| 7th out
of 47 starters. Quali: 9th. ~50 spectators Outstanding last race of the season for me (I will skip the last championship race). After a great start riding in 5th position in race 1, I moved up to 4th and closed the gap to 3rd, just a few seconds behind the leaders. In lap 9 just two and a half laps before the end, I set the guy in front of me up for a pass, but just when I was accelerating he made an unexpected mistake, came into my way and I went down over his rear wheel... damn it, that would have been the podium race position I was so much longing for! But after the disappointment settled, I was quite happy fighting for the first time for the race lead. My best race lap time was only 0.3 sec. slower than the fastest race time. Second race was all rain, solid performance considering that I suffered a cold and overall 7th. |
| Four weeks since the last race,. I used the time to get the bike
back in shape and worked on my fitness further. I also had one
motocross practice to stay in shape on the bike. Unfortunately, a
Octoberfest visit MOnday before the race gave me some cold, which
weakened me over the week and on race day, I felt 50:50 to stay home or
go. Didn't feel too weak, so decided to go and give it my best. Didn't
really help that it was pretty cold and it rained during the night and
more rain predicted for the day... also, there was a big Supermoto race
in Belgium, so rider and spectator turnout were low. But all the top
riders from the championship in my class showed up. |
| Track was wet in the morning, but no new rain came down. Since it
was quite cold, the track did not dry very quickly. I was in the third
group for practice and qualifying and I gambled on the rear tire,
putting the slick on although it was still wet on some oarts of the
track. Just before the start before practice, the bike wouldn't start.
Turned out that the battery was low... my mistake, I forgot to tell the
dealer to charge the battery. With the help of a handful people, we
managed to push the bike until it started, but it took full 10 minutes,
so no free practice and I was very exhausted from running. Tires were
also cold again. After three laps, the rear tire warmed up sufficiently
and in lap 4 I clocked my first fast lap. Track also got more dry every
minute, so this should have helped. First I tried to wait for the
usually fastest guy on this track to go behind him, but he didn't eat
the bait and stopped his lap. Then I tried to get another free lap, I
think I tried another three laps but in each lap, someone got in my way
and ruined it. I knew I could do faster and the times showed that
anythinh between 3rd and 7th would have been possible, but this way I
ended 9th... third row on the outside, not a bad starting position. Quali result: 9th |
| The race of the year really, of course didn'tt know before... ;-)
Before the race it was really tricky. Didn't really rain, but it was
predicted, really unclear. It was too risky to choose the slick tire on
the back, so decided to not risk anything and go for rain tires front
and back like most others. The good old Pirelli/Metzeler combo. I
came off the grid ok, not brilliant, but stayed on the outside. The
crowd gathered inside and braked early, I carried the speed on
the outside and came out of the first corner on 5th position! The
front group stayed together the following group, the leaders could not
pull away. I was ok in the offroad, lost a little bit out of the
offroad part, but always moved up quickly to the guys in front after
the first corner after the start/finish straight on asphalt. In lap
seven, I moved upclose in that corner and accelerated faster into
the next right turn and went by! 4th position and moving away quickly.
Next two laps, I managed to put a little distance between me and him
and move up to the guy in front of me, the two leaders only few seconds
away. I was faster so I checked where I could try a pass. Two
opportunities really, one was after a tight left turn onto a long
straight before the offroad. So in lap 10, I braked later, turned in
earlier to cut the corner short and hit the gas little earlier then the
guy in front to accelerate faster on the inside. Just at that moment,
he made a mistake, slipped, turned unexpected to the inside into
my line and slowed down... bad combination, I tried to avoid the
contact and go behind his rear wheel to the outside but it was too late
- I crahed into him and went down over his wheel... he didn't fall and
continued. Until I picked up the bike, I lost three positions and
continued on 7th, just before the following guy. I defended 7th for the
last two laps and thus finished 7th. Never came so close to the front this year, my fasted lap time was just 0.3sec. slower than the fastest lap time of the race. So, very happy with my performance, unlucky on the result this time. Race 1 result: 7th |
| It started raining before the second race and it got really wet. My
rear tire was not fresh anymore even before this race, but after the
first race, it was gone. Luckily, I could get a new one at the track,
although not my preferred choice, still better than a totally used old
one. It rained from the beginning, not hard but constantly. I had again
an okay start, this time two riders moved to the outside in front of
me, so I couldn't carry the speed through the corner. Then it got
really crowded before the next right turn, but I used my elbows a
little to defend my 6th position. Again, first four laps the leading
group of seven riders stayed pretty much together. The guy behind me
was really strong on the little offroad part, in lap three showed
himself the first time next to me, but could defeat him. In lap four he
was just too fast and went by at the same spot. I could follow him and
he passed another guy in lap seven. Rain continued and it got really
slippery. I didn't want to risk too much, got closer to the guy in
front of me sometimes, then lost again a little. In the end, I secured 7th position. Race 2 result: 7th Overall: 7th |
| Now season is over for me, but after the season is before the
season. Bike will be cleaned, completly overhauled and get ready for
the next season! Thanks to IZOD for the great support this year!! |