After a 4 week summer break without any races I returned to racing at Rd.#7 of the 2008 DMV-Arai-Ladies-Cup held at the hard pack track in Arnstein, a venue we raced at before in the premier year of the Cup in 2005. We started with our regular free practice session Saturday morning, followed by our qualifying practice in the afternoon. This race was also the return of my orginal race bike, which was sidelined for quite a while with a broken engine. I had a decent start in moto #1 and was in 7^th or 8^th place in the first lap. By the end of lap 1 I was in 6^th place and followed Marianne Veenstra for the major part of the race. In the final laps of the moto my bike caused problems and I couldn’t continue the race as I wanted. Whenever I approached a corner or a jump it felt like the bike was going to stop. I slowed down and completed the race in 6^th place. I was so happy to make it to the finish line, because when the problem occured for the first time I was afraid of a DNF. To be on the save side I decided to take my second bike for the 2^nd moto, which started similar to moto #1. I was running in 6^th for the first couple of laps right behind Kim Irmgartz, my main competitor in the championship. Shortly after I made a pass on her and tried to put a gap in between us, which was relatively easy because she crashed shortly after. I continued in 5^th place for the reminder of the race with a little gap on Marianne Veenstra, who finished the 1^st race right in front of me. That put me in 5^th spot for the overall via a 6-5 finish. At the end I would like to thank Stefan @ MXHoch3, who helped me out a lot lately with my riding and gave me a lot of valuable advice.  

Nach einer vierwöchigen Sommerpause ging es mit dem 7.Lauf zum DMV-Arai-Ladies-Cup auf der harten Strecke in Arnstein weiter, auf der bereits 2005 ein Lauf zum Ladies Cup ausgetragen worden ist. Samstag Morgen hatten wir unser freies Training, gefolgt vom Zeittraining Samstag Nachmittag. An diesem Wochenende fuhr ich auch zum ersten Mal wieder mit meinem 2008er Rennmotorrad, welches ich seit dem Motorschaden von Teutschenthal nicht mehr gefahren bin. Im ersten Rennen hatte ich einen halbwegs guten Start und lag in der ersten Runde auf dem 7.bzw. 8.Platz. Zum Ende der ersten Runde lag ich bereits auf dem 6.Platz und konnte Marianne Veenstra für den Großteil des Rennens folgen. In den letzten drei Rennrunden bekam ich plötzlich Vergaserprobleme an meinem Motorrad und konnte das Rennen nicht normal fortsetzen. Ich dachte, dass das Motorrad jeden Moment ausgehen könnte und fuhr sehr langsam, da ich keinen Ausfall riskieren wollte. Glücklicherweise konnte ich meinen 6.Platz ins Ziel retten. Sicherheitshalber startete ich im 2.Lauf mit dem anderen Motorrad, weil wir den Fehler nicht finden konnten. Zu Rennbeginn war ich auf den 6.Platz hinter Kim Irmgartz, derzeit meine größte Konkurrentin in der Ladies Cup Gesamtwertung. Ich konnte sie nach den ersten Runden überholen und versuchte möglichst schnell einen kleinen Abstand herauszufahren. Dies war relativ einfach, da sie kurz danach stürzte. So setzte ich das Rennen auf dem 5.Platz fort und hatte ausreichend Abstand auf Marianne Veenstra auf Platz 6. Mit einem 6.Platz im 1.Lauf und dem 5.Platz im 2.Lauf konnte ich Gesamt 5. werden. Zum Schluss möchte ich mich noch bei Stefan von MXHoch3 bedanken, der mir zuletzt viele wertvolle Tipps gegeben hat. Ich hoffe, dass ich einiges davon umsetzen kann.

