Suzuki International Europe rider Andreas Meklau has moved into second place in the German IDM Superbike Championship with second and third places at Sunday's weather-hit Nurburgring event.
Dense fog and visibility of less than 50 metres meant that only one qualifying race could be held and in the opening race, Meklau (40) took third place on his GSX-R1000 after being involved in a collision early on. After the restart, however, he managed to gain a leading position again to come second behind Martin Bauer (Honda).
The second heat was even closer. Meklau finished third with Belgian Suzuki rider Werner Daemen second. Meklau's team mate Dominic Lammert improved his performance in both heats and came fourth in both. The 20-year-old, a new talent in the Suzuki team, overtook several opponents and emerged victorious from some fierce duels.
Andreas Meklau:
"After my fall in the first heat we just about managed to repair the bike before the restart, so I'm totally happy to have come in second. There must have been more wrong with the bike than we suspected though as its performance started to drop off gradually just as I was preparing for a final assault in the second heat."
Dominic Lammert:
"It's a result to build on. Perhaps I didn't take the first bend as forcefully as I sometimes do, but I was thinking of my knee, which has still not completely recovered after the operation. In the second heat I made a braking error at the beginning and dropped back to ninth position. I managed to make it good later in the race but I didn't make it onto the podium."
Evren Bischoff - Team Manager:
"Andy Meklau showed again that he is in top form and is now second in the overall positioning. We are within reach of the top. And Dominic Lammert has improved his performance. I expect him to be a serious contender for a winning position in the next race. We have also made progress with adjusting his bike. We haven't got a final version yet, because qualifying was rained off again. This means we'll run another test before the next IDM heat."
1st heat:
- Martin Bauer (A-Honda)
- Andreas Meklau (A-Suzuki International Europe)
- Werner Daemen (B-Suzuki)
- Dominic Lammert (D-Suzuki International Europe)
- Chris Zaiser (A-Ducati)
- Kari Vehniainen (FIN-Yamaha)
- Xavier (B-Team Alstare Suzuki)
- Nina Prinz (D-Yamaha)
- Olivier Depoorter (B-Suzuki)
- Patric Muff (CH-Suzuki)
2nd heat:
- Martin Bauer (A-Honda)
- Werner Daemen (B-Suzuki)
- Andreas Meklau (A-Suzuki International Europe)
- Dominic Lammert (D-Suzuki International Europe)
- Roman Stamm (CH-Suzuki)
- Xavier Simeon (B-Team Alstare Suzuki)
- Patric Muff (CH-Suzuki)
- Ganther Knobloch (A-Ducati)
- Christian Kellner (D-Ducati)
- Olivier Depoorter (B-Suzuki)
Points:
- Bauer 150
- Meklau 94
- Daemen 92
- Teuchert 80
- Stamm 55
- Lammert 45
- Zaiser 34
- Depoorter 34
- Vehniainen 22
- Kellner 31
