Regards,
Stephan
Pictures from Porvoo
EML - HUSABERG - AYR
Thursday, 22 September 2011
Porvoo field trip 17.09.2011
Hi all,
Last Saturday we went to Porvoo to spend the afternoon riding at a harvested field. This would have been a great opportunity for people interested in sidecar motocross to give it a try. The track was winding nicely around the field with a lot of smooth corners. In spite of some publicity only a small group arrived at location, less then 30 persons. We still had a good time and people tried the jobs of driver or passenger and rode different hacks.
Regards,
Stephan
Pictures from Porvoo
Regards,
Stephan
Pictures from Porvoo
Monday, 12 September 2011
Orimattila, final round for the Finnish Championship
Hi all,
this was the last race for the Finnish championship and also for this season. After 22 races it's good to stay at home again for the weekends (for a while). The whole week prior to the race it has been raining regularly. The track was very soft and heavy but ride-able. The Orimattila track is half sand, half clay. With reinforcements from Estonia and Sweden 12 teams arrived at the paddock. The exemption of the entry fee for foreign teams had attracted their interest. Maybe this example will be followed by other organizers next season and hopefully there will be no overlapping events as many as this year.
Back to the race; as expected with the short stroked Husaberg engine there's not much to prove when confronted with a soft and heavy track. 10th position in the training and one team crashed and was out of the race already.
Before the first start the organization cleaned the worst mud from the track and that helped a lot.The start was as expected, we just followed the others in the first corners. The positive thing of arriving with a little delay is that you can avoid the first corner pile-up and pick up a few places. But in this soft sand and clay it's not taking very long before the faster teams start to re-pass. We ended up behind the Swedish team and started to push for a pass. They used a fat two-stroke Zabel and at every straight they made a gap we were able to close in the corners but didn't get the opportunity to finalize it. After the first lap the rear brake pedal was blocked by mud and didn't operate anymore. Then after 2 laps we started to hear a strange metallic noise that became more and more frequent the next laps. And after four laps a tube from the cooling system popped off. That was the end of our part in this heat. Luckily it happened on the starting straight, short walk back to the paddock.
We pushed the hack back to the paddock and found that Pöllänen/Lehtinen were also there with a boiling engine. When we checked the sidecar we noticed that the rear sprocket was completely worn out and the chain had jumped causing the metallic noise we heard. The wet sand had shortened the sprocket's life remarkably.
The second start was a repetition of the first. 2 teams got technical problems in the first lap and we held the last position during the whole heat. There was never a real change to close the gap with the teams in front of us. I decided to save the engine and just finish the race. Behind Pöllänen/Lehtinen we ended at the ninth position. In the total standing we dropped one position and the fifth spot is the result of our efforts this year. 2 DNF's did cost us points but also a problem was that all the races this year in Finland took place on muddy and heavy tracks where our engine wasn't the best choice.
For now we continue with training sessions and Mikael starts to drive by himself with a friend of him. I'm going to have a good beer and intend to test some other team's equipment. Next Saturday we've planned to have a test day on a farming field in Porvoo. Hopefully we'll see some new faces interested to give sidecar motocross a try.
Regards,
Stephan
Results Orimattila 10.09.2011 (sv = sidecars)
trip Orimattila 10.09.2011
this was the last race for the Finnish championship and also for this season. After 22 races it's good to stay at home again for the weekends (for a while). The whole week prior to the race it has been raining regularly. The track was very soft and heavy but ride-able. The Orimattila track is half sand, half clay. With reinforcements from Estonia and Sweden 12 teams arrived at the paddock. The exemption of the entry fee for foreign teams had attracted their interest. Maybe this example will be followed by other organizers next season and hopefully there will be no overlapping events as many as this year.
Back to the race; as expected with the short stroked Husaberg engine there's not much to prove when confronted with a soft and heavy track. 10th position in the training and one team crashed and was out of the race already.
