There are races at the Dahlemer-Binz airport for the 31st time. I Take part in the Supermono race with people from the German and Duth championships. That meant there were some really fast guys like Rob Hakvoort and Jan Frank Bakker.
Thursday 11 September 2008
It was hot in the car because of the sunny weather. Till 20 km from Dahlemer-Binz, from then on no more sun until the journey home started.
Unloaded the gear and put up the marquee. Sorted the paperwork, had the bike and helmet approved. Time for a beer with the nabours Wim Hendriks and Theo Hakvoort.
Friday 12 September 2008
Free practice only starts at 11 o' clock so I can sleep in a bit. It wasn't a pretty sight when I woke up. Te was a light drizzle and it didn't look like it was going to get any better. I had my Supercorsa's changed for some BT090's.
The guys from Geitesjtal racing had arrived with their Suzuki's. Franks bike still had the same problems as in Hockenheim so he has done more wrenching than riding.
Free practice
I only did 2 or 3 laps on the wet track, more than enough for my liking.
1st qualifying practice
I did about 5 laps. I felt I did enough to get to know the track (not difficult as it were basically 2 straights with a couple of artificial chicanes). And doing a fast time in the et wasn't going to happen anyway.
2nd qualifying practice
At the start of the sesion there was a sry line for almost the full length of the track. Therefore the speeds went up and my front brake couldn't cope with that because after about 5 laps there wasn't any pressure when I braked for the last chicane. After half a minute the pressure came back but that lasted only 2 laps. OK, no more risks, I stopped. A la tme of 1:15,796 was good enough for place 17 on the grid (of 26 people).
Saturday 13 September 2008
Sleep in again, first race at 11.50. It is still very wet despite the forecast predicting better weather. All races would be 15 minutes plus 2 laps (instead of 20 minutes and 2 laps). But first I changed my brake fluid!
Race 1
It is still raining as a race starts. The start went very well. Riding in the rain wasn't so bad. But the bike started to misfire about 5 laps before the end. The misfire disappeared 3 laps later. I finished in 15th place. I was lapped twice by the fatstest guys (they had real rain tires and the track was short, only 2.185 km). Gloves and boots are soaked but I can dry them in Wim's caravan, that was great Wim, thanks!
Race 2
It was long uncertain whether race 2 would take place. 2 races were stopped because of heavy fog. That fog disappeared and the races could continue (reduced to 10 minutes plus 2 laps).
During the second race the rain had stopped but the track was still wet. The start was not very good this time. And I slowed down a bit too much when a blue flag was waved so 2 people overtook me. A couple of laps before the end I noticed a problem with shifting gears. I could just manage to hold on to my position. I had lost a bolt from the footpegmounting. I finished in 15th place again.
Pack up all the stuff and hope I don't get stuck in the mud in the paddock. I don't and I am on my way home at 18.45. And guess what, the sun is back ...
(c) MR Racing - software version 2.14 - 05 January 2019.