 

After round #4 of the 2008 FIM Women’s World Championship we headed to round #6 of the German DMV-Arai-Ladies-Cup held in Prisannewitz, a pretty cool track in the north of Germany. The race took place on Sunday only, so we used Saturday afternoon to relax a little bit. Once again this was a great venue for Women’s racing in Germany, because it was held in conjunction with the Int. German Championship of the men. In qualifying practice I secured the 6^th fastest laptime, which was a bit below my expectations. In moto #1 I had a mediocre start, but came together with another rider in the first corner. I tried to avoid a crash and went off the track. Coming from the outside, I re-entered the track in dead last place. So I had to play catch up for the entire moto. After passing a lot of riders I was finally able to make the move to 4^th place with one lap to go. Moto #2 didn’t start much better. Shortly after the start Elien de Winter went down in a tight corner, so I was blocked behind some other riders and lost a couple of positions. When we got around her I was somewhere in the top 15. So I had to do the same thing as in moto #1. After a few laps Elien de Winter passed me back. I followed her for some time and was able to pass her back. Afterwards I had my sights set on Kim Irmgartz, who is very close to me the overall classification of the Ladies Cup. I passed her without major problems, but she kept me on my toes for quite a few laps. We passed each other back and forth and had a really nice battle. In the final stages of the moto I had a little gap on her and finished the moto in 5^th place for 4^th overall of the day. 

Time Practice: 6^th, Moto #1: 4^th, Moto #2: 5^th, Overall: 4^th

Im Anschluss an das 4.Rennen der FIM Weltmeisterschaft ging es im DMV-Arai-Ladies-Cup auf der schönen Strecke im norddeutschen Prisannewitz weiter. Da es nur eine Eintagesveranstaltung war, konnten wir uns am Samstag vor Ort noch etwas ausruhen. Einmal mehr war dies eine besondere Veranstaltung für uns Frauen in Deutschland, weil unser Rennen in Verbindung mit der Internationalen Deutschen Motocross Meisterschaft der Männer stattfand. Im Qualifikationstraining sicherte ich mir den 6.Platz und bleib damit unter meinen Erwartungen. Im ersten Lauf hatte ich einen mittelmäßigen Start, kam aber in der ersten Kurve mit einer anderen Fahrerin zusammen. Um einen Sturz zu vermeiden, musste ich von der Strecke und konnte das Rennen erst als Letzte fortsetzen. Danach galt es nur noch so viele Plätze wie möglich aufzuholen. In der letzten Rennrunde konnte ich noch an Kim Irmgartz vorbeigehen und das Rennen als 4. beenden.  Der 2.Lauf begann nicht viel besser, da Elien de Winter kurz nach dem Start an einer Engstelle zu Boden ging und einige Fahrer blockierte. Ich verlor einige Plätze und konnte das Rennen in den Top 15 fortsetzen.  Nach einigen Runden ging Elien de Winter wieder an mir vorbei und ich versuchte ihr zu folgen. Ich fand ein paar gute Spuren und konnte sie wieder überholen. Von da an konzentrierte ich mich nur noch auf die vor mir fahrende Kim Irmgartz, die meine direkte Verfolgerin in der Gesamtwertung ist. Ich konnte sie relativ problemlos überholen, machte jedoch im folgenden einige Fehler, so dass sich daraus ein Zweikampf entwickelte. Wir überholten uns gegenseitig einige Male, doch ich konnte mir gegen Rennende etwas von ihr absetzen und den Lauf als 5. beenden. Mit meinem 4.Platz im ersten Lauf und den 5.Platz in Lauf 2. konnte ich den 4.Gesamtrang einfahren und ein paar Punkte in der Gesamtwertung gut machen. 

Zeittraining: 6.Platz, 1.Lauf: 4.Platz, 2.Lauf 5.Platz, Gesamt: 4.Platz

 

