Meklau closes the gap

From Team Suzuki

Two podium places at Sunday's Sachsenring round put Andreas Meklau closer to the lead in the International German Superbike Championship (IDM).

The 40-year-old Austrian, who rides for Team Suzuki International Europe, qualified for the front row of the starting grid. In the first heat he took third place behind Jorg Teuchert (Yamaha) and Martin Bauer (Honda) and in the second, Meklau was in the lead and looked all set for his first win of the season until Belgian Suzuki rider Werner Daemen crashed and the race was stopped.

After the restart, nine more laps had to be completed. Meklau chose a softer tire mix for the second half of the race but was unable to catch Teuchert. Third place went to the Swiss Suzuki rider Roman Stamm.

Choosing the correct front tire mix was a game of chance," Meklau said. "Jorg Teuchert reaped the benefit. In the first heat my tires were better, but later he made good a lot of ground in a very short time. Everything was OK in the second heat until it was restarted and I chose the wrong tires. But we were very close to success."

Heat 1: 1. Jörg Teuchert (D, Yamaha), 2. Martin Bauer (A, Honda), 3. Andy Meklau (A, Suzuki), 4. Werner Daemen (B, Suzuki), 5. Kai-Borre Andersen (NOR, MV Agusta), 6. Roman Stamm (CH, Suzuki), 7. Dominic Lammert (D, Suzuki), 8. Dario Giuseppetti (D, Ducati), 9. Chris Zaiser (A, Ducati), 10. Gábor Rizmayer (H, Suzuki)

Heat 2: 1. Jorg Teuchert (D, Yamaha), 2. Andy Meklau (A, Suzuki), 3. Roman Stamm (CH, Suzuki), 4. Werner Daemen (B, Suzuki), 5. Chris Zaiser (A, Ducati). 6. Kai-Borre Andersen (NOR, MV Agusta), 7. Olivier Depoorter (B, Suzuki), 8. Gábor Rizmayer (H, Suzuki), 9. Christian Kellner (D, Ducati), 10. Günther Knobloch (A, Ducati)

Championship points: 1. Bauer 170, 2. Meklau 130, 3. Teuchert 130, 4. Daemen 118, 5. Stamm 81, 6. Lammert 54, 7. Zaiser 52, 8. Depoorter 47, 9. Andersen 45, 10. Kellner 41