The Nürburgring marked only the second EURO MOTO Supersport event for Max Stauffer⁠ on the Yamaha R9⁠ after making the step up from the Yamaha R7 Sportbike.

With an additional test day on Thursday, Stauffer had valuable extra track time to continue adapting to the Supersport machine. The progress became increasingly visible throughout the weekend, culminating in eighth on the grid and points finishes in both races.

Valuable track time on the R9

With only one previous race weekend on the Yamaha R9 behind him, every lap remains an important part of Stauffer’s adaptation to the new category.

The additional Thursday test provided an opportunity to experiment with the setup before the official EURO MOTO sessions began.

Throughout Thursday and Friday, Stauffer and his crew made numerous changes to the R9 and gradually found a better direction.

In the combined Free Practice classification, Stauffer finished eighth with a 1:28.509, 1.869 seconds behind the fastest time set by Dirk Geiger⁠.

“We made a lot of progress this weekend and improved the bike quite a lot. We changed many things on the bike, and in qualifying we were by far the closest we’ve been to pole so far. The steps definitely weren’t too bad.”

Closing the gap in qualifying

Saturday morning’s Q1 was affected by the wet track, meaning the decisive qualifying times came once conditions improved.

Stauffer made another significant step compared to Friday, improving to a 1:27.440 and securing eighth position on the grid.

More importantly, the gap to pole had been reduced to just 1.204 seconds. For only his second weekend competing on the Yamaha R9⁠, it was another encouraging sign of the progress being made.

Race 1: first points of the Nürburgring weekend

Starting from eighth, Stauffer faced his next challenge: translating the improved one-lap performance into consistent race pace.

He completed Race 1 in ninth position, crossing the line 28.629 seconds behind race winner Geiger. His fastest lap was a 1:28.098.

P9 earned Stauffer eight championship points and provided another full race distance of valuable experience on the R9.

At the same time, the race highlighted the next area of focus for Stauffer and his crew.

“The races are something we still need to work on a little bit. But I think we now have a direction we can go in for Hockenheim.”

Race 2: another top-ten finish

Stauffer returned on Sunday looking to build on the experience gained in the opening race.

He completed the second race in tenth position, 26.429 seconds behind Geiger, who completed his Nürburgring double at the front.

Stauffer’s fastest lap of 1:27.854 was also an improvement compared to Race 1, while P10 added another seven championship points.

With P9 and P10, Stauffer therefore completed his second EURO MOTO weekend on the R9 with two top-ten finishes and 15 championship points.

Progress continues ahead of Hockenheim

While the outright results remain only one part of the picture at this stage, the Nürburgring showed clear progress for Max Stauffer⁠.

From a 1:28.509 in Free Practice, he improved by more than a second to a 1:27.440 in qualifying and reduced his deficit to pole to 1.204 seconds. Both races then provided further experience with the R9 over a full race distance.

“From here on, we’ve just got to keep working as hard as we can to be as good as we can.”

After making the step from the Yamaha R7 Sportbike to the Yamaha R9⁠, Stauffer has now completed two EURO MOTO Supersport weekends on the new bike. With another 15 points collected at the Nürburgring and a clearer direction with the setup, the focus now turns to taking the next step at the Hockenheim season finale.