Review of the end of our 2013 season Part 1

Hi all,

I haven't updated this blog for some months, busy with work and from postponing it got later and later. Time flies as they say.

But we didn't disappear or stopped, on the contrary, we had a rather good finishing of the season actually as you can see in the picture below ;-)

The last race of this season, Kegums Latvia, we ended at the highest spot on the podium, 2 heat wins. And we didn't start partying after that and was the reason for not updating our blog that long.

In part 1 I'll look back at our races in August and in part 2 the races in September.

The weekend of 3-4 August was held the first sidecar GP of the Baltic in Kiviöli, Estonia. This time we participated in the 53+ veteran class. Mikael and the side car arrived with the truck of the Kunnas family and I came with Ria straight from a holiday trip in Lithuania. With a training sessions at Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning we had good time to ride the same track as the GP teams but only a "little bit" slower. Our only heat found place between the 2 GP heats.

We had a good start, third, but half way Aldis Vapa/Andris Macs passed us and I wasn't able to change our position back again. Fourth place at the finish line. Maybe too much holiday the last days.

A week later it was time for the second Baltic GP, Kegums in Latvia. Also this weekend races for the veteran class in the program. We traveled with Riku Kunnas and their truck. Our first training session was planned Saturday afternoon and then it started to rain.

We had a good time, very rare for me but this time it worked out very well. But the rain didn't stop after our practice session and only intensified more and more.

The Husaberg's clutch was defect and I replaced the disks, in spite of the rain the barbecue was fired up under the awning and I went for a shower. When coming back the paddock started to look more and more like a lake. It rained continuously and we started to get worried about track conditions for the morrow. The next morning the sun showed itself and the weather changed for the better luckily. But the track was very soft and the organization made the only correct decision to cancel all the training sessions for the morning.

At noon the program was adapted and instead of the 2 planned heats for the veteran classes we would do only one combined heat between the GP heats. Again a good start, third, but during the race we lost a few places.

Luckily most of the teams that passed us participated in the other group and we still finished third in our 53+ group. Both races, Kiviöli and Kegums, counted for an overall result and we ended as third on the podium.

All together 2 very nice weekends spend watching the big guns riding their GP heats and able to do some racing of our own without any pressure for points, just fun. At both events other teams from Finland participated in the different classes. Good atmosphere in spite of the rain.

Our next race was planned in Iisalmi August 17th but canceled due to low participation. That made Orimattila the first race for the Finnish championship August 31st. A very late start of the Finnish season this time.

The Orimattila track is one of my favorite places to ride and when the mood is good miracles can still happen ;-). During practice we ended up with the sixth position but only a small difference with number 5. When the season nears it's end my driving gets better and with a favorite track I was in a good mood.

We had a good start and I pushed forward halfway the first lap by passing quickly an other team. After that we got a good rhythm and it was clockwork time. The team of Lehtinen/Hietala followed a few seconds behind but we never gave them even a possible change. The fourth position was our reward.

The second heat was a repetition of heat one. This time the Swedish team Hammarblom/Källander pushed behind us but we never looked back and again we found our rhythm. For the second time that day we ended at the fourth position, 3rd overall that day. We had to leave quickly for our next race in Cesis, Latvia, and get the ferry to Tallinn.

In part 2 more about this trip.

regards,
Stephan

Results Orimattila Mylaps: http://www.mylaps.com/en/events/948505

Vilaka, Latvia 14.7.2013

Hello all,

with only one race in June and one in July there hasn't been much to write about except for training sessions every week. The last 2 weeks I've been training with Arto Mantila because Mikael wasn't available for this race. This would be my first race with a different passenger and we prepared for this with several training sessions during the weeks before Vilaka.

As usual we started our trip to Latvia with the afternoon ferry to Tallinn. We took a small detour to have dinner in Smiltene at the Park Hotel Bruzis's restaurant, good food and nice surroundings. It's not only motocross that counts ;-). With a full belly we continued to Balvi where we met the team of Lauri Lehtinen and Mika Hietala. We stayed all at the same hotel and had a nice evening together with a beer on the terrace.

The next morning we drove the last part to the Vilaka track. This track is a classical in the Latvian motocross history and one of the best. Very wide and many steep climbs and descents combined with a very good track design makes it a pleasure to ride there.

23 sidecar teams had arrived including a third team from Finland, Topi Tala and Jussi Veräväinen. We had the 19th time during practice and it took me 5 laps to get there. I need always too much time to get used to a new track.

