The season of the International German Motorcycle Championship IDM has barely begun in May, and it has already come to an end last weekend at the finale at the Hockenheimring. For the Champion-alpha-Van Zon-BMW team around team manager Werner Daemen, it should be the final point behind a season crowned with success after the early title win at the Nürburgring. At the start, the new champion Ilya Mikhalchik (UKR), Jan Mohr (A) and Bálint Kovács (HUN). Max Schmidt (D) and Philipp Steinmayr (A) were forced to watch from the sidelines due to one injury or another.

Ilya Mikhalchik was satisfied and well rested for the IDM finale. Just a few days earlier, he had pushed himself to his limits at the Endurance World Championship finale. After his team-mate’s crash during the night, Mikhalchik had to complete the second half of the 24-hour race together with Markus Reiterberger. With success, because in the end the team secured 3rd place overall in the World Cup. The icing on the cake was the pole position at the IDM finale. Because the BMW rider was also aiming for maximum success in the last race of the year.

‘I only ride for fun and for myself now,’ the Ukrainian revealed after his best time. ‘But to be honest, I wasn’t so happy with my fastest lap, because I was a little faster in the third free practice in the morning. But I’m confident when it comes to race pace.’ When asked about the not-so-slow competition, Mikhalchik once again elegantly avoided the question with a great deal of self-confidence. “I don’t think about other drivers,” he clarifies, ’I just focus on myself.’

The first race was not quite to the Ukrainian’s taste, even though he was professional after crossing the finish line in 3rd place. ‘That was a fun race,’ he explained. ‘There were also some completely different people there, I saw motorbikes next to me that I didn’t even know.’ He still won the start, but then the race turned into a tough job. Numerous duels with outgoing champion Florian Alt at least created a party atmosphere in the packed spectator stands. In race 2, Mikhalchik left no doubt as to why he won the championship. He was the first to turn into the first corner after the start. While his colleagues behind him fought for the best positions, he was able to stay out of it all and drive towards his ninth victory of the season.

‘After the first race, my strategy for the second race was better,’ he said. ’Everything went well and I was able to control the race from the front. We had made a small change to the bike so that it went better in terms of acceleration. I already had the speed in the first race, but I couldn’t get away. I wanted to win with a lead, and I did that.’

Jan Mohr was fit again after competing in the 24-hour race in France just before the IDM finale. ‘I spent a day at the beach in Italy to relax and recharge my batteries,’ revealed the Austrian. The Mediterranean Sea seemed to have had a very special effect on Mohr, because at the IDM finale he made it directly into Superpole 2 and, as in Assen, set the fifth-fastest time and thus a place on the second row of the grid.

Mohr had a finger on the podium in race 1 until the last few metres, after fighting in the leading group over the full distance. ‘Ilya Mikhalchik was probably a little faster than the rest of us,’ he said, describing his race, which he finished in fourth place. ‘But Florian Alt, Jan-Ole Jähnig and I were almost at the same pace. In the end, there was no good opportunity for me to attack. I was at the absolute limit.’ Mohr had big plans for the second race. “If I get off to a good start, then I’ll be in contention,” was his plan. But as it sometimes is with plans, they don’t work out.

‘After the start, I took the outer line,’ said Mohr, ’I had copied that from Kevin Orgis beforehand. It went well until Orgis came shooting in from the inside. I had to open up and lost a few places. When I passed Toni Finsterbusch, I was even able to catch up with Max Kofler. When I wanted to pass him, I had too little grip. I then touched his rear wheel with my front wheel. Unfortunately, I then crashed, but fortunately he was able to continue. It’s a shame. The second race didn’t go as well as the first, but a seventh place would have been possible. At least I could have treated the fans in the Sachskurve to a nice burnout.’

Bálint Kovács had big plans for the season finale. Friday went excellently for the Hungarian. After finishing third in the free practice session, he set the eighth-best time in the Superbike pre-practice to qualify for the Superpole 2 session on Saturday, where the top starting positions were at stake. ‘My pace is good, the setting is good and so is my mood,’ he said before the decisive training session. “My goal is to start from the first two rows on Sunday.” And Kovács followed up his words with appropriate action, securing a place in the second row he was aiming for with sixth place.

The Hungarian described his start to the first race with a brief “well”. He finished the first lap in eighth place. After that, he was stuck behind fellow BMW Motorrad rider Toni Finsterbusch. ‘He had a different gear ratio to me,’ said Kovács, explaining his mishap. ‘I couldn’t get past on the straight. It was also difficult to overtake at the Hockenheimring, and Toni is an absolute late brakeman, so I couldn’t get past him on the brakes either. I’ll have to come up with a different tactic for the second race.’

No sooner said than done. ‘Much better,’ said a beaming Kovács, who finished sixth. ‘We had changed the transmission ratio so that I could handle the slipstream better. For a long time I was in 5th place and had Patrick Hobelsberger and Florian Alt in front of me. Unfortunately, when Lorenzo Zanetti passed me at the end, my grip on the rear wheel decreased from lap to lap. But I’m happy with 6th place. This year has been a good development, I made it onto the podium twice and the gap to the top has become significantly smaller.”

Werner Daemen was satisfied across the board. “Yes,” he assured, ’it was a good season. With Ilya Mikhalchik we won our ninth IDM title. And every title is difficult. It also makes me happy that Jan Mohr and Bálint Kovács have developed so well. This is important for the future. It was a shame, of course, that Max Schmidt and Philipp Steinmayr had to end the season earlier due to injury. But we didn’t have a technical defect, the team did a really good job.’

Results IDM Hockenheim 2024

IDM Superbike Superpole/Starting Grid

1. Ilya Mikhalchik (UKR), BMW 1.25,728 min
2. Jan-Ole Jähnig (D), BMW 1.25,966 min
3. Florian Alt (D), Honda 1.26,132 min
5. Jan Mohr (A), BMW 1.27,330 min
6. Bálint Kovács (HU), BMW 1.26,437 min

IDM Superbike Results Race 1

1. Florian Alt (D), Honda
2. Jan-Ole Jähnig (D), BMW
3. Ilya Mikhalchik (UKR), BMW
4. Jan Mohr (A), BMW
8. Bálint Kovács (HU), BMW

IDM Superbike Results Race 2

1. Ilya Mikhalchik (UKR), BMW
2. Jan-Ole Jähnig (D), BMW
3. Patrick Hobelsberger (D), BMW
6. Bálint Kovács (HU), BMW
DNF 4. Jan Mohr (A), BMW

IDM Superbike Final Overall results 2024

1. 299 Punkte Ilya Mikhalchik (UKR), BMW
2. 215 Punkte Florian Alt (D), Honda
3. 165 Punkte Toni Finsterbusch (D), BMW
8. 117 Punkte Bálint Kovács (HU), BMW
11. 64 Punkte Jan Mohr (A), BMW
12. 52 Punkte Philipp Steinmayr (A), BMW
20. 13 Punkte Max Schmidt (D), BMW

Gallery

More photos on the team website:
https://www.bmwracingteam.eu/