In a 15-lap race in wet conditions, Tobias Kitzbichler took his second victory of the season on Saturday in Race 1 at the Sachsenring as he comprehensively blitzed the competition, finishing more than seven seconds ahead of rivals Antione Nativi (Racing Nativi Team) and Tom Rolin (Junior Black Knights).
Saturday’s race 1 was delayed by more than an hour due to severe rain, but when the lights went out the sky was clear. Into the first corner, it was Belgian Rolin who took the holeshot ahead of his rivals. But, it wasn’t long before Kitzbichler overtook the leader and began building a gap at the front in a performance reminiscent of Round 1 at Assen where he did the same in similar conditions.
As Kitzbichler stormed off into the distance, exorcising his DNF demons from Round 2 at the Sachsenring earlier in the season, the rest of the field was left to fight for the remaining two podium places. The chasing pack consisted of Rolin, Jurrien Van Crugten (BB64 Academy), Nativi and Alessandro Binder (Kiefer Racing), Levin Phommara (Phommara-Racing), and Ferre Fleerackers (Junior Black Knights), but it was Van Crugten and Rolin who were scrapping it out at the front, swapping places lap after lap.
As the race neared its end, with Kitzbichler far off in the distance, the chasing pack had been reduced to just four riders: Rolin, Van Crugten, Nativi, and Binder. Rolin and Van Crugten were still trading places, but Frenchman Nativi was playing it smart, keeping his powder dry for a last-lap penultimate corner overtake that caught his rivals by surprise and gave him the coveted second spot on the rostrum, ahead of Rolin in third, Van Crugten in fourth and Binder in fifth.
Huge shout out to Valdemar Mellgren (Nordgren Racing), who started 18th on the grid, for claiming an incredible sixth-place finish ahead of friend and rival Richard Irmscher (Racingteam Irmscher) in seventh.
