After injuring his hand, Martin Bauer finished in second and fourth places, reclaiming his lead in the overall standings.

After the Saturday qualifying sessions Martin Bauer (KTM) wasn’t sure whether his injured hand would even allow him to ride on Sunday. But with a strong will and his physiotherapist’s help, he managed to appear at the starting line and finish in an amazing second place, after riding with an average speed of 190 km/h. Maybe his excellent performance was also partly the result of the support of approximately 500 KTM employees from nearby Mattighofen, who were cheering for him at the circuit. He reclaimed his lead in the overall standings already in the first race, and then went on to ride in the second as well, finishing in fourth, after the race had been interrupted due to rain, which worked in his favor.

Now the hero has three weeks to rest before the next race: “Without a doubt the hardest race weekend of my career. It was important for me to get a good start in both races to enable me to ride together with those at the front. I only managed to secure second place in the first race in the third last corner. It was a good thing that the second race was stopped because I’m not sure I would’ve been able to ride the last four laps. What I really need now is a vacation. Many thanks go to my two physiotherapists Erwin Göllner and Dr. Thierry Murrisch—without their help it would’ve been impossible to return to the top of the standings.”

Bauer leads the German International Superbike Championship with 146 points, followed by Karl Muggeride (Honda) with 134 points and Michael Ranseder (BMW) with 129 points.

Photo: Buenos Dias / KTM