Before the first start the organization cleaned the worst mud from the track and that helped a lot.The start was as expected, we just followed the others in the first corners. The positive thing of arriving with a little delay is that you can avoid the first corner pile-up and pick up a few places. But in this soft sand and clay it's not taking very long before the faster teams start to re-pass. We ended up behind the Swedish team and started to push for a pass. They used a fat two-stroke Zabel and at every straight they made a gap we were able to close in the corners but didn't get the opportunity to finalize it. After the first lap the rear brake pedal was blocked by mud and didn't operate anymore. Then after 2 laps we started to hear a strange metallic noise that became more and more frequent the next laps. And after four laps a tube from the cooling system popped off. That was the end of our part in this heat. Luckily it happened on the starting straight, short walk back to the paddock.
We pushed the hack back to the paddock and found that Pöllänen/Lehtinen were also there with a boiling engine. When we checked the sidecar we noticed that the rear sprocket was completely worn out and the chain had jumped causing the metallic noise we heard. The wet sand had shortened the sprocket's life remarkably.
The second start was a repetition of the first. 2 teams got technical problems in the first lap and we held the last position during the whole heat. There was never a real change to close the gap with the teams in front of us. I decided to save the engine and just finish the race. Behind Pöllänen/Lehtinen we ended at the ninth position. In the total standing we dropped one position and the fifth spot is the result of our efforts this year. 2 DNF's did cost us points but also a problem was that all the races this year in Finland took place on muddy and heavy tracks where our engine wasn't the best choice.
For now we continue with training sessions and Mikael starts to drive by himself with a friend of him. I'm going to have a good beer and intend to test some other team's equipment. Next Saturday we've planned to have a test day on a farming field in Porvoo. Hopefully we'll see some new faces interested to give sidecar motocross a try.
Regards,
Stephan
Results Orimattila 10.09.2011 (sv = sidecars)
trip Orimattila 10.09.2011
Sunday, 11 September 2011
Gulbene, Latvian Championship 04.09
Hello again,
This was the eight and last race of the Latvian championship series. At Saturday we took the 10:30 ferry to Tallinn. Panu was travelling with us and let's hope his pictures succeeded. The team of Aronen/Mantila had left earlier that week to Denmark for the Slagelse GP. Because we weren't in a hurry we crossed the Estonian/Latvian border at Mõisaküla, a little bit of sightseeing trip. We had dinner in Park Hotel Bruzis, Smiltene. We've been there before and the restaurant serves good food.
It started to get dark when we continued for the last 100 kilometers to our hotel for the night. I had booked a hotel based on location and price, you know our budget is always pressed and the choice this time was hotel Grasu Pils located near Cesvaine.
Finding this hotel in the dark somewhere in the countryside was not easy. Luckily Panu had his navigator with him and even with it's help we were in doubt when following gravel roads deeper and deeper in the dark countryside. But then in the middle of nowhere there it was... suits us good. A manor from the 17th century. In Latvia and Estonia you can have a wonderfull holiday travelling around especially when you like history and architecture.
Driving trough the place Cesvaine we passed the local palace, yes a palace! Unfortunately we didn't had time to have a better look at the surroundings and these buildings. It was sidecar motocross for what we came for.
The next morning it was only a short trip to the Gulbene track but there were many dark and low rain clouds with now and then deep fog over the road. We've been before in Gulbene and the race was canceled halfway due to the bad conditions.
Arriving at the paddock we were happy to see that the track was okay. Well watered of course but no deep mud like 2 years ago. The sun broke trough and it was warming up slowly. The Gulbene track is mainly based on reddish clay, traditional for Latvia, and a few corners with deep sand. There's a steep climb in the mid section of the track. Only 12 teams had found their way to Gulbene. We achieved the 10th position in the training.
The starting area was still very soft and we ended up in the back of the pack. We passed quickly Vâpa/Macs but then we weren't able to pass Ivanov/Jalas. Lap after lap we tried to cut the corners and pass them from the inside line but they kept the door closed. In the last part of the heat a Latvian team got stuck in front of us for a little moment and we used this situation to get aside but the Latvian passenger was running in front of us to his waiting driver and I had to shut of. After that we didn't get a change to pass whatever we tried. It was a good race only I would have liked to make the pass we intended, 10th position for us.
