Aizpute, Latvia April 24

Hi all,

Saturday April 24 we took the 10:30 ferry to Tallinn. After a long ride, 470 km, we arrived at our hotel in Saldus, about 50 km to the East of Aizpute. The next morning left us only a short trip to the track located on a hill just outside of Aizpute.
The track was made from hard reddish clay laid out against the hill and down in the valley, for the riders and spectators very nice! The track Included interesting points from a steep drop off to slippery off camber corners.

We used practice to learn the track and didn't press to hard because of the soft fork springs. After a short stop in the paddock we wanted to do a fast lap but there wasn't time left any more. With 15 side cars there's always a front row place and we still made the 10th time.

We replaced the front fork springs with a new stiffer set we had brought with us and prepared for the first heat. The engine was okay and the problems with the cylinder head gasket were solved with additional washers under the cylinder head bolts.

Thus ready for racing and we were in a good mood but not for long as it showed later when it was our turn for the first heat. During the exploration lap the saddle dropped! We had installed the new blue saddle and probably during first riding the saddle had sunk deeper in the frame and thereby the bolt had loosened. When the other teams lined up behind the gate for us there was nothing else than back to the paddock. End of heat 1 even before the gate dropped.

Heat 2 had to be our revenge. We had a place at the left side of the gate with at the end of the uphill start a 180 degree corner to the right. We didn't had the power to gain something during the uphill race and had no other choice than ending up in the back pack in the first corner.
Nothing else left than to push and and try to overtake as many as possible. After 2 laps we passed Ivanov/Jalas but they took this place back on a technical part of the track. Worse, the engine stalled and we did lose a lot of time.
We managed to pass again a team and the others were in view but then I started suffering arm pump and we had to slow down. This arm pump is a result of too little practice time with the bike.

First points but not as we would have liked it. Next Wednesday we will train at the Vantaa track to get as many time on the bike as possible. Aronen/Mantila had a good season opener with their two second places after the Latvian brothers Silis.
We arrived after 520 km at three o'clock am in Tallinn and took the morning ferry at eleven o'clock back to Helsinki. Next race Põlva, South Estonia.

Regards, Stephan

trip Tallinn-Aizpute
http://www.mylaps.com/results