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MPS RACING - MAG SPORT RACING 2007 - AUGUST REPORT - UEM - FINLAND
We started August with the third round of the British championship back in Wales with the Crychan at the rugby club in Llandovery and it wasn't raining! Arriving on Thursday evening gave us plenty of time to set up camp and fine tune the bikes.
Unfortunately the test was unavailable to walk so everyone had a relaxing day on Friday apart from me when my bike decided not to start after checking everything it still refused then just as we were going to give up away she went very mysterious.
Saturday morning everything in place Marnie and Lisa at the out check with fuel and refreshments for all the Husky boys Si , Daryl ,Chris, Gav , Daryl (Peach) Mark and me .
The course was good and the test which had been set out by Rob Sartin and Steve Plain was long and varied with the first part reminiscent to a North of England test tight through the trees with roots and quite slow and technical then it opened out onto fast fire roads with chicanes then a rocky slippery hillclimb, then a balls out fast finish , riding it slowly to find the best lines it terrified me and I was not looking forward to tackling it in anger on the next lap but strangely when ridden at speed it was totally different and thoroughly enjoyable a credit to rob and Steve.
Daryl came home in 5th Si just behind him in 6th Gav had an excellent ride to 3rd in the expert and 2nd in E1 Mark 9th and me 7th in the vets .
Sunday was a better day for all our rides except me, Daryl was 3rd, Si 5th , Gav 2nd, Mark 2nd and I was 6th , 4 places behind Mark!
We left Wales with Si still leading the championship and Daryl third and Gav leading the expert class with MPS and Husky Sport leading the team standings.
Next stop was Finland for the UEM championship back on the ferry at Hull to Europort then a drive up through Holland , Germany , Denmark onto a ferry to Sweden were we made a pilgrimage to the town of Huskvarna were we visited the Husqvarna museum to view their large collection of bikes , chainsaws , sewing machines, guns, stoves etc ( if ever in Sweden it's well worth a visit Husky has long history ).
From there to Stockholm and another ferry to Helsinki , what a night we had on the ferry Micky Beard ( an enduro virgin ) brought his guitar and we all ended up singing in the bar even Dusty Martin had a sing-along between his drunken heckling and leering at the Swedish girls, non of us remember going back to the cabin , must have been a good night!
Back on dry land we travelled up to the event at Heinola , where Marnie, Wyn, Jonny, Simon, Tony Harwood and Daryl, Gav and Mark had pegged us out a prime spot in the Paddock which was at at MX track , first job as usual was walking the tests which were fast and rocky , then scrutineering which went without any problems.
Following impressive results at round three of the ’07 European Enduro Championship held in Heinola, Finland, and with just one round of the ’07 EEC series remaining, British Husqvarna riders Mucci Racing’s Daryl Bolter and MPS Racing’s Si Wakely currently lead the Senior Enduro 1 and Junior Enduro 2/3 classes respectively.
In the Senior E1 class former European champion Daryl Bolter claimed third on both days to open up a small but important advantage at the top of the class standings while Si Wakely topped the Junior E2/3 class on day one before finishing in fourth on day two to extend his championship lead to a sizeable 16 points.
Despite the Finnish round of the ’07 EEC not being particularly challenging a spectacular motocross test and a long, rock littered and slippery enduro test made for a tough event.
With former enduro world champion Petteri Silvan one of a number of fast Scandinavian riders competing in the Senior E1 class Daryl Bolter knew that he would have to perform well in Heinola if he was to stand any chance of claiming a podium finish.
Daryl did just that by placing third in class on both day one and day two. Finishing just two seconds being runner-up Silvan on day one Bolter finished day two just five seconds away from claiming the win.
In claiming two top three results Daryl has moved to the top of the Senior E1 class standings with just one round of the championship remaining.
As leader of the Junior E2/3 class going into the Finnish event Si Wakely also knew that he needed to be on top of his game if he were to improve his chances of claiming his first ever EEC title and got off to a great start by winning his class on day one. Finishing 11 seconds ahead of his nearest class competitor Si more importantly finished several places ahead of his closest championship rival Lukasz Kurowski from Poland.
Hoping to repeat his day one win Si began day two steadily but importantly made no major mistakes on the unforgiving enduro test. Increasing his speed throughout the day Si eventually finished fourth and in again beating Kurowski further extended his championship lead and now sits 16 points clear at the top of the Junior E2/3 class.
