Hannes Soomer

Hannes Soomer (born 17 February 1998), nicknamed Baltic Bullet, is an Estonian motorcycle racer. In 2017, he won the European Supersport Cup with WILSport Racedays. In 2026, he is racing for Masteroil Alpha Van Zon BMW in the EuroMoto Superbike Championship.

Career

Early career Soomer made his debut in the ADAC Minibike Cup at the season finale at the Sachsenring in 2006, finishing in seventh in race 1 and sixth in race 2 in Group B. He continued to race in the championship from 2008 to 2010 getting a race win in 2009, and finishing second in the standings in 2010, just two points behind the champion.

In 2011 and 2012, Soomer would race in the riding the Aprilia RS125. He achieved a podium in 2012 and finished fifth overall.

European Junior Cup in 2013, Soomer made his debut in the European Junior Cup, a one-make series that was held as a feeder series during the European rounds of the Superbike World Championship. He finished 22nd in the standings with a best finish of eighth in Imola. In 2014, he would continue to race in the championship, with a best result of fifth at Assen, finishing eighth in the standings. He continued to race in the series until 2016, but left mid-season to ride for Kallio Racing in the Supersport World Championship after gaining two race wins at Assen and Misano.

Supersport World Championship Soomer made his World Supersport debut in 2015, wildcarding for Kallio Racing at Magny-Cours, where he finished in 21st position. In 2016, he would again do wildcards for Kallio Racing at the Lausitzring, Magny-Cours, and Jerez, finishing 21st, 12th, and 19th respectively.

In 2017, Soomer competed in the European Supersport Cup on the CBR600RR of WILSport Racedays. He would take part in every race included in the European portion of the calendar, and won the cup at Jerez with 28 points, finishing 18th in the world standings. In 2018, Soomer would stay with the Racedays team and compete in the full world championship calendar for the first time. At the end of the season, he would finish in 16th, with a best result of seventh at Estoril. He continued with the team in 2019 and this time finished the season in 14th, with a best result of seventh at Misano. He missed the Portuguese round due to an injury he sustained the month prior.

In 2020, Soomer would move back to Kallio Racing on the Yamaha YZF-R6. He was a consistent top-ten finisher and ended up getting three podiums during the season, two of them at Magny-Cours, and the final one at Estoril. He finished ninth in the world standings. He remained with the team in 2021, missing two rounds (Most and Navarra) due to a leg injury. He finished the season in 12th with 105 championship points.

In 2022, Soomer would make the switch to the Dynavolt Triumph team, his teammate being Stefano Manzi. Soomer finished 13th in the standings with a best result of fifth in Race 2 at Assen.

Superbike World Championship In 2023, Petronas MIE Honda chose Soomer to race in place of Hafizh Syahrin for the Czech and French rounds due to an injury.

In 2026, Soomer replaced Danilo Petrucci at a test in Misano due to an injury he had sustained at the Czech round. After the test, on May 26th, it was announced that he would again be replacing Petrucci at the Aragón round and being absent from EuroMoto's second round at Brno.

IDM Superbike / EuroMoto Series

In 2023, Soomer made the switch from Supersport to Superbike, racing in the IDM Superbike championship with the Honda CBR1000RR. He started the season getting five podiums in a row at Sachsenring, Oschersleben, and Most respectively. He finished fourth in the standings with 185 championship points.

In 2024, Soomer switched to the BMW M1000RR. Before the start of the season, he sustained an injury at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and was unable to compete in the first round. At the third round at Most, in Race 1 Soomer would battle with Illia Mykhalchyk for the win until the final lap, where Soomer crashed in the penultimate corner, resulting in a DNF. At the fifth round at the Schleizer Dreieck, he would finish in eighth and tenth. At Assen, he finished second in both races. In the penultimate round at the Nürburgring, Soomer would finish second in Race 1 after battling for the win with Mykalchyk until the final lap. In Race 2, he would gain his first victory in the IDM, after battling for the win with Mykalchyk once again. Soomer would not take part in the final round at Hockenheim, due to an injury sustained at the Bol d'Or.

In 2025, Soomer made the switch to the factory team of BMW, that being Masteroil Alpha Van Zon BMW. He started the season off by getting a win and a second place finish at Oschersleben, followed by fourth and fifth place finishes at Schleiz, which had mixed weather. In Race 1 at Most, he won against Florian Alt by 0,059 seconds after battling with him for most of the race. In the fourth round at Oschersleben, Soomer started fifth on the grid for Race 1. On lap 13, Soomer passed Florian Alt for second, and crashed on the entry to the following corner, which resulted in a broken finger, causing him to not compete in Race 2. Soomer would return for the following round at Assen, finishing seventh in both races. At the Nürburgring, Soomer finished second and third in Race 1 and 2 respectively. In the final round at Hockenheim, Soomer started third on the grid for Race 1, which was red-flagged due to a crash that happened with Maximilian Kofler and Lorenzo Zanetti. After the restart, the race was once again red-flagged on lap 6. Soomer finished Race 1 in fourth position with half-points. In Race 2, Soomer finished 14th, after going off-track on lap 4 and crashing on lap 7, before remounting. Soomer finished the season in third, with 177.5 points.

In 2026, Soomer will continue to race for Masteroil Alpha Van Zon BMW, but instead in the EuroMoto Series.

FIM Endurance World Championship/World Cup In 2024, it was announced that Soomer would be the reserve rider for the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team and the fourth rider for the Tecmas-MRP-BMW Racing Team for the following season. He would race for Tecmas at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where he crashed in the early morning and injured his shoulder. The team would retire from the race later on due to a technical issue. Him and his team would go on to win the race. At the Bol d'Or, Soomer was racing in place of Sylvain Guintoli in the factory team. Starting from Pole, the team was consistently in the top-two positions for a big chunk of the race. In the early hours of the morning, Soomer would have a highside crash, where he fractured his upper-arm and dislocated his shoulder. He would ride the bike back into the pits, pulling out of the race. The team would go on to finish in fifth place.

On January 14, 2025, it was announced that Soomer would stay with the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team for 2025, as the fourth rider. At the Spa 8 Hours, he would race for Tecmas alongside Jan Bühn and Leandro Mercado, and went on to win the race in the Superstock class. Soomer would again race for Tecmas at the Bol d'Or, once again winning the race with the team in the Superstock class, and finishing 3rd overall.

On January 27, 2026 at the BMW Motorrad Team Launch in Portugal, it was announced that Soomer would partner up with Naomichi Uramoto and Sylvain Guintoli in the AutoRace Ube Racing Team for the 2026 season.

Career statistics

Supersport World Championship

By season

EuroMoto Championship

By season

Races by year (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Superbike World Championship

By season

By race (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

FIM Endurance World Championship/World Cup

By team

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Spa 8 Hours Motos results

Suzuka 8 Hours results

Bol d'Or results