The start of the 1st heat wasn't my best and maybe good so because Lehtinen/Hietala who started next to us, crashed heavily at the end of the straight and we could avoid them and their tumbling sidecar. Heavily bruised the race was unfortunately over for them that weekend. We gambled at a jam in a tight corner just between a descent and a climb and took the longer softer outside line. This time everyone went trough smoothly and we did loose a few places instead of gaining a few. We started the first laps with passing 2 teams but then weren't able to pass the next team. The efforts of all this probing and hammering combined with the hot weather took it's toll and we did loose a position. Almost two actually but this team was also not too fresh any more and made a small error that saved our position. 18th at the finish and a 3rd for the veteran's standings.

During the exploration round for the second heat it started to rain and halfway we were already completely soaked. Water was running down from the hill and the lower parts of the track filled up with large pools. Our start wasn't good again and with a dogged approach we made our laps. Only 12 teams reached the finish line and a 10th spot was our reward for all the mud and trouble. In the veteran's standings it was even good for a second overall. Tala/Veräväinen didn't see the finish due to technical problems.

Back at the van I had my boots full with water and the riding gear and the sidecar were just lumps of red Latvian clay. It took me 2 hours to wash the bike later this week. With Lehtinen/Hietala we drove via Aluksne, were we had dinner, to Tartu in Estonia were we stayed for the night. Monday afternoon the ferry back to Helsinki again.

Best regards,
Stephan

Results Mylaps (BV = sidecars)
Trip Google Maps

Stelpe, Latvia 9.6.2013

Hello,

this month only one race and that's Stelpe, Latvia. Saturday afternoon with the ferry to Tallinn again and after our routine stop for stuffed pancakes we continued to our hotel for the evening. In Latvia it seems that all the weddings find place during the Summer months and we had to find this time a new location because other hotels nearer to Stelpe were fully booked. After sidecar racing I can start a tour guide for Estonian and Latvian hotels and restaurants ;-).

Also in this hotel a wedding party going on but still rooms available for travellers. We had a standard room with a whirlpool bath, I wonder how the premium room looks.

In the time training I surprised myself with a good lap time. With 19 entries we had the 15th spot. We are using our own rear shock again after training sessions the weeks before. With some adjustments the shock feels very good now.
For the start of the 1st heat we had the last front row position behind the gate, far to the outside. But our start wasn't bad and we held the 14th position after lap one. But only half way 2 teams passed us and we finished at the 17th position. Riding was good, especially at the first half of the heat, but I wasn't able to push till the finish line at the same tempo.

For the start of the 2nd heat we had a place at the inside behind the gate. Our start was even better this time and we held the 8th position after the first lap. We did lose some positions lap by lap as was to be expected but riding was going very good. At the end 14th position and for the veteran class third overall.

We drove back straight to Tallinn and only stopped for dinner. The next day back to Helsinki with the ferry.

Regards,
Stephan

Link for Mylaps (BV = sidecar): http://www.mylaps.com/en/events/910381
Link for our route: http://goo.gl/maps/NVCld

Türi, Estonia and Ape, Latvia 18-19.5.2013

Hello again,

a double race weekend with at Saturday already the third round for the Estonian championship in Türi. With Panu joining us for this trip we took the Friday evening ferry to Tallinn and stayed for the night in an holiday resort in Aegviidu. The next morning only a short ride to the Kihli motocross track near Türi.

Already during practice we noticed that the modifications of the rear shock didn't work out as expected and after practice we borrowed again a rear shock from Lehtinen/Hietala. It's not easy to get the correct settings, we have the idea but the realization of it is an other thing.
Only 15 teams entered this event and with the rear shock not in order we ended up at the last position.

The weather had changed dramatically and it looked like we got compensated for the long winter with temperatures about 28 degrees Celsius. Nice for a barbecue but in my opinion absolutely not suited for sidecar motocross.
At the start of the first heat we had the last pick at the gate and that means outer most with the longest distance to the first corner. When also a team almost crashed in front of us we ended up in the back of the pack. We were not able to keep in contact with the other teams and drove our own laps at the last position till the finish.

Heat number 2 was mostly a copy of race 1. The other teams were faster and we couldn't really keep up with them. The track was rough with sharp holes and edges and in combination with the hot weather not easy for me. But we finished both heats and got our points for the trouble of it.

After the race and the sidecar cleaned we travelled together with team Lehtinen/Hietala via Viljandi, where we had dinner, to Antsla near the Latvian border for the night. During the trip it we had heavy rain showers and thunder. I would have liked a rain shower during the day to cool things down a little!

The next morning we arrived in Ape with one of the most beautiful but also technical track of the series. Situated on a ridge many long climbs and steep down hills in combination with a soft compound. Not much room for mistakes.

