I improved my lap time in the second practise session by three seconds but had one close call that made my heart miss a beat! There was this small table top but to make things more complicated the ramp was stony and the landing had one partially buried log in it and after that a small step down. Most riders didn’t jump it as a table top but jumped only down from the edge of the landing ramp. I was jumping it as a table top no problem but one lap I hit one stone from a slightly different angle and it forced my front wheel to go completely sideways and me going over the handlebars- almost! Miraculously the front wheel came back straight at the moment I thought I lost it! It would have been a nasty crash but I was lucky = HPSD steering damper. The most incredible thing about my fraction of a second of absolute terror was that Italian journalist Roberto Dagradi caught with his camera! In the photo you can also see my dented rear wheel’s rim. It got bent from my aggressive approaches to the water section’s first rock! For the qualifier riders were divided in three qualifier groups and my practise time justified me to choose my place at the starting gate as the fourth rider of the second group. Four best riders of each three groups were going directly to the finals. After these qualifier heats were two last chance groups for the riders who didn’t make it in their qualifier heats. Only the winners of these last chance
heats would go to the finals and this way there would be 14 best riders in the main event. I was afraid I would have to fight hard to be in top four of my heat and make it directly to the main event… When the gate dropped I surprised even myself with a HOLESHOT!! My lead didn’t last so long before Ljunggren passed me. I tried to return him the favor and pass him at couple of places but then I realized it’s better to keep safe and arrive second to guarantee my place at the finals. Ljunggren won and I was happily second of my qualifier heat!
There was a long wait before the finals but I was busy with long autograph session and even received one myself! It was a work of art signed by little Honda fan Edoardo as you can see in the photo!
There was also the Indoor Trial World Championship to watch before our finals. The organizer had made very good job with our indoor enduro track but the indoor trial track didn’t seem 
to be so good. No-one was able to get on top of the first obstacle of the first section! On the second one only Toni Bou was able to make it. Not good to watch the best trial riders in the world take five points straight away! It turned out that Honda Montesa rider Toni Bou was the guy who had the least problems even with these seemingly impossible obstacles winning the race. When the price giving ceremony for the trial was over we started with the first final heat…
My qualifier heat’s time justified me to choose my 
place at the gate as fifth rider. When all 14 riders were all set behind the gate the 15s sign was up… then 5s… engines revving… Gate drops and I pulled off another holeshot!! Before the first lap was finished both Ljunggren and Blazusiak had passed me! I was able to keep their pace though and everyone else behind me. Then on third lap Taddy crashed and I was suddenly second tailing Ljunggren. Taddy was following me for two laps until he crashed again and ruined his heat… Ljunggren was holding his ground strong in the lead and I had no trouble holding my second place until the end which was more than good enough for me!
For the second final heat we ”enjoyed” a new rule that reversed the starting order for the gate so I 
got to pick my place as 10. rider. Starting from the outside was not going to be so easy which it wasn’t but I was still doing ok starting in top three. Taddy Blazusiak was leading and Xavi Galindo was second. I followed him for two laps and on third lap I got my chance to pass him. Then for couple of laps my new junior team mate Jeremy Joly was giving me hard time but I stood my ground 
and tried my best to follow Taddy who seemed to have no problem leading the pack. On the second last lap Taddy suddenly crashed and I was just close enough to pass him before he got going again! I was sure he will try to pass me in the water section with logs and tried to be faster through it myself without risking too much. Last lap and Taddy had his go on me… but crashed in the middle of the water and I could breath out and finish the lap and win the heat! Unbeliveable! Click here to check out the video of the second heat!
