Karki-Nuia, first race with the new engine

Hi again,

I'm writing this post while on the ferry back to Helsinki. Yesterday's race wasn't one to be proud at. It ended more as a survival run than an actual race. The Karksi-Nuia track is sandy with some small climbs but getting very demanding during race day when the track wears out more and more, very rough at some spots.

I couldn't find my rhythm during the practice session and our time was far from wanted. The new longer stroked engine's character is so different than the short stroke engine we used before, that I've to adapt my riding style to it. Switching gears at the right spot is very important, the smaller engine did run so much higher rounds and didn't need always an up shift at the last part of a straight.

The start of the first heat we performed from the second row. I noticed that I was too late with switching gears and we got slowly on our way. In the first corner was a jam and while we waited for our turn to continue the engine just stalled. As last we continued but half way the first lap the engine stalled again. Next problem was the roll-of film of my goggles, the collector got stuck and I had to rip new film manually. To make matters worse was that the collector's cap broke off and the old film was flying behind me. After 2 or 3 laps it got stuck in the hack's rear wheel and in a fraction of a second all the clean film was ripped also from the dispenser's bin.

I was driving too forced and our front end did dive too deep at the worst spots of the track. This made my hands getting tired quickly. Then heaven opened it's water reservoirs and during the last 5 laps water was pouring down so much that it was like we were riding through a wall of water. Nothing too lose any more and I had to take away my goggles. We just drove our last laps to finish 19th.

Before the second heat we replaced one spring in the front fork for a firmer type to prevent the front end from diving too deep. Our start was a little bit better now and I remembered to shift quicker (during the start you cannot hear your engine). The first laps went better now but still I was driving too forced and getting tired after a few laps. A few teams passed us and we took it easy, maybe too easy because we got stuck at a sandy climb. With the help from some spectators we pushed the hack over the top and to the side. But then I was so tired that I needed a break before restart the engine and continue. We did 2 laps and finished but no points because our laps were less then 75% of the winners.

We went to Aegviidu for the night and had dinner in restaurant near by. There was place for about 200 people but we were the only customers. The coming weeks we will continue with working at the bike, front suspension and carburettor settings.

Greetings,
Stephan

Route Karksi-Nuia
Results at Mylaps (KV=side cars)