18 teams arrived and we noticed that many teams had skipped Türi and showed up here in Ape. Of the veteran class we were the only team that had participated in Türi. And it was hot again, this time even 32 degrees Celsius. After practice we had the 14th position. Things looked a little better than the day before. For Lehtinen/Hietala practice ended with a blocking engine after some laps and they had to call it a day.

We had the outer most position at the gate but still managed to grab many places during the first corners. About 7th position after the first turns and then the faster teams started to pass. If a race was only 2-3 corners long...

The toll for racing a second day in this hot weather started to burden me, 14th position at the finish.

For the second heat our start was not as good and we found ourselves back at the tail. Already during the first lap I started to wonder about the behaviour of our sidecar. It was difficult to keep in line and I had many looks at Mikael if he was still there where he should be. Riding was a struggle and we couldn't do much more than finish the race. Back at the paddock the problem became clear, the sidecar's tire had a puncture and was flat as a pancake. Mikael had felled how the sidecar wheel had collided with a large stone half buried in the track halfway the first lap. Probably that had caused the puncture.

The good thing is that we finished again and didn't even get stuck at one of the climbs ;-). After 10 heats in 5 races we also have 10 results. Only the gap between us and the nearest competitors should be closed.

After the finish we packed everything quickly and drove to Riga's airport to drop Mikael for his flight back to Helsinki. There was an electrical problem with the van's temperature sensor and with reduced engine power Panu and I returned the next day to Tallinn. We had a stop in Pärnu for lunch and playing tourists for a few hours.

Regards,
Stephan

Trip Google maps: http://goo.gl/maps/LOAEd
Results Tûri (kv = sidecars): http://www.mylaps.com/en/events/898918
Results Ape (bv = sidecars): http://www.mylaps.com/en/events/899495

Third race, Karksi Nuia, Estonia 11.05.2013

Hello,

last Saturday we entered the third event of this season at the Karksi Nuia track in the South of Estonia. It's a very nice track that gets very rough and especially 2 climbs with soft sand can be technically demanding. With the 19:30 ferry we arrived in Tallinn at 21:30 and during our ride to our hotel in Viljandi it started to rain. The rain showers continued most part of the night but during the day it stayed dry. The organization made some adjustments to have a rideable track even it was soft at some spots during practice.

We didn't do very well during practice and ended up last. Back in the paddock we checked the hack and the rear shock was the problem. No visible damage but something was wrong inside and it had not enough damping. Luckily we could borrow a rear shock from Lehtinen/Hietala and were able to start.

In the meantime the track started to get drier and we went to the start gate. The first corner in Karksi Nuia is narrow with 20 sidecars and we took it easy. Also no idea how the rear shock would behave. But it all worked out fine and we improved our lap times with 5 seconds compared to our training session even the track had become already rather rough. We drove our own laps with no one directly in front or behind us. With the sign for the last 2 laps shown we approached a particular nasty climb, directly after a corner and deep sand with some large stones. An other team had gotten problems and blocked the "easiest" line. I tried to pass them outside but my choice of line wasn't the best one. A sand berm got too high and we were stuck once again. At the end of the heat it's terrible to try to get the hack to the top. In a short time 4 or 5 other sidecars had joined us. After some intensive pulling and pushing we could continue and finished the race. At least some points and the 14th position was our reward.

With the start of the second heat we started to push a little bit more now we knew that the rear shock was okay. We followed Lehtinen/Hietala for 4 laps very close, never more than 5-10 meters between us. Our lap times improved again with 3 seconds even the track was worse now. But after some time I started too feel the efforts of the day and the battery went flat. Driving at a much slower pace and choosing the easiest lines we did loose so much time that we ended last.

Except for getting stuck at the climb in the first heat driving went well. Some extra training sessions to get more endurance are needed. We drove off immediately after the race back to Tallinn to fetch the 22:30 ferry.

Results Mylaps (KV = sidecars): http://www.mylaps.com/en/events/895331
Trip Google maps: http://goo.gl/maps/vvLtU

The first races of the 2013 season; Aizpute and Põlva

Hi all,

after a very, very long winter it was time to pack the van and start driving to the ferry for Tallinn. It has been more than 7 months ago when we travelled to the last event of the 2012 season. It felt somehow that time had paused and at the same it felt like a new trip again. This year no other teams from Finland participating at the Latvian races.
We took the Saturday afternoon ferry and after a stop for provision and fuel in Tallinn the actual driving started. The distance to Aizpute from Tallinn is almost 500 kilometres and we hoped to arrive before dark to have a first look at the track in the evening. We stopped only for a coffee break at Ikla, located at the Estonian - Latvian border.

