08/07/09 - 08/09/09 European Speer Cup Championships

Friday August 7th

Finally we received a break from the on-again-off-again rain that had plagued the first 2 rounds of the European Speer Cup Championships. I was the sole US representative at this round.

Pannonia Ring is a *GREAT* privately owned track that is easy to get to and offers tons of onsite amenities. Amenities include clean paddock space and pitboxes. Hotel and restaurant inside the paddock. WiFi internet hotspot throughout the paddock. Onsite medical facilities. An extremely professional staff who seem to sincerely care about their circuit.

Pannonia Ring’s racing surface is comparable to most privately owned circuits in the US. The layout is fun and challenging not to mention extremely safe. The circuit can be safely run both clockwise and counter clockwise.

The 4km course was mostly comprised of corners with only a few short straight sections. The gearing selection was much smaller than that used at the previous circuits.

Friday was spent trying to get acquainted with the layout and coming up to speed.

Rich’s comments for the day:
“Lots of great weather and even better riders to share the track with. We have a smaller turn-out than usual, but should still make for a good race since it was the first time here for most.”

Saturday August 8th

To start off, we decided to spool on some new BT003s. Later in the day we made some suspension changes which also seemed to help. The best qualifying improvement came when we snuck in behind one of the front runners for a few laps. We were able to catch a tow and were pulled up a few spots in qualifying.

After the good qualifying time we were able to conserve our tires until the GP races at the end of the day.

The GP races would end up combined which meant everything from 1000cc unlimited liter bikes to 600cc supersport machines would share the grid. With 12 laps at 2min+, the temps floating in the high 26-27C range, and the race being at the end of the day; fatigue would be an issue every rider would have to contend with.

From my 20th spot on the combined grid, we were able to make a decent start but nothing as spectacular as our Brno start in Rd#2. I got bogged down right off the line by a liter bike in the row in front of me, then we nearly t-boned a Ducati at the apex of the 3rd corner! The excitement didn’t end there! 2 laps in exiting the T16 another liter bike missed a shift or something similar and stopped accelerating. As I was looking for good drive to keep up as we entered the straight I was on his tailpipe when this occurred. I had little reaction time and had no choice but to exit wide to avoid impact and went off into the dirt. I was able to bring the bike back on track without incident but lost 3-4 places during the off-track excursion.

Another lap or two click by as I start to make up the ground I had just lost. Heading into T10 a rider tries an overtaking maneuver as I close the gap on that pack. His maneuver puts him into the corner too hot and he has to blow the turn and shoot off into the dirt. Unfortunately his exit path crossed my racing line and I made my 2nd trip though the dirt. Again without incident I was able to bring the bike back on track and even managed to keep my position!

With renewed adrenaline I charge to reclaim my spot at the front of this pack! Trying to maintain the momentum I had built, I attempt an overtaking maneuver into T1 but miss shift and once again found myself trekking across the hard Hungarian dirt. Once again, luck shined on me as I was able to re-enter the track without incident.

Eventually I was able to pass and hold off the pack for the last 2 laps of the race, although they were closing the gap. I very hard fought 7th place was earned.

Thanks to our TachyonXC sponsored onboard cameras all of the exciting battles were captured and will be posted!

Rich’s comments for the day:
“We seemed to be pretty fast out of the gate, but with 3 off-track excursions it was difficult to maintain momentum.”

Sunday August 9th

Sunday was going to be a rather short and fast day. We only had two 15min warmup sessions before our sprint race at noon. I decided to only head out for one of the warm-ups to conserve the tires. It seemed fairly easy to get back on pace so I decided not to push it too hard and safe it for the race.

I figured with a decent start and fewer laps, I should be able to do pretty well. I got another ok launch, and quickly settled into my rhythm. On lap 3 of 6, I was overtaken by a liter bike. I tried to match pace, but in doing so I couldn’t get the rear tire to hook up anymore. After that we quickly went downhill. Lap 2 was our fastest lap of the race with times steadily decreasing. So we forfeited a 3rd place spot and had to settle for 5th.

No excuses, it was rider error and we know better for next time. We still managed to pull in some decent points toward the championship chase.

Rich’s comments for the day:
“After Saturday’s race including 3 off-track excursions and 2 near t-bones, this race was rather dull. The race could have gone better, but we’ll take the points!”

Thanks to everyone who participated and/or helped during this weekend. A special thanks goes out to all my sponsors for helping to keep us competitive:
* Tachyon – Best extreme cam on the market!
* PowerStands – Racing Inspired, built for performance
* Traxxion Dynamics
* Vortex – Trusted by Champions
* Leo Vince
* DynoJet
* South Central Race Center – the best source for Bridgestones
* On Any Moto

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