Another victory for Jan Deitenbach
Jan Deitenbach also claimed overall victory at the second round of the International German SuperMoto Championship. In Wittgenborn (Hesse), the rider from the JD44 Racing – Hertrampf Gruppe team impressively defended his lead in the standings. After a close second place in the first race, he secured a commanding start-finish victory in the second race.
Just a week earlier, however, things looked very different: During a training session, Deitenbach injured his back and had to undergo physiotherapy all week. Just halfway mobile again, he traveled to Hesse on Friday – only to fall heavily during the first training session in the afternoon. His knee, hip and of course his back were badly affected. “What a bummer, my first crash of the year,” he said angrily in the evening.
In free practice, he still managed seventh place – despite severe pain in his legs. On site, equipment supplier ORTEMA fitted the leg protectors individually, which already brought noticeable relief. In qualifying, Deitenbach even took first place for a while. In the end, he was just 0.011 seconds off pole position. “It’s a shame, but after this week I’m very happy to accept that,” said Deitenbach. “I definitely didn’t expect that this morning. Let’s see how it goes over the race distance tomorrow.”
The race day began in cool temperatures. However, Jan Deitenbach took the lead from second place at the start, unimpressed. Shortly afterwards, his strongest rival from the season opener, Marcus Class, had his rear wheel in his sights. The two quickly pulled away from the rest of the field and delivered a thrilling duel for the spectators. After a small mistake in the middle of the race, Deitenbach had to relinquish the lead – and was unable to find an opportunity to counterattack. In the end, only 0.2 seconds separated him from victory. “A bit annoying, of course,” said Deitenbach at the award ceremony. “But under these circumstances, it feels like a victory. And to be honest – I just wasn’t driving well enough until the overtaking maneuver.”
The clouds disappeared for the second race in the afternoon and the track was much warmer. Deitenbach won the start again and immediately pulled away. After the first lap, he already had a lead of over a second – it quickly became more than two. Marcus Class stayed close, but Deitenbach had an answer to every attack and extended his lead to over three seconds by the finish. On the last lap, he was even able to slow down a little and celebrate a secure second win of the season. “Amazing – a start-to-finish victory and defending ‘1’ in the championship, what more could you want,” he said happily at the award ceremony. “But it was really exhausting to drive every lap perfectly for the entire race. That’s exactly what we train for. Thanks to my small team, my family and my partners – these successes would not be possible without you!”
Photos byMazzes Fotomatrix – Reprint free of charge
