Het goede nieuws is dat al het harde werk niet voor niks is. Nieuwkomer Jerre blijft star op zijn doel gefocust en blijft de strijd voor de eerste plaatsen aangaan. Jammer genoeg begint het verschil met pechvogel Tom voor een steeds groter wordende kloof te zorgen in het klassement… Iedereen weet dat je een beetje geluk nodig hebt als de krachtbron van je scheurijzer uit china stamt en Tom blijkt voor het tweede seizoen een beetje aantrekkingskracht te hebben voor de stukken die op maandagmorgen werden gefabriceerd. Na juvaincourt had zijn blok een duidelijk verlies van vermogen dat later aan de bedenkelijke kwaliteit van de zuigerveren bleek te liggen. Omdat er niet meteen een overschot van tijd van tijd was besloten we ze pas na de race in Clastres te vervangen. Clastres was zoals verwacht een snel circuit en op elke rechte lijn was het dan ook vechten zonder wapens en hopen dat de boel heel bleef. Bij het demonteren van de kop kwamen nog een paar kleinigheden naar boven waardoor de brommer met zijn nieuwe zuiger en zuigerveren ineens liep als een trein. Hoewel hij in het middengebied iets te rijk liep en niet helemaal over heel de lijn het voordeel kon benutten was de eerste race in Veldhoven al meteen een teken dat er beterschap in zicht was. Hij ging met de rappere jongens mee tot het einde van het rechte stuk zonder enige moeite. Tom vond in de tweede training het lang verloren zelfvertrouwen terug en knalde op zijn typische manier naar de pole. Jerre pikte vlot aan en de beide mengde zich in de eerste race tussen de enkele rijders die de pro-reeks nog telt. De overmacht die Tom ten opzichte van de andere light-rijders had werd nog maar eens in de verf gezet toen hij op het einde van de race onderuit gereden werd, zich recht zette en doodleuk naar de overwinning van de lights reed met in zijn kielzog de Jerre. Voor de toeschouwers wordt het onderhand moeilijker en moeilijker om te weten wie in welke klasse rijd en hoewel het hun geen extra punten oplevert was ook te zien dat de lights nu voluit tegen de overblijvende rijders van de pro-reeks koersen.

Race twee liep net iets anders…

Door de valpartij van Tom had de motor in de laatste rondes niet gelopen zoals het hoorde en in de paddock werd vastgesteld dat de carbu overliep. Jammer genoeg was dit niet de oorzaak en toen we in het parc fermé de brommers wilden starten voor race 2 stelde Tom vast dat zijn motor niet aansloeg. Later bleek het de CDI-box te zijn die het(waarschijnlijk) door de hitte had beginnen begeven. Geen race en geen punten waardoor deze gedroomde kans om zich naar de top van het klassement te rijden in een klap verdween. Tom verbleef in een paddock met piloten die kampten met afgebroken kleppen, olielekkende motorblokken, vastlopers en uitgedraaide versnellingsbakken zich afvragend of het wel een goed idee was geweest om tussen de twee races door zijn bougie te vervangen terwijl Jerre en ikzelf aanschoven op het startveld. Door een goede start zat Marco Nolis ditmaal niet gevangen en Jerre was aangewezen op achtervolgen. Dat duurde tot het einde want net zoals in de eerste race zette Marco constant harde tijden neer. Het was spannend tot de laatste bocht en Jerre moest zich tevreden stellen met een tweede plaats en met zijn dagoverwinning punten sprokkelen die hem voorlopig leider maken in het algemeen klassement van de light-reeks.

Ondanks een serieuze tegenslag hebben we uiteindelijk toch een redelijk teamresultaat gehaald. Dat hebben we niet alleen te danken aan de rijkwaliteiten van de piloten maar ook aan de mensen die achter de schermen van ons team veel meer bijdragen dan ze soms zelf beseffen. Door het low-budget karakter van ons race-team is het onmisbaar om op het juiste moment de juiste beslissing te kunnen nemen. We kunnen niet even ons motorblok in een doos smijten en er een paar 100 euro bijleggen om het te laten tunen of een paar tuningsdelen kopen om te kijken of we daardoor sneller zullen gaan rijden. Als je mee vooraan wil strijden vraagt elke aanpassing uitgebreid test- en denkwerk. Dat vraagt tijd, samenzitten en alles velen keren in twijfel trekken tot je min of meer zeker bent dat iets de moeite is om te proberen. Ondertussen alles in topconditie houden en alles plannen… Dit weekend moeten we daardoor een sympathisant bedanken die zijn nagelnieuwe Pitster X4 ter beschikking stelde. Niet omdat we een brommer te kort hadden maar omdat we wel eens wilde weten wat het verschil is tussen een standaard brommer en eentje waar geld tegenaan gesmeten is. De X4 werd voorzien van Sava-banden en de vering werd afgesteld voor asfaltgebruik. Geen aanpassingen voor grondspeling, betere remmen of motoraanpassingen. Het resultaat was interessant omdat hieruit bleek dat het met wat geluk mogelijk is om op een circuit zoals Veldhoven een podium te rijden met een brommer die zo goed als standaard is. Het is duidelijk dat bergen vermogen, ultra veel grip, tonnen remkracht en tot in het oneindige regelbare vering geen noodzaak is. Het simpelwel goed afstellen van het geheel zodat het tot op zijn limiet kan gebruikt worden is meer dan voldoende. Misschien niet om te winnen, maar zeker en vast om mee te kunnen en plezier te maken. Dat we dan iets kunnen bijleren over wat de moeite is om aan te passen en hoeveel verschil het kan maken is natuurlijk de grootste bonus.

En daarom is er een tweede persoon die we moeten bedanken ; Steven (alias Travis) die nauwkeurig noteert wat de effecten en resultaten zijn van aanpassingen die we aan zijn brommer mogen doen. Het is namelijk veel betrouwbaarder om iemand te hebben die perfect kan vertellen wat er onder hem gebeurt dan elke week zelf je aanpassingen te gaan testen en te proberen beoordelen. Steven is in ware blancoracing-stijl begonnen met een ebay-pitbike van 600 EURO en test nu het V51-frame. Een werkje waar iedereen bij blancoracing de vruchten van draagt!

En tot slot; op de algemene vraag om meer foto-materiaal en up-dates op de website (ok