, progress with the set-up went quickly at the final and Vugrinec was able to beat his personal best time – which he’d set two years earlier on the Kawasaki – by a second. “In qualifying, we were faster than last year’s pole time,” he calculated. “But the standard is incredibly high.”

Lauf 1 ging noch in die Hose

Foto: Felix Wiessmann

First Hockenheim race ends in the gravel

In the first race, Vugrinec was running in 6th place, right behind Lukas Tulovic, but he didn’t cross the finish line. “My lack of experience with the BMW took its toll and I lost control of the front wheel with ten laps to go,” said Vugrinec. “A bitter setback, but the team did an excellent job repairing the bike for Race 2, and I managed to finish seventh, which is my best result so far in the IDM/Euro Moto class.”

“It could have been sixth or even fifth,” he reflected, “but because of the crash in Race 1, I simply didn’t want to take too big a risk. The time for that will come. All in all, I’m very grateful for the opportunity BCC has given me to prove my potential on a competitive motorbike. We’ve done a great job.” Both parties have already discussed a possible partnership for next year. Every rider counts when it comes to the starting grid for the 2027 IDM Superbike.

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