First of all I have to appologize for the missing race reports of the last two races. I had a few busy days at university, because I had my hands full with learning for an important exam in English. Sorry for that!!! In the meantime I participated in one of the 2008 race highlights, the German World GP in Teutschenthal. We arrived at the track early on Friday morning. Friday afternoon all participants of the FIM Women’s World Championship had a special media opportunity with a big Italian magazine. This was a lot of fun. Saturday’s practice sessions were relatively good, beside the 2^nd free practice session in which the engine of my practice bike broke down. I just took the transponder off, left the bike on the track and headed straight to the mechanics area, where I picked up my other bike. In timed practice I was running as high as 8^th for some time, but was passed by Sofia Sjöberg in the final stages of the practice. I had some more bike troubles (jetting issues) in Sunday’s warm-up session, so I just took a few laps around the course. In the races I had two terrible jumps out of the gate. I don’t know what’s wrong, but right now I am stuggeling with my starts a lot. Coming from outside the top 20 I made my way to the top 10 relatively quick in both motos, but it didn’t go as smooth as I have liked to. In moto #1 I secured a hard earned 9^th place, right behind Marielle De Mol in 8^th. Even if I couldn’t make an attempt to pass her, I had a faster laptime than her. The start of moto #2 was worse than the first one, after a few corners I was well outside the top 20 and had my hands full for a while. I had a nice battle with Anne Borchers, one of my main competitors in the DMV-MX-Ladies-Cup. I lost some energy there and started to ride really tight after passing her. So I slowed down a little bit and finished the race on a save 10^th place. Even if I am not completely satisfied with my riding, I am satisfied with my top 10 results. After so much bad luck in the first few races, some uncesssary mistakes and bike failures it is a great feeling to be back in the top 10 of the Women’s World Championship, because this is exactly what I am capable of. Thank you to all my sponsors for staying behind me and supporting me the best way possible. At the end I would like to give you a link to some really cool video footage featuring a short interview with myself:

http://www.truveo.com/Myspace-The-FIM-Womens-World-Championship/id/3634383555

Free Practice 1/2: 11^th, Time Practice: 9^th, Warm-Up: 17^th, Moto #1: 9^th, Moto #2: 10^th, Overall: 9^th

Zuerst einmal möchte ich mich für die fehlenden Rennberichte der vergangenen beiden Rennen entschuldigen. In den letzten Wochen hatte ich etwas Stress an der Universität, da ich für eine wichtige Prüfung in Englisch lernen musste. In der Zwischenzeit fand der GP von Deutschland, als eines der 2008er Highlights statt. Wir sind Freitag Morgen an der Strecke angekommen. Freitag Nachmittag fand für alle Teilnehmerinnen der FIM Weltmeisterschaft ein ziemlich lustiges Fotoshooting mit einem großen italienischen Magazin statt. Die samstäglichen Trainings waren relativ gut, bis auf das 2.freie Training in dem der Motor meines Trainingsbikes erneut kaputt ging. Da ist das Motorrad nicht allein von der Strecke bekam, nahm ich den Transponder und machte mich auf den Weg zur Helferbox um das Training mit dem anderen Motorrad fortzusetzen. Im Zeittraining lag ich kurz vor Ende auf einem guten 8.Platz, wurde aber in den letzten Runden noch von der Schwedin Sofia Sjöberg überholt. Im Warm-Up am Sonntag konnte ich nur ein paar Runden fahren, da wir einige Probleme mit der Bedüsung des Motorrads hatten. In beiden Rennen hatte ich ziemlich schlechte Starts. Obwohl ich zu Beginn zweimal außerhalb der Top 20 war, konnte ich mich recht schnell bis auf Platz 10 nach vorn kämpfen. In Lauf #1 erreichte ich einen hart erarbeiteten 9.Platz direkt hinter Marielle De Mol, die ich leider nicht mehr angreifen konnte, obwohl ich die schnellere Rundenzeit fuhr. Der 2.Start war noch schlechter als der erste. Trotz allen konnte ich recht zügig bis auf Platz 11 fahren, wo ich dann einen schönen Kampf mit Anne Borchers, eine meiner Hauptkonkurrenten im DMV-Arai-Ladies-Cup, hatte. Leider hielt ich mich dabei etwas zu lange auf und verlor meinen Rhythmus ein wenig. Deshalb ließ ich es die letzten Runden etwas ruhiger angehen und fuhr einen sicheren 10.Platz ins Ziel. Auch wenn ich mit meinen fahrerischen Leistungen nicht wirklich zufrieden war, freute ich mich sehr über meinen 9.Gesamtrang beim GP von Deutschland. Nach all den Rückschlägen (Bikeprobleme, Fahrfehler und unnötige Stürze) in den ersten 3 Rennen der Weltmeisterschaft, bin ich froh endlich wieder in den Top 10 zurück zu sein. An dieser Stelle möchte ich mich bei all meinen Sponsoren bedanken, die jederzeit hinter mir standen und mich super unterstützt haben. Am Ende möchte ich noch den Link zu einem ziemlich coolen Video geben, welches mich bei einem kurzen Interview zeigt:

http://www.truveo.com/Myspace-The-FIM-Womens-World-Championship/id/3634383555 

Freies Training 1/2: 11., Zeittraining: 9., Warm-Up: 17., Rennen #1: 9., Rennen #2: 10., Gesamt: 9.

