15th within last year’s IRRC Superbike Championship, after scoring points finishes at Hengelo, Horice and Frohburg, up-coming German roads talent Johannes Schwimmbeck is widely tipped to impress throughout IRRC affiliated events in 2023.
Remaining with the MTP Racing squad, he’s set to race like team-mate, fellow countryman David Datzer high-spec S1000RR BMW machinery.
Late February, early March has seen Schwimmbeck ramp up pre-season preparations, at test sessions in Spain.
Post a three-day test in Almeria, he finished outright fourth fastest, lapping five seconds plus quicker than from a prior Almeria test outing in 2022.
At Calafat, it was P4 again on the overall time sheets, only bested by esteemed racers including Manx GP, North West 200 winner Pierre Yves Bian and TT Races lap record holder Peter Hickman.
Although still relatively new to the real-roads scene, Schwimmbeck already has ambitions of tackling in the near future, the fabled, mythical Mountain Course.
For now, though, attentions are firmly on the IRRC and maintaining solid, consistent improvement in Europe’s premier road race series.
Photo courtesy of Matthias Wolfstein
Words by Stevie Rial #dontletfearcontrolyou