After two thrilling races at Motorsport Arena Oschersleben, the ADAC Northern Europe Cup riders are already on their way to Donington Park in England where the third event of the season will be contested in the context of the Superbike World Championship on the weekend of 26th - 28th May. The up-and-coming motorcycle stars will once again compete in two races.
The weekend gets underway with free practice on Friday at 12:55 local time. This half-hour session gives the contestants in the Standard and GP classes the chance to acclimatise themselves to the new track ahead of the 30-minute qualifying at 18:20, which will decide the starting line-up for both races. The fourth race of the season is set to take place on Saturday at 17:25 over 14 laps. Round 5 of the campaign will be contested on Sunday at 16:05.
Standard class: Geiger plotting next victory
Dirk Geiger (14, GER) arrives in England as leader in the Standard class. The ADAC Sports Foundation protégé has amassed 75 points after winning the first three races: "I haven't been to Donington Park before, but I've got an initial impression of the track from video games. It has a lot of fast corners that suit me fine.
I may even be able to keep up with the GP riders, as there aren't too many long straights. I feel sure that I'm going to like this track." The 14-year-old will hardly have time for any special preparations after the most recent race weekend, but he has set himself a clear target: "I am determined to win again at Donington."
Foremost among Geiger's opponents seeking to frustrate this plan is his Kiefer Racing team-mate Toni Erhard (16, GER). Erhard is in second place on 49 points, just ahead of another podium contender Oliver König (15, CZE) on 44. Trailing this trio are Philipp Freitag (19, GER) and Simon Jespersen (15, DEN) in fourth and fifth.
Georgi aiming to repeat GP podium success
"Donington is still an unknown track for me," says GP class leader Tim Georgi (16, GER). "However, I've been looking at it on footage of previous Superbike World Championship races. Even so, it's going to be a completely new track for me and therefore a new challenge. It's a well-known fact that British circuits have their own peculiarities, so we'll have to wait and see how it turns out."
ADAC Sports Foundation protégé Georgi leads the GP standings on 50 points after a DNF at Assen and two wins at Oschersleben, and he intends to defend this lead resolutely. "Obviously, I would like to be in contention for the podium again and to score vital points. To make sure of this, I'll be working on my fitness throughout the week and watching additional videos to get me off to the best possible start. As always, I'll be doing my best."
After the first three races, Georgi has only a slender five-point lead in the GP class. ADAC NEC rookie Jan-Ole Jähnig (16, GER), who finished runner-up in the 2016 ADAC Junior Cup powered by KTM, has 45 points to his credit and is breathing down the neck of the class leader. Also in the pursuing bunch going into the fourth and fifth rounds of the campaign are Kevin Orgis (17, GER) in P3 on 44 points, Walid Khan Soppe (17, NED) in P4 on 40 points and Ernst Dubbink (28, NED) in P5 on 38 points.