 

We arrived at the track in St. Jean d’Angely Friday morning. The day was dedicated to do tech insepction, to walk the track and to relax a little bit. In the afternoon we had a special media opportunity when we went to town and did a football match against a couple male competitiors of MX1/ MX2. Even if I couldn’t participate in the match due to the damaged ACL in my left knee, it was a lot of fun. After the match we took a short ride with a pedal-boot. After returning to the track we had a special media practice to make us more comfortable for working with the media people. Saturday was the regular practice day. I had a lot of fun and posted consistent lap times around 10^th place. In the timed-practice I got 11^th. Sunday morning’s warm-up session was a bit muddy, but still good to ride. In moto #1 I got a mid-pack start, but lost a few positions in the course of lap 1, because I rode a bit too patient. As I tried an inside line on a left hand corner, I fell down. Restarting in last place, I started my way through the pack, finally ending in 14^th place. So I had my sights set for the 2^nd moto, because I finally wanted to get a top 10 finish. In the end I couldn’t make it, because I rode too tight and lost too much time in the opening stages of the moto. To sum up, I have to say that I am not satisfied with how my World Championship races went so far. For example in moto #1 my speed was good, but I made this stupid mistake in lap 1. In moto #2 I didn’t crash, but also didn’t ride good. Hopefully I can turn it around in the next two races.

Freitag Morgen sind wir an der Strecke angekommen und hatten genügend Zeit für die Maschinenabnahme, zum anschauen der Strecke und um uns ein wenig auszuruhen. Am Nachmittag ging es gemeinsam mit einigen Medienvertretern in die Stadt um ein kurzes Fußballturnier gegen die männliche Konkurrenz der MX1/ MX2 Klasse durchzuführen. Wegen meinen noch immer kaputten Kreuzband nahm ich sicherheitshalber nicht am Fußballturnier teil, hatte aber trotzdem viel Spaß beim zuschauen und anfeuern des deutschen Teams. Nach dem Fußballspiel nutzen wir noch die Gelegenheit um einen kleinen Ausflug mit dem Tretboot zu machen. Im Anschluss hatten wir noch ein Mediatraining mit Youthstream, um uns im Umgang mit den Medien etwas sicherer zu machen. Am Samstag fanden wie gewohnt 3 Trainings statt. Die Strecke machte mir viel Spaß und ich konnte konstante Rundenzeiten um den 10.Platz einfahren. Im Zeittraining gelang mir dann die 11.Zeit. Das sonntägliche Warm-Up war ziemlich matschig, aber immer noch gut zu fahren. Mein Start zum ersten Lauf verlief mittelmäßig und ich büßte im Verlauf der Runde noch einige Plätze ein, da ich etwas zu vorsichtig fuhr. Als ich eine Innenspur probierte, stürzte ich und musste das Rennen im Anschluss als Letzte wieder aufnehmen, konnte mich aber bis zum Ziel noch gut vorarbeiten und das Rennen auf dem 14.Platz beenden. Somit war die Zielstellung für Lauf 2 klar...endlich mal in die Top 10 zu fahren. Trotzdem konnte ich mein Ziel nicht erreichten, da ich ziemlich angespannt fuhr und zu Beginn zu viel Zeit verlor. Soweit bin ich mit dem Verlauf der WM Rennen nicht zufrieden und hoffe, dies in den nächsten beiden Rennen zu ändern.