After our arrival we checked in at the hotel and no surprise that almost all the other guests also stayed there because of the motocross event. Dark was already falling but we were still able to get a quick first look at the track. The dreaded mud swamp was luckily not the case. The organization was working very hard to prepare the track for the next day (at Saturday other classes had had their heats already). Aizpute is when dry a hard packed clay track. The surface was harrowed and I was only thinking how much power was needed to drive through that clay bed. But the organization understood their business and during the next day the track's surface was completely changed in the hard packed clay as last  years.

Arriving the next morning in the paddock the van got stuck in the soft grass surface of the paddock. According to a Latvian spectator the Latvian soil is very "elastic" this year ;-). New for this year was that the track's driving direction had been turned. I felt that the track was easier to ride this way. 22 teams and at the end of the practice session we were placed 20th.

During the first rounds of the first heat with 22 teams on the track, there happens all the time all kind of trouble but we were able to pull the first 2 laps clean of it. We finished overall at the 18th spot and 4th for the veteran class.

The start of the 2nd heat didn't work out so good and dead last we followed the pack. We passed some teams during the race and other teams passed us sometimes to finish again 18th overall and 3rd in the veteran class. Last position gave us also 3rd overall in the veteran class but we noticed this only later in the evening driving back to Riga. I hadn't noticed that a team in front of us withdrew from the race. But most important was that we finished both heats in Aizpute, that hasn't happened before!

I dropped Mikael off at the Riga airport 3 hours after the race because he had to be at his work 7:00 AM the next day :-(. After that I continued alone through Riga for my hotel located at the Via Baltica route. Monday morning I continued to Tallinn and washed the bike at the workshop of an Estonian sidecar team. The next day I also spend in their workshop and prepared the bike for the coming race. I picked up Mikael again from the evening ferry and we drove to Põlva for our next race.

Also in Põlva 22 teams on the spot and again a 20th position after the training. Our transponder malfunctioned and it was replaced at the pit during the first lap. Maybe someone tested it later manually but the result was that we had with 4 seconds the fastest lap time and as number 1 on the list. It was funny because of the first surprised reactions even everyone realized that it must be an error.

We finished the first heat at the 16th position. In the third corner I tried to pass a team turning very tight, too tight, and the hack's corner got jammed in the inner berm. We did loose many places and further it was an uneventful race for us.

The start of the 2nd heat wasn't good, the clutch lever got stuck and I had to fix it before we could continue from half a lap behind. At the end we could see the team in front of us but at that time I hadn't the energy any more to close the gap. Põlva is a heavy sand track with lots of deep ruts and bumps. The saying goes that after Põlva it's only getting easier. This time we finished as last at the 18th position. Again we still achieved a new milestone; we finished in both heats and that for the first time in 5 years!

Directly after the race we drove back to Tallinn to be in time for the last evening ferry. Our start of the season hasn't been as good before, always technical problems during the first races. This is an 100% improvement compared with the other years. We don't go to Lithuania because due to Mikael's work schedule it's not possible.

Coming weekend we will spend with setting the carburettor and some other settings.

Regards,
Stephan


Results Aipute Mylaps (BV=sidecars) http://www.mylaps.com/en/events/889260
Results Põlva Mylaps (KV=sidecars) http://www.mylaps.com/en/events/890778
Trip Google Maps http://goo.gl/maps/8IBc5

Some updates

Hi again,

we've been already 5 times riding with the hack even the winter is still continuing. At the moment we do some testing with the carburettor settings to improve the engine's power band.
Our rear tire is almost gone now, not many studs left and the knobs are "melting" away. Better it would be if the snow and ice melt away but at least we can go and ride.

Due to the continuing winter the first race for the Lithuanian championship has been canceled. Our debut in Lithuania had to be postponed for the moment. Also some other changes to the calendar, no race in Estonia in July and for Finland the race planned for Oulu has been replaced with Lappeenranta in September. I made the updates to the calendar.

Marko has picked up training too, he also didn't want to wait till some warmer weather ;-). The positive side of the frozen tracks is that it's easier to start learning sidecar motocross. Because the clubs prepared the tracks very well last Autumn it's not so rough. Mikael and Marko did ride together and they liked it.

Until Aizpute more training sessions and if any news you'll hear.

Best Regards,
Stephan

The hack

First training session in the snow

Hello everyone,

last Saturday we were out on the track with the sidecar for the first time. Never before have we finished the preparations of the bike this early ;-). not so many changes either.

We went for Orimattila and with 7 sidecar teams it was a nice start of the season. The sun was shining and that took away some of the cold. As everywhere in Europe it's a long winter. We had fitted tires with studs in the front and rear. For me this was the first time I used them and especially the front tire has a very good grip.
No technical problems during the sessions and we had actually a very nice afternoon at the track. Coming weekend we go again and probably to Orimattila again.

Maria took some pictures, here some of them: