Riding in his home race, Bauer, who qualified second on the grid, got away cleanly in the first outing of the day and turned up the heat on his RC8 R Superbike on the recently re-opened racing circuit. He then set out to hunt down Australian Damian Cudlin so he could start to put pressure on the leader and pole sitter, Michael Ranseder. Bauer then made every effort to catch Ranseder on the 4.3 km circuit set in the Austrian rural landscape but was unable to narrow the gap to the leader. With asphalt temperatures already reaching 50 degrees Celsius in the morning, it was a tough day on the track but Bauer still managed to bring home his RC8 R in a comfortable second place.

Inghart KTM rider Stefan Nebel, who is coming back from a recent injury, also put in a solid first race although he did sacrifice time and places in the first narrow corner. Nebel then switched on his fighting spirit and managed to finish in eighth. His teammate Matej Smrz of the Czech Republic was not so lucky. His first heat lasted only a few minutes after he high-sided and although not injured was forced to retire with a broken handlebar.

The heat was on in more ways than one in race two at the traditional Austrian circuit, which turned out to be almost a repeat of the first race. Bauer got away well and led the race for a number of laps right from the first right-hander but fellow Austrian Ranseder overtook him and opened a gap. Both Austrians were a cut above the rest of the field and after the 70 km race distance, third placed Cudlin trailed Bauer by six seconds.

In race two Nebel ran wide in the start corner but again fought hard and put in good lap times. He again finished eighth but was just one second off the fifth place finisher. Inghart KTM teammate Smrz managed to pick up enough points from his eleventh place to retain his fifth place in the overall standings.

Martin Bauer, Motorex KTM Superbike Team (2./2.):
“Our main goal here was to make another important step in the standings and to show that that our bike is also good for top positions at the Red Bull Ring. We managed both. Of course I wanted to win here in front of the home crowd, but the two podium seconds were all that we could manage and I am happy! Congratulations to Michi Ranseder who was the number one today.”

Stefan Nebel, Inghart KTM Superbike Team (8./8.):
“Both races went well but I had some bad luck at the start of the first race and already lost a lot of time. Then I almost crashed in race two and I was back at thirteenth place. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to deliver a better result for the team because they did a great job for me.”

Matej Smrz, Inghart KTM Superbike Team (DNF/11.):
“It was just not my day at the Red Bull Ring. The crash in the first race was definitely my mistake and although I managed to finish the second race, eleventh place is not where the bike and Matej should be. I was able to pick up a few places from the start but then I lost them and I struggled to find my rhythm. Now I’m looking forward to being at the front of the field again when we go to Hockenheim.”


KTM riders 1-2 on the podium in the IDM 125

The race weekend on the Red Bull Ring in Austria was fertile ground for the young KTM riders in the 125 cc class of the IDM. They finished 1-2 on the podium with Florian Alt and Philipp Oettl, both of Germany taking the honors. For a long time it seemed likely that the orange machines from Austria would clean sweep the podium as KTM rider Luca Gruenwald and Alt (both Team Freudenberg) were in the lead followed by Oettl (Team HP Moto).  Then with just three laps to go, Gruenwald entered the pits with engine problems. Alt and Oettl are also top riders in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup being run as part of the MotoGP World Championships.

Some 12,000 spectators were at the Red Bull Ring to see the races run in near perfect high summer weather. The final round for the 2011 series takes place in Hockenheim, Germany on September 18.

IDM SUPERBIKE, Race 1 Results Red Bull Ring Spielberg, Austria
1, Michael Ranseder, Austria, BMW
2, Martin Bauer, Austria, KTM
3, Gareth Jones, Australia, BMW
4, Karl Muggeridge, Australia, Honda
5, Ghisbert van Ginhoven, Netherlands, BMW
Other KTM
8, Stefan Nebel, Germany, KTM
Matej Smrz, Czech Republic, KTM DNF

IDM SUPERBIKE, Race 2 Results
1, Michael Ranseder, Austria, BMW
2, Martin Bauer, Austria, KTM
3, Damian Cudlin, Australia, BMW
4, Andreas Meklau, Austria, Suzuki
5, Gareth Jones, Australia, BMW
Other KTM
8, Stefan Nebel, Germany, KTM
11, Matej Smrz, Czech Republic, KTM
 
IDM SUPERBIKE Standings
1, Martin Bauer, Austria, KTM, 227
2, Karl Muggeridge, Australia, Honda, 187
3, Damian Cudlin, Australia, BMW, 185
4, Michael Ranseder, Austria, BMW, 179
5, Matej Smrz, Czech Republic, KTM, 161
Other KTM
10, Stefan Nebel, Germany, KTM, 84
 
IDM SUPERBIKE Manufacturers’ Standings
1, BMW 444
2, KTM 421
3, Honda 229
 
IDM 125, Results
1, Florian Alt, Germany, KTM
2, Philipp Oettl, Germany, KTM
3, Jack Miller, Australia, Aprilia
4, Luca Amato, Germany, Aprilia
5, Alexander Kristiansson, Sweden, KTM
 
IDM 125, Standings
1, Jack Miller, Australia, Aprilia, 141
2, Luca Amato, Germany, Aprilia, 128
3, Alexander Kristiansson, Sweden, KTM, 76
4, Luca Gruenwald, Germany, KTM, 71
5, Bryan Schouten, Netherlands, 65
Other KTM
6, Philipp Oettl, Germany, KTM, 60
9, Florian Alt, Germany, KTM, 54
10, Toni Finsterbusch, Germany, KTM, 52
14, Deni Cudic, Austria, KTM, 23