 

First off all I want you to have look at the official race poster. I can’t tell you how pumped I was when I saw the poster for the first time. Thank you for chosing me as their premier rider on the poster. What a great honor. We arrived at the track Friday night. So we had Saturday to relax and calm down after another stressful week. Free practice went pretty good, but I had a minor problem with my race bike, which seems to be really difficult to start whenever the temperatures are high and the engine is hot. So I changed bikes after the first practice and continued to ride my practice bike all Sunday long. In the last minutes of qualification I was able to improve my lap time by a second to move up to 4^th place. I pulled a great start in moto #1 running along side with Larissa Papenmeier. I was able to stay in 2^nd place for quite a few laps, before Maria Franke put me under pressure. For sure she was faster, but I kept her behind me for almost 2 laps before she made the final pass. From there on I slowed down a bit and rode a save race to 3^rd place, with Maria in 2^nd and Larissa as the winner. Moto #2 was the complete opposite. This time I struggeled with my start, as I felt that my clutch slipped and I found myself in one of the last spots after the first corner. It took me about 2 laps to find a good rhtyhm, before I finally started my campaign to the top 5. I felt pretty comfortable and passed the majority of riders with ease. When the 2 lap board came out I was in 6^th place and saw two more riders in front of me. I made the pass for 5^th and was really close to 4^th in the final lap when I came across a lapper. I didn’t want to lose any time on Jenny Seidenberg in 4^th, so I changed my line before a step-up jump causing a pretty nasty crash. I hit the ground quite hard and lay on the ground for some time feeling intensive pain all over my body, before I got up and slowly rode to the finish line. The good things was, that I lost only one position finally finishing in 6^th place, because all riders behind me were lapped at that point. I am really happy, that I am okay (beside some bruises), because a lot of people kept telling me, that the crash looked horrible with me flipping a couple of times. Back home I went to the hospital to have my back investigated, because I had terrible pain all over. Luckily it was only bruised and I was released later on. At the end I would like to thank my special race crew, which helped me out a lot during the last two races, as my dad wasn’t there. I couldn't have done it without you!!!

Schaut euch mal das offizielle Plakat zum Rennen an. Als ich das Poster zum ersten Mal sah, war ich ziemlich überrascht. Ein Dankeschön an den Veranstalter, dass sie mich als Fahrer ausgewählt haben. Obwohl das Rennen nur am Sonntag war, reisten wir schon Freitag Abend an, um uns noch etwas Ruhe zu gönnen. Das freie Training verlief soweit ganz gut, aber ich hatte ein Problem mit meinem Rennmotorrad, welches ziemlich schwer anzutreten ist, wenn die Temperaturen etwas höher sind und der Motor heiß wird. Deshalb nahm ich für den Rest des Tages lieber mein Trainingsbike. In den letzten Minuten des Zeittrainings konnte ich mich noch auf Platz 4 vorarbeiten. Ich erwischte einen guten Start und konnte genau hinter Larissa Papenmeier als zweite in die erste Kurve einbiegen. Diesen Platz konnte ich dann für ein paar Runden halten, bevor ich von Maria Franke unter Druck gesetzt wurde. Obwohl sie um einiges schneller war, konnte ich den 2.Platz fast zwei Runden gegen sie behaupten. Als sie mich dann überholte, nahm ich etwas Speed raus und fuhr einen sicheren 3.Platz ins Ziel. Lauf 2 war das absolute Gegenteil von Lauf 1. Ich hatte ein paar Probleme mit meiner Kupplung und bog als eine der letzten Fahrerinnen in die erste Kurve ein. Nach ungefähr 2 Runden fand ich endlich meinen Rhythmus und machte mich auf den Weg nach vorn. Ich konnte den Großteil der Fahrerinnen schnell überholen und lag zwei Runden vor Schluss auf einem guten 6.Platz, mit zwei weiteren Fahrerinnen genau vor mir. Kurz danach ging ich auf 5 und wollte noch an Jenny Seidenberg vorbei gehen. In der letzten Runde liefen wir noch auf einen überrundeten Fahrer auf. Da ich keine Zeit verlieren wollte, nahm ich eine andere Spur am Step-Up und musste hart zu Boden. Nachdem ich kurze Zeit am Boden lag und mir so ziemlich alles weh tat, stieg ich wieder aufs Motorrad und beendete das Rennen als 6. Da alles Fahrerinnen ab Platz 7 überrundet waren, verlor ich nur einen einzigen Platz. Zum Glück passierte mir nichts weiter, da mir einige Leute erzählten, dass der Sturz ziemlich schlimm aussah. Sicherheitshalber ging ich am Abend noch ins Krankenhaus zum Röntgen. Aber neben einigen Prellungen war alles okay. Ein großes Dankeschön an meine "Spezialcrew", die mich die letzten beiden Rennen unterstützt hat, als mein Dad nicht dabei war. Ohne sie wäre es nicht möglich gewesen!!!

