Supermoto is a discipline of its own. To succeed in it, you primarily need one thing: endurance. This \u2013 and much more \u2013 is what this year\u2019s FIM S1GP SuperMoto World Champion, Lukas H\u00f6llbacher, brings to the table. In this interview, the charismatic Upper Austrian shares his highlights, challenges, and the story behind his nickname, \u201cFastest Baker.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s simply overwhelming. Becoming World Champion has been my biggest dream since I started competing in the World Championship in 2014, and now that it has come true, it means an incredible amount to me. Even though it happened under special circumstances, it feels one hundred percent deserved because honesty counts in sports, and that\u2019s exactly what I stand for. With the double World Champion title in 2025, the Supermoto of Nations, and the individual World Championship, it\u2019s clearly the best year of my career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Supermoto is a blend of offroad and onroad racing. Tracks usually consist of about 70% asphalt and 30% offroad. Riders compete on\u00a0450\u00a0cc Supermoto<\/u><\/strong>\u00a0bikes based on motocross machines but equipped with slick tires, bigger brakes, and a stiffer, shorter suspension. Races are similar to motocross: 25\u2011minute heats with 25\u201330 riders. The challenge is setting up the bike to work on both surfaces \u2013 stiff, precise, and agile on asphalt, yet softer and more compliant offroad. Finding that \u201cgolden middle ground\u201d isn\u2019t easy. Mentally, the discipline is extremely demanding. Today, many national championships exist alongside the World Championship, which now takes place almost exclusively in Europe because overseas events are difficult to fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I started on 50 cc bikes. Back then, there were Supermoto races on the company grounds in Mattighofen, including kids\u2019 classes. My dad raced, and my sister Laura and I simply joined in. That\u2019s how it all began. At the time, there were more training opportunities \u2013 parking lots, local events, border\u2011region races. Soon we were racing in Germany, Switzerland, and Italy. At 17, I was largely on my own because my family had to run the bakery at home. But I always had good people around me who taught me a lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It actually happened gradually. The peak of professional Supermoto was around 2010, but that\u2019s exactly when things began to decline \u2013 manufacturers pulled their factory teams, budgets shrank. So I didn\u2019t really have active role models. I became competitive quickly and raced against riders like Bernd Hiemer who were nearing the end of their careers. Being \u201cprofessional\u201d in the sense of making a living from the sport wasn\u2019t really possible \u2013 there was technical and material support, but rarely financial support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019ve always ridden KTM. Technically, KTM was the best foundation for me \u2013 reliable components, strong parts availability, and a competitive package for the season. The support was always there, giving me what I needed to win.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Supermoto is a discipline of its own. To succeed in it, you primarily need one thing: endurance. This \u2013 and much more \u2013 is what this year\u2019s FIM S1GP SuperMoto World Champion, Lukas H\u00f6llbacher, brings to the table. In this interview, the charismatic Upper Austrian shares his highlights, challenges, and the story behind his nickname, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":495,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-527","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/stategroupintl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/KTM-2026-Blogstory-Hoellbacher-FeatureImage.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stategroupintl.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/527","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stategroupintl.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stategroupintl.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stategroupintl.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stategroupintl.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=527"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stategroupintl.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/527\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":528,"href":"https:\/\/stategroupintl.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/527\/revisions\/528"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stategroupintl.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stategroupintl.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=527"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stategroupintl.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=527"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stategroupintl.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}How did you get started? What or who inspired you to ride Supermoto?<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Was there a moment when you knew you wanted to pursue this professionally?<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
What role did KTM play for you in that journey?<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n