Reiterberger wins IDM SBK Opener

BMW man Markus Reiterberger takes 2 from 2 at IDM SBK Opener

BMW’s Markus Reiterberger took two from two at last weekend’s opening of the Superbike IDM International German Championship ahead of Max Neukirchner on the new Yamaha YZF-R1M.

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Markus Reiterberger enjoyed the perfect weekend at the opening round of the International German Championship at the Lausitzring last weekend.

The Van-Zon Remeha BMW rider celebrated a dominant double victory and set a new lap record on his 2015 BMW S 1000 RR. Overall, Reiterberger was six-tenths of a second faster per lap on the new 2015 specification S 1000 RR than he could manage on the previous generation machine. He reported that the reasons for this include the new RR’s much better braking stability and the HP Race Support electronics.

Markus Reiterberger won the opening round of the 2015 IDM SBK Championship at Lausitzring

The morning’s first race saw Reiterberger lead from the start, and the German wasted no time in pulling clear of the field. His time of 1m37.696 on lap two was not only the fastest lap of the race, but also a new track record. By the time he crossed the finish line, he had opened an impressive lead of almost seven-seconds over his closest rivals.

He once again took an early lead in the afternoon race, but this time was initially unable to shake off rival Max Neukirchner. However, Reiterberger was able to pull clear again from midway through the race and clinched his second win of the day with a comfortable 2.8-second advantage.

Markus Reiterberger leads Max Neukirchner and Damian Cudlin at 2015 IDM SBK Season opener at Lausitzring

While Reiterberger had the race pace it had been Neukirchner who had claimed pole position, an advantage he used to good effect before dropping to third ehind Markus Reiterberger and teammate Damian Cudlin, after making a mistake on the brakes going into turn one. He quickly recovered and made the most of the Yamaha to regain his lost position. Once he got passed his teammate he hunted for the leader, but was unable to catch him and finished in second place, 6.899s from the front. Cudlin went down on lap five and failed to finish.

The Australian made up for the lost racing action in race two by engaging in a hard battle for third place. He fought tooth and nail with Xavi Fores to the finish line, only to miss out by just 0.198 seconds.

The second round of Superbike IDM 2015 takes place at Circuit Zolder in Belgium next weekend.

Max Neukirchner – Race 1 – P2, Race 2 – P2 – “In the first race I had a good start, but missed the braking point into the first corner, so I had to go wide and Reiterberger and Damian passed me. I needed three to four laps to pass Damian again. When I finally got him, Reiterberger was already away and it was difficult for me to do anything about it. I tried, but finally decided to take the safe way and bring home the second place. The second race was better. We found something on the bike and I felt more comfortable straight away. Again I came off the line well and was able to lead the race in the early stages. I knew that Reiterberger would pass me, but at least I could stay with him for a while. Of course these are ‘just’ two second places and no win, but we need to be satisfied with it. My team did a fantastic job this weekend. We were able to improve the bike between races. To get two times 20 points in the championship is really good, I’m happy.”

Damian Cudlin – Race 1 – DNF, Race 2 – P4 – “I think the first and the second races were similar, but the outcome was a little bit different. In the first race I chose a front tyre that I have never used this weekend. It was a little bit of a risk, but I think it was the right choice. I started slowly, but I built up my speed. Then I started to catch Max and did the fastest lap I’ve made all weekend. The bike felt good and then suddenly the crash happened with no warning. For the second race I decided to go a little bit safer and took the softer option front tyre, the one that we used in qualifying. I had the same start and speed and could follow Max and Reiterberger for the first two or three laps, but when the tyre started to slide I started to lose a lot of grip, they were going away. I tried to hang on, but I almost had another big crash. Fores was like a road block, he was so late on the brake and I couldn’t pass him. I passed him three times in the last three laps, but he managed to overtake me every time again. A podium was impossible today. I am disappointed, because I think without the crash in the first race, we would have two podiums today, so it’s not a great start to the championship for me. The positive is, I have the speed of the other guys, I have to remember this and take this positive thing to Zolder.”