 

When we arrived a the track Saturday evening it still looked a bit muddy, because it rained all Saturday long. Practice went relatively good and I secured the 4^th fastest laptime in qualification (1^st: Maria Franke, 2^nd: Larissa Papenmeier and 3^rd: Steffi Laier) after having a minor problem in the first laps, when I came a bit too short on a little step-up jump and came together with another rider who was following me closely. Luckily none of us got injured and it wasn’t really someones mistake. I got a good jump off the gate in moto #1 and continued the race in 4^th place till the checkered flag flew. I had a good, clean battle with Marianne Veenstra, till she stalled the bike in a tight corner, allowing me to pull a sizable gap on the rider in 5^th place. Due to some problems with my race bike, I decided to start moto #2 with my practice bike. I got another decent start in moto #2 and was in 6^th for a few laps, before passing Kim Irmgartz for 5^th. We continued to battle for 5^th when my engine stopped for some reason. As I tried to restart the bike, I saw that I lost some oil and that something was wrong. So I had to pull off the track with another dnf and losing valuable points in the hunt for the championship. As we figured out at home, my piston broke.

 

The trip from Bulgaria to Italy was a bit more relaxed and we arrived in Italy Tuesday evening. We stopped in Austria on Tuesday morning to get a new engine for the race. At that point I want to thank Kawasaki Pfeil for borrowing me an engine for Mantova. Wednesday was dedicated to practice and to rebuilt my race bike. So by Wednesday afternoon we went to the track in Cremona to set up my engine for the race. Thursday afternoon we arrived at the track in Mantova and were finally able to enter the paddock Friday morning. By Friday evening the weather situation started to change, as it was a weekend full of rain and muddy conditions. I had my regular practice sessions on Saturday and stuggeled a bit with the track. I never felt 100% comfortable with the track. In timed practice I ended up well below my expectations in 15^th place, because I had some caburetor issues, so the bike wasn’t running properly. When I decided to take my practice bike to pull some fast laps, I totally forgot to change the transponder. The whole thing got even worse on race day, as I had two terrible starts. In moto #1 I ended up 15^th as I ran out of time to pass more riders. In the first two laps of moto #2 I passed a good amount of riders, but the moto came to a short end when I crashed on one of the biggest jumps and hurt myself too bad to continue the race. That means I had two motos out of 4 without a finsish in the first two rounds of the 2008 FIM Women’s World Championship. Not exactly how I wanted to start my 2008 World Championship. After the race I took some time off, because my back was really sore and I had a concussion from the crash.

 

First of all I need to appologize for the delay of my race updates lately. To be honest, the last weeks were crazy. I didn’t find any time to relax. Right after Euskirchen, we started to get ready for the first big World Championship trip 2008. Oh, men I can’t tell you, how crazy this was. The trip to Rd. #1 of the 2008 FIM Women’s World Championship to Sevlievo/ Bulgaria started Wednesday evening before the race. We had a 1800km drive across a few European countries. It took us 17 hours to complete 700km in Romania. That’s insane. Friday before the race was off for relaxing, tech inspection and a track walk. The facility over there was state of the art, I couldn’t have asked for anything more. The practice session turned out pretty good and I was able to secure the 7^th fastest laptime in qualifying practice. So I went into Sunday with high expectations for a good top 10 finish. But it came differently. I had a horrible start in moto #1, was angry and made a mistake early in the race, when I made an attempt for passing, I crashed and stalled the bike. When I restarted I was 3 laps down...so I finished the race in 28^th. Moto #2 was even worse. I got a good jump off the gate, but I didn’t make throughout the first lap that well. Riding around 15 place for a while, I struggeled a bit with the slippery track conditions. When I finally started to find my rhythm, my engine expired the I had to dnf because of a broken valve.