When I came to Genova arena in the morning I didn’t expect to face any pressure of fighting for the victory but here I was before the last final heat realizing that I could actually do that and I win the whole race if I just managed to holeshot again and hang on tight for the last 8 laps! I could even finish the heat one position behind Ljunggren... When the 5s sign rose I was a bit too eager and when the gate dropped I was a bit too much on the gas too early ending up spinning the back wheel too much and loosing the traction on those critical first two meters!! Taddy holeshotted and I was in the middle of the group in the first corner where everybody tried to corner fast.. there was a lot of contact and elbowing going on but I managed to stand my ground and keep my balance and even to come out thid behind Oldrati and Taddy!! The first lap was exiciting racing when riders were packed and 
trying to get advantage by passing each other even in the most unlikely places. I was able to resist well and hang on with the pace set by Oldrati in front of me. On the fift lap Oldrati made a little mistake and I passed him being now second! The long and slippery stone section was my strongest part but on the 5. lap the thing I feared most happened. I was going as fast as I could keeping my weight on the back of the bike and hoping that with the speed the front wheel will fly over all the holes between the rocks. Something with my calculations went wrong for suddenly my front wheel jammed between the rocks and forced me to perform a spectacular front flip over the handlebars!! I rolled painfully on the rocks but was fast as a cat back on my feet only one thought in 
my mind: No!! Ljunggren will pass me!! My shoulder was numb and head dizzy but luckily my bike’s engine was still running and I got quickly going again. Oldrati and Jarvis had passed me but not Ljunggrenl! My mechanic Luca was in the corner after the stone section with the pit board signalling me that I had still 3s on Ljunggren who was now right behind me! My handlebar was bent and clutch lever down but I could still barely use it and rode like hell to keep Llunggren behind for the four laps!! These laps seemed twice as long as before but I guess I wasn’t the only one having arm pump problems for I could hold fourth place and even pass Jarvis on the 7. lap. I felt more secure by
having put him between me and Ljunggren. The last lap felt looong but I was able to keep myself together and finished third behind Oldrati and Taddy Blazusiak who won this final heat!
I had won the race and couldn’t believe it!! I am pretty sure nobody was betting on my victory my team manager included! The last time I have won an indoor race was back in 2007 and it was in this same arena in Genova. Last two years I haven’t done good in any of the races so this championship is very low on my priority list as are my expectations. The tendency of building tracks with trial-like obstacles and the fact that many trial riders who have very little enduro experience have done so much better than me have confirmed my 
opinion about the indoor enduro championship. If you put trial obstacles on enduro track trial riders can just take enduro bike and be straight away better than me so why should I even bother? This time the track was faster and less trial-oriented and that’s why I was doing better and trial riders worse. I this the way it should be? Well, it is called Indoor Enduro World Championship after all, isn’t it!? The most surprising aspect of my result is that I had passed last couple of months mostly on holiday or having party. If the result is this who knows how strong I will be on 2011 for I will continue this interval party-holiday training for the rest of the year!
Actually not even 24h had passed after the race in Genova when I was at the next party. HM Honda
Italy had organized a party lunch in the Northern Italy in their hometown and more than 100 people were invited. To get there in time from Genova was kind of a special test with our rent car Fiat Panda. It was snowing
heavily and the snowplough trucks had hard time trying to keep autostrada
clean. At some places there was more snow on the freeway and some people thought they were safe
even at 120km/h
like my team manager who had lost control and spinned around ending up facing the wrong way. Luckily there were no other cars involved in his manouver. Everone was not so lucky and there were some cars in the ditch on the side of the road or limping slowly forward with wrecked car… However for me it was just another day in the office. I was driving a car on the snow already at the age of 10. Even that fact 
doesn’t convince Marika. Seems like she doesn’t trust the saying ”what you learn as a child…” With my lovely co-pilot and navigator we arrived safely to celebrate the success of the HM and Honda in 2010. It was a nice way to wrap up the season and even the weather made us feel like we have completed a full circle. It was snowing heavily. Just like at the presentation of our team at the beginning of the year. Today arriving to Helsinki it was not snowing. It was just nice and fresh welcome back home at -18C!
Extra special thanks to Zep Gori and Roberto Dagradi for the incredible action photos. These guys must live their fingers on the trigger of the camera at all times!
0 comments:
Post a Comment