Daryl Bolter: “I had a really good weekend. My main goal was to beat Canova on both days, which I managed to do. The enduro test was really hard so I decided not to push too hard and let the other riders make the mistakes. I made a few mistakes, but it was impossible not to. The enduro test was covered in rocks and they were extremely slippery.
“Third on both days is really good. I was only about four seconds off winning the Senior E1 class on day two, which I was pleased with as the two riders ahead of me were Scandinavian. I have a small championship lead now so I hope I can finish the championship off with a good ride at the last round and hopefully win my second European title.”
Si Wakely: “The event went better than I expected really. I was hoping for two good results but I wasn’t expecting to come away from the race with a 16 point lead”
“I rode pretty well on all tests on the first day and was pulling about six seconds every lap on the motocross test. I was also going well on the enduro test but on the last lap I made a few mistakes when I caught the rider ahead of me. I didn’t lose too much time so it was great to win the day.”
“On the second day I was a bit slow to get going. I didn’t have any major problems all day, I just didn’t really get going until the last lap. The race wasn’t that hard but the tests were really demanding. I managed to finish fourth, which wasn’t so bad. The main thing was that I finished ahead of the riders closest to me in the championship.”
Gavin riding in only his 3rd UEM event got off to a good start 2nd fastest in the first test (officially untimed) and 15th in the second but it all ended on the enduro test when he lost the front and head butted a tree , the tree won and Gav ended up in hospital thankfully he wasn't seriously hurt just beaten up and sore.
Due to Daryls injury and such a hectic month we decided to miss the final world round in France and prepare for the final UEM in Poland.
I've had enough writing and you’ve probably had enough reading so I'll finish here.
Many thanks to Marnie , Denise , Tracy ,Angela Peach and Angela Carter for supplying us with cakes and as team manager I have decided that anyone finishing second in the UEM championships will have the honour of judging the best cake of the year! In the event of them both winning I will have to do it, what an incentive to win.
Once again many thanks to everyone who assists us – to Johny, Wyn, Alan, Jake, Lisa and Marnie for all their hard work . Plus thanks also to Husky Sport, Motul, Talon, Steve Plain Motorcycles, Sheen Projects, SIS, NTB, MAG , 3 City , White Horse, Cycle Scene, Bert Harkins, MXM Graphics, Gaerne, Michelin Tyres, and X-citing plus all other support.
2007 European Enduro Championship Round 3 Grand Prix of Finland – Day 1
Senior E1 class
1. Fredrick Georgsson 41:16.17; 2. Petteri Silvan 41:54.65; 3 Daryl Bolter (Mucci Racing Husqvarna) 41:56.46; 4. Jani Laaksonen 42:17.63; 5. Leif Holm 42:22.82
Junior E2/E3 class
1. Si Wakely (MPS Racing Husqvarna) 42:31.61; 2. Jonas Karlson 42:42.44; 3. Maurizio Facchin 43:00.00; 4. Oskari Kantonen 43:27.30; 5. Carlo Conforti 43:36.23
2007 European Enduro Championship Rnd 3
Grand Prix of Finland – Day 2
Senior E1 class
1. Petteri Silvan 51:51.28; 2. Fredrick Georgsson 51:52.09; 3. Daryl Bolter (Mucci Racing Husqvarna) 51:56.21; 4. Leif Holm 52:35.40; 5. Jani Laaksonen 53:18.57
Junior E2/E3
1. Oskar Kantonen 53:44.21; 2. Jonas Karlson 53:44.21; 3. Carlo Conforti 54:36.71; 4. Si Wakely (MPS Racing Husqvarna) 54:42.86; 5. Maurizio Facchin 54:44.92
Next stop for the lads was the Dawn to Dusk , Si and Daryl in a team riding 4 strokes Daryl on a 250 and Si on a 510 both bike supplied by Husky Sport and straight out of the box they were lying in 2nd place behind Ricky Mair and Jason Thomas when Daryl crashed beaking his chain which ruled them out of the race roll on next year.
While the boys were racing we were travelling though eastern europe visiting Helsinki, Tallin, Rega , Lubin, Krakow , to name but a few we also visited Auswitz concentration came which was a very moving experience.
We picked Daryl up from Krakow airport on the wed morning to give us time to prepare his 125 ( which he has used for every event this year without fault not bad for a screaming 125 ) ready for the world round.
Our next destination was a ski resort Krompachy in Slovakia for the WEC were we met up with Alan , Si and Marnie again we got prime position in the paddock which was half way up a mountain with beauitiful views , on the friday evening the town welcomed us with a stunt bike show in the main street ( no health and safety here ) we also sampled some local beers at 60p a pint it had to be done.
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