 

Thursday, May 1^st Round #3 of the DMV-Arai-Ladies-Cup took place at the track in Euskirchen near Cologne. The days before the race were dedicated to get a lot of rest, because of my swollen knee. On Monday through Wednesday it really bothered me, because I thought that some ligaments are broken. So I kept icing the knee and by the time thursday came around it got a little bit better, but still felt weak. At first I struggeled a little bit with the tight track, but it got better lap by lap. I had a crash in the 1^st practice, where I came together with a rider and our bikes went completely upside down. In the qualifying practice I had the 6^th fastest laptime after a slow start. I got a top 5 start in moto # 1 and finished the race in 5^th place behind Anne Borchers. Right before moto #2 it began to rain, so this moto turned into a muddy race. I got a great start, but made a major mistake losing valuable time and dropped back a few positions. I was lucky enough not to get down and rode a bit tight throughout the entire moto finishing in 5^th again. Considering the circumstances, it’s a relatively good finish.

   

Round #2 of the 2008 DMV-Arai-Ladies-Cup was held at my hometrack in Triptis the last weekend of April. As always the preparation for this event was very stressful for my entire family. Everything was going good till the rain came on Friday, when the track turned into a complete mudfest. To be honest, I have never seen the track that muddy before. It was kind of funny, because it was warm and we had blue skies all day long, but the track was really deep. Due to the weather situation I cancelled my racing on Saturday, to save my equipment for all the upcoming races. Nevertheless I had my hands full with the organization. Sunday morning the track looked much better and you could find at least a good line everywhere. I secured the 5^th fastest laptime in qualifying practice and had two 4^th place finishes in the motos. In moto #1 I had a good battle with Elien de Winter from Belgium. Moto #2 started with a relatively good start,  but was red flagged after one lap, because of a big crash. In the restart I got another decent start but battled around 5^th place for the first 10 minutes of the moto. All in all I am satisfied with my result, but I worried a little bit of my left knee, which I somehow injured in the course of moto #1. Thanks to all my sponsors for helping me out especially my newest sponsors Dunlop tires and DF Motorsport and my awesome mechanic.

 

Round #1 of the 2008 DMV-Arai-Ladies-Cup is in the books. The race was held last Sunday on the sandy track in Haenchen, along with the International German Sidecar Championship.Throughout the weekend I stuggeled a lot, but had also some good showings. It all started in the free practice session, when I stalled the bike in lap 2 and crashed in lap 3. Timed practice went by without any major problems, but not a really good laptime. I got a midpack start in moto #1 and rode a little bit tight during the whole moto, had some good battles, but didn’t find a good rythm until the checkered flag flew in 7^th place. My 2^nd start was a little bit better and I was in 6^th after the first laps. I continued to ride much better than before and could easily run the pace of the riders around me. So we started a good battle for 4^th place, when I came close to the rider in front of me, I hit the brakes too hard and stalled the bike again. Remounting in 9^th place, I continued the race and rode on a good pace. Due to my mistake I was about to be lapped with one lap remaining, when the front runners came together and we all went down in a 4 people crash. Our bikes were all mixed up and I took a lot of effort and time to get the bike back in upright positon. We could all continue the race until the finish line, without any major damage, just minor problems on the bikes and some bruises on the body. It wasn’t really someone’s mistake, just an incident, that happens sometimes during racing. The next round of the championship is a couple of weeks away and will take place on my hometrack the last weekend of april (April 26-27). I will make sure that I get more seattime on the new bike, which I only rode once before Haenchen, so I didn’t feel comfortable on it yet. Thanks for your support. 

13/03: The 2008 race season will start soon

Sorry for not giving you any updates lately. I had to overcome a few difficulties lately, but I am in good spirits. Right now everything looks good. We are currently working on my 2008 race bike. I can’t wait to start riding it in the next couple of days. I am sure it will be a lot of fun. Also I hope to get my new race gear in time for the start of the 2008 DMV-Arai-Ladies Cup held in Haenchen the last weekend of march. All in all I had a good season preparation and had plenty of time to relax, rest and focus on what is coming up soon. Hopefully I will have a better season then last year. As far as my injured shoulder goes, I don’t have any news on that. The movement is still limited, but I don’t have a lot of pain with it. So I need to take what I get.  

See you on the track soon, Alex #99

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