For the start of the second heat I did choose a different place behind the gate because the surface was a little bit harder there. This helped and our start was much better now. Halfway a Latvian team passed us and we had Ivanov/Jalas behind us. At lap 6 they passed us at the sandy part of the track. We just didn't had the power to get a good drive out of a corner with deep soft sand. The next corner they had the inside line and that was it. Again 10th position for us.
After the race we had a little party with cake and champaign to celebrate the new Veteran class champions, Vâpa/Macs. In the final standings for the Latvian championship we ended at the 15th position and for the veteran championship we became third. To bad we had to skip 2 races because of overlapping events in Finland. This plus 2 DNF's at the first 2 races in Latvia made our changes at a better end result very difficult. On our way back we stopped once more in Smiltene at Park Hotel Bruzis for dinner. Our hotel was in Valmiera from where we continued the next morning to Tallinn.
Regards,
Stephan
Trip Gulbene 3-5.9.2011
Results Gulbene (bv = sidecars)
This was the eight and last race of the Latvian championship series. At Saturday we took the 10:30 ferry to Tallinn. Panu was travelling with us and let's hope his pictures succeeded. The team of Aronen/Mantila had left earlier that week to Denmark for the Slagelse GP. Because we weren't in a hurry we crossed the Estonian/Latvian border at Mõisaküla, a little bit of sightseeing trip. We had dinner in Park Hotel Bruzis, Smiltene. We've been there before and the restaurant serves good food.
It started to get dark when we continued for the last 100 kilometers to our hotel for the night. I had booked a hotel based on location and price, you know our budget is always pressed and the choice this time was hotel Grasu Pils located near Cesvaine.
Driving trough the place Cesvaine we passed the local palace, yes a palace! Unfortunately we didn't had time to have a better look at the surroundings and these buildings. It was sidecar motocross for what we came for.The next morning it was only a short trip to the Gulbene track but there were many dark and low rain clouds with now and then deep fog over the road. We've been before in Gulbene and the race was canceled halfway due to the bad conditions.
Arriving at the paddock we were happy to see that the track was okay. Well watered of course but no deep mud like 2 years ago. The sun broke trough and it was warming up slowly. The Gulbene track is mainly based on reddish clay, traditional for Latvia, and a few corners with deep sand. There's a steep climb in the mid section of the track. Only 12 teams had found their way to Gulbene. We achieved the 10th position in the training.
The starting area was still very soft and we ended up in the back of the pack. We passed quickly Vâpa/Macs but then we weren't able to pass Ivanov/Jalas. Lap after lap we tried to cut the corners and pass them from the inside line but they kept the door closed. In the last part of the heat a Latvian team got stuck in front of us for a little moment and we used this situation to get aside but the Latvian passenger was running in front of us to his waiting driver and I had to shut of. After that we didn't get a change to pass whatever we tried. It was a good race only I would have liked to make the pass we intended, 10th position for us.
For the start of the second heat I did choose a different place behind the gate because the surface was a little bit harder there. This helped and our start was much better now. Halfway a Latvian team passed us and we had Ivanov/Jalas behind us. At lap 6 they passed us at the sandy part of the track. We just didn't had the power to get a good drive out of a corner with deep soft sand. The next corner they had the inside line and that was it. Again 10th position for us.
After the race we had a little party with cake and champaign to celebrate the new Veteran class champions, Vâpa/Macs. In the final standings for the Latvian championship we ended at the 15th position and for the veteran championship we became third. To bad we had to skip 2 races because of overlapping events in Finland. This plus 2 DNF's at the first 2 races in Latvia made our changes at a better end result very difficult. On our way back we stopped once more in Smiltene at Park Hotel Bruzis for dinner. Our hotel was in Valmiera from where we continued the next morning to Tallinn.
