Bernd Hiemer came home second in the penultimate Supermoto 1 Grand Prix in Busca, Italy on Sunday, a result that boosted his confidence on a day where he said he felt less than 100%.
The KTM S1 Factory rider said he had experienced no problems with his KTM machine but had felt a little out of sorts on race day. "Training on Saturday was not perfect and then I did not sleep very well. I can't quite put my finger on what was wrong but I just didn't feel that well on Sunday, even though my second place was a good confidence booster."
Hiemer said he did not get a good start in the first moto and although he performed quite well on the asphalt there were few overtaking opportunities and he had to settle for fourth place. He launched his attack in the second moto with a more confident and aggressive start and was able to finish third, scoring enough aggregate points for second overall on the day.
"I felt there were places where I could have been faster today so I will have to go away and analyze the data very carefully before the final race in Athens," the German racer said.
With one GP left on the calendar, Hiemer is lying in fifth place in the championship standings.
Results
1. Adrien Chareyre, France, Husqvarna
2. Bernd Hiemer, Germany, KTM
3. Jerome Giraudo, France, Aprilia
4. Thierry van den Bosch, France, Aprilia
5. Ivan Lazzarini, Italy, Yamaha