For Twan Smits⁠, the fourth round of the EURO MOTO Superbike Championship at Oschersleben developed into one of the most encouraging weekends of the season despite ending in disappointment. Traditionally one of the most challenging circuits on his calendar, the Dutchman exceeded expectations throughout the weekend aboard the Yamaha R1⁠ with Team APRECO⁠.

After progressing through Superpole 1, Smits continued his strong form in Superpole 2 to secure an impressive second place on the grid with a lap time of 1:24.188, just 0.622 seconds behind pole position.

“We didn’t have any expectations before the weekend because this is usually one of my worst tracks,” Smits explained. “So we really came here with a blank page, trying to make the best out of it. Slowly but surely we improved every single session, and making it through Superpole 1 into Superpole 2 with such a lap time was a really nice surprise.”

Strong pace ends in dramatic SBK Race 1 crash

After another excellent start, Smits quickly established himself inside the leading group and was running in second position.

SBK Race 1 came to a dramatic end after six laps when Smits suffered a catastrophic engine failure on the approach to the Hasseröder Corner while running in P2. The resulting oil on the circuit caused Smits to crash, with several riders behind also going down in the same incident. Fortunately, all riders escaped without serious injuries.

Because the race was stopped before reaching full distance, only half championship points were awarded.

“We knew our pace at the end of the race would be really strong,” Smits said. “Right at the moment where I felt my flow was coming, the engine blew up and I crashed together with four others. It was a really nasty accident.”

Team rebuilds the bike, rider forced to miss SBK Race 2

Despite the extensive damage from the crash, the mechanics of Team APRECO⁠ performed an incredible turnaround, rebuilding the heavily damaged Yamaha R1⁠ within just a few hours and making it ready for Sunday’s SBK Race 2.

However, after further medical assessment on Sunday morning, Smits was declared unfit to race and was forced to withdraw before the start, resulting in a DNS.

“It’s a really big shame to end the weekend like this because it was probably my least favourite track on the calendar, but at the same time the weekend with the biggest potential so far,” Smits reflected. “A huge thank you to the whole team for rebuilding the bike and doing everything they could to get it ready, even though in the end I wasn’t ready to race.”

Strong performance despite disappointing ending

Although the weekend ended without adding to his points tally, Oschersleben demonstrated the significant progress made by Twan Smits⁠ on one of his most challenging circuits. Advancing through Superpole 1, qualifying on the front row and running comfortably in second place before the engine failure highlighted the pace he and the team had found throughout the weekend.

With 81 championship points, Twan Smits⁠ remains fifth in the EURO MOTO Superbike Championship and will now focus on his recovery before returning to action at the next round.

Following the crash, Smits experienced significant pain in his left hand. After the race weekend, he underwent medical examinations, including X-rays. Fortunately, no injuries have been identified so far, although further medical evaluations are scheduled to rule out any hidden damage.

Pictures by Damon Teerink