Regards,
Stephan
Trip Gulbene 3-5.9.2011
Results Gulbene (bv = sidecars)
Tuesday, 6 September 2011
Tihemetsa 28.08 Estonian Championship
The fourth and last race for the Estonian championship was held in Tihemetsa near Pärnu. A short trip this time and our hotel was located in Pärnu were we arrived Saturday early in the evening. We had time enough to go to the paddock and walk the track. Aronen/Mantila joined us during our exploring trip. The Tihemetsa track was sandy and laid out partly between trees.
Based on my origin I should do very well at a track like this but I prefer harder tracks actually. On a track like this the bike is very lively and in combination with a short stroked engine it's very demanding to keep up enough speed all the time. 18 entries and last position for us during the 2 training sessions. The difference with the teams in front of us wasn't very much but I knew that when the track wears out, we wouldn't be able to close the gap.
Second row start and I didn't really push because we didn't had any change to prove something here. It started to rain and my tear off system's cord broke on top of this. We struggled until halfway but then my vision was so bad that it became necessary to remove my goggle. we did the exchange trick again and with a clean goggle riding got immediately much better. The faster teams had started to double us already but at the last stage we were able to hold on and follow them for a while. It hadn't any influence at our result any-more but just a good training to develop some extra speed. 16th position due to 2 teams that didn't finish the race.
For the 2nd heat we had our concerns about a steep climb in deep sand directly after a sharp rutted corner. During the exploration lap no problems there but it was clear that we couldn't afford any little mistake at that part of the track.
During the first lap it went totally wrong for us as we feared. A team was stuck at the inside line and I switched to the outside line. Only the wrong line, suited for a solo-bike but not for a sidecar. We got stuck too and we pushed/rolled the bike back downwards. We decided both that there wasn't any change we could complete this heat without getting stuck again at the same climb and called it quit. We watched a few laps how the other teams did at this difficult part of the track. The big two-stroke Zabel engines have so much power and enable the use of fat rear tyres that it's just a matter how much the driver can handle. A very large four-stroke walks easily without screaming the engine to the top.
After the race we rode back to Tallinn with Aronen/Mantila who finished 2 times 5th good for 5th overall. In the final standings we held the 15th position. We had the night ferry back to Helsinki. 2 races to go.
Regards,
Stephan
Results Tihemetsa 28.08.2011
Trip Tihemetsa
Based on my origin I should do very well at a track like this but I prefer harder tracks actually. On a track like this the bike is very lively and in combination with a short stroked engine it's very demanding to keep up enough speed all the time. 18 entries and last position for us during the 2 training sessions. The difference with the teams in front of us wasn't very much but I knew that when the track wears out, we wouldn't be able to close the gap.
Second row start and I didn't really push because we didn't had any change to prove something here. It started to rain and my tear off system's cord broke on top of this. We struggled until halfway but then my vision was so bad that it became necessary to remove my goggle. we did the exchange trick again and with a clean goggle riding got immediately much better. The faster teams had started to double us already but at the last stage we were able to hold on and follow them for a while. It hadn't any influence at our result any-more but just a good training to develop some extra speed. 16th position due to 2 teams that didn't finish the race.
For the 2nd heat we had our concerns about a steep climb in deep sand directly after a sharp rutted corner. During the exploration lap no problems there but it was clear that we couldn't afford any little mistake at that part of the track.
During the first lap it went totally wrong for us as we feared. A team was stuck at the inside line and I switched to the outside line. Only the wrong line, suited for a solo-bike but not for a sidecar. We got stuck too and we pushed/rolled the bike back downwards. We decided both that there wasn't any change we could complete this heat without getting stuck again at the same climb and called it quit. We watched a few laps how the other teams did at this difficult part of the track. The big two-stroke Zabel engines have so much power and enable the use of fat rear tyres that it's just a matter how much the driver can handle. A very large four-stroke walks easily without screaming the engine to the top.
After the race we rode back to Tallinn with Aronen/Mantila who finished 2 times 5th good for 5th overall. In the final standings we held the 15th position. We had the night ferry back to Helsinki. 2 races to go.
Regards,
Stephan
Results Tihemetsa 28.08.2011
Trip Tihemetsa
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