Three KTM RC8 Rs on the front...
Three KTM RC8 Rs on the front row
For the season's opening race all three of KTM's official supported riders in the German International Superbike competition started from the front row. Alongside pole sitter Dario Giuseppetti on the front row was Nebel, second fastest in training with 1:39.334 seconds and his Inghart KTM teammate Matej Smrz (1:39.729) in third place on the grid. Martin Bauer started fourth on the grid with (1:39.975) to make all of them under the magic 1.40 min limit.
In the first race Bauer attacked with one of his super starts and went straight into the lead. Rival Giuseppetti briefly regained the lead in the first third of the race before the Motorex KTM rider made a concerted attack, surged ahead and began to systematically build on his lead time for the rest of the race. Nebel of the Inghart KTM team finished third and his teammate Smrz was behind him right up to the last curve combination. The Czech rider made one last attack on his teammate, the two riders touched and while Nebel managed to hold onto third, Smrz slipped down the order by two places to finish sixth.
Bauer again managed a rocket start on his Motorex KTM RC8 R in the second race of the day and again took the lead in front of Dario Giuseppetti. The German stole the lead on his Italian brand bike but the Austrian Bauer immediately countered and was in front again. The rest was a cat and mouse game to the finish with Bauer wrapping up the race with an advantage of 1.8 seconds at the checkered flag. Australian Karl Muggeridge was third.
Matej Smrz came in fourth behind the Australian and Nebel brought his Inghart-KTM bike home in sixth.
Bauer's double victory gave him the perfect scorecard of 50 points, followed by Giuseppetti with 40 and Muggeridge 29. Close behind were the two Inghart KTM riders with Nebel with 26 points and Smrz with 23. At the closure of the first of eight race weekends, KTM leads the Manufacturer's Standings with 79 points followed by BMW (38), Honda (32) and Yamaha (30).
Martin Bauer celebrates with...
Martin Bauer celebrates with a wheelie
It was a very turbulent weekend. We tried out a lot of different settings but didn't seem to find the right one. I also knew the pace was going to be very fast. So in the end we tried something completely new with the chassis and the tires and which we weren't able to try out before the race. For this reason I held back a bit in the first couple of laps and followed Dario for y couple of laps after he overtook me. It was only when I felt sure everything was working perfectly that I attacked and I was able to ride just a bit faster than him. In the end I was able to extend my lead and take control. I want to thank my team for this first victory because they really did a lot of work on the chassis and the win belongs as much to them as to me.
In the second race I used the same tires and the same setting and I could risk a bit more a bit quicker. Dario only took the lead briefly before I could retake it and work on building on the advantage. I take off my hat to Giuseppetti and his team. He is one of those riders that it is a lot of fun to fight with wheel on wheel and we leave each other enough room. This sport is risky enough so that it is not necessary to also play hara-kiri. This double victory means that I and my Motorex KTM Team have had a fantastic start to the season. Now we'll have to wait and see what happens next.
Stefan Nebel, Inghart KTM Team Germany (finished 3-6):
The first race was very interesting. My start was good and it was very tight going into the first corner, after which I was fourth. I knew I could rider faster but I took a good look around. Dario was hanging onto Nebel and it took a while for me to get in front of Muggeridge. By then the front runners had got away. Then my teammate went on the attack in the final lap. I was on the inside and we both needed to be a bit more forward. I have the mark from his front tire on my right thigh. It looked like we were both going to be in trouble but luckily we managed to survive.
I chose softer tires for the second race because I hoped it would give me the advantage but this didn't work out. Suddenly I had some chattering and I had to survive a couple of slips of the front tire. After that I settled down to bring the RC8 R safely back to the finish. Under these conditions sixth place was the maximum possible.
Matej Smrz, Inghart KTM Superbike Team Germany (finished 6-4):
The start of the first race was good but after that I forgot to change gears and that cost me a couple of places. I was tenth after the battle in the first corner and slowly I began to work up the order. Everything worked well for me and I had a good fight with Muggeridge, Cudlin, Teuchert and Ranseder. After that I was fourth and I tried to overtake Nebel in the final lap. It was very tight and we touched each other. I feel pleased that neither of us crashed Stefan managed to hold onto his place and I had to give way then Muggeridge and Cudlin slipped past me. I apologized to Stefan and later in hospitality we joked about it together.
I didn't have such a good start in the second race but I managed to move up from eighth to fifth place. I couldn't stick with Muggeridge who finished in front of me but I managed to get past Ranseder just before the flag because I managed to save my tired right to the end. I'm not satisfied but I have to be more consistent and think about what I'm doing. Being a factory rider is new for me and so is the bike. I hope that I am going to be able to move up the order as the season progresses.