| Brandon Schmidt got his 2026 EuroMoto Kawasaki ZX-6R Cup season off in style last weekend, powering his #13 BikeSmith Kawasaki into the top five on his debut weekend in the class.
Schmidt, who finished third overall in last year’s ADAC Junior Cup has adapted quickly to his new challenge – a heavier bike with more power and more speed.
Fastest in one of the Free Practice sessions and second in the other on a damp Friday at the Sachsenring, Brandon showed his skill in tricky conditions.
Brandon Schmidt got his 2026 EuroMoto Kawasaki ZX-6R Cup season off in style last weekend, powering his #13 BikeSmith Kawasaki into the top five on his debut weekend in the class.
Schmidt, who finished third overall in last year’s ADAC Junior Cup has adapted quickly to his new challenge – a heavier bike with more power and more speed.
Fastest in one of the Free Practice sessions and second in the other on a damp Friday at the Sachsenring, Brandon showed his skill in tricky conditions.
Qualifying on the third row of the grid on Saturday he proved his pace was also there in the dry.
Race one saw the talented teen cross the line eighth after an impressive start saw him in contention for the top three in the opening laps. Sunday’s second race saw another step forward in terms of his personal best lap time. Another strong start saw him running fourth, before he dropped to sixth, where he stayed for most of the race. Lapping consistently faster than race one on Saturday, he took fifth at the flag to round out a positive and confidence building opening round.
Brandon’s next race takes place at the Brno circuit in Czechia at the end of May.
Brandon Schmidt: “I was P2 for the first lap in Race One, but I had a big slide at the last corner and was then sliding so much more than the others. The change we made wasn’t the way we should have gone as I spent most of the race trying to manage the tyre but at least now, we have a direction to follow. I am not entirely happy as I think we could have finished higher but it’s solid points for the championship and it gave us good data. Race two was way better. We went back to the original settings that I used in qualifying, and I felt much more comfortable. I made another good start and finished the first lap in fourth. I held fourth for a couple of laps before I got overtaken but I was able to stay with the group and ran P6 for most of the race. I had a lot of sliding with the rear of the bike, but I think that’s just part of racing a 600cc bike. I improved my lap time by over a second which is a good improvement, and I am quite happy with the progress we made throughout the weekend. I finished P5 in the end, but we have made a good start, and we can build from there. Thank you to everyone who is supporting me this year – see you all in Brno.”
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