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RACE IN VALKENSWAARD, 12-JUNE 2011
Summary

27th out of 86 starters. Quali: 27th
Catastrophic race... whoever says "start is not everything", think again... In practice and qualifying, I suffered serious arm pump (lower arm muscle pain) due to a combination of issues: very difficult sand offroad, new leather gloves and long break. On top, a crash in one of the last qualifying laps didn't allow for another fast lap. Another 1st moto crash did the rest, so a race to forget.
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Race Prep

In the four weeks between the races, I could only ride once. Great was the visit of the Indy 500 though, great experience! Also, I could not really train otherwise, so the fitness level slipped leading to the race in Valkenswaard. Still felt very confident due to the great result in the last race.
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Qualifying

I decided to wear new leather gloves that I have tested without issues in the last practice on a cart track. Generally, I have problems with these stiffer leather gloves that are normally used in Supermoto. I do suffer arm pump from time to time especially at the beginning of a season or after not riding for a while, a lower arm muscle pain caused by muscle tissue that can be caused by such gloves. Valkenswaard has a very fast straight with a fast right turn at the end, so since these gloves provide better protection, I decided to try them. Huge mistake... In Valkenswaard, they put a monster sand offroad in place, something that adds to arm pump issues, so all together, worst case happened. After free practice, the arms hurt and I tried to relax as much as possible to get it out before qualifying ended. So hopes were on the last six minutes. Then, I crashed in the second lap and time ran out. I didn't know that dropping down he ranks to that extent is possible, but the result was devastating. This starting position gave little hope...
Quali result: 27th
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Race 1

Start to the first moto was okayish, gained some positions during first turn. After half a lap, I was up in the top 20, moving forward. Then it happened, I lost the front end over a sand bump in the offroad and went down. Another rider ran into my back and bent my exhaust inward, causing the rear tire to hit against it. Break lever was also pointing down and couldn't be fully fixed. I thought for a second to retire, but then thought I could try to see what's possible. So, did my best and finished 32nd. It turned out that on asphalt, the riders around me were clearly slower but I couldn't pass well and in the offroad with more different lines and passing opportunities, I was simply too slow. No excuses here, the only hope was a better start and no crash in moto two.
Race 1 result: 32nd
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Race 2

Start was not as good as in the first moto, I got stuck in traffic and came out of the first two laps around position 24. Over the next laps, the gap to the six to ten positions forward remained the same and again I was held up on the asphalt and was too slow in the offroad. To make matters worse, I lost positions in the offroad in the last laps and fell back to 27th position. Overall, this meant postion 27 in the overall daily classification. This was clearly not my day!
Race 2 result: 27th
Overall: 27th
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Next race

The next race is on 19 June in Hellendoorn, where I hope for a more "normal" layout. I hope I have learned my lessons and can get a better qualifying. Also, I better do some Motocross training, ideally on sandy tracks...
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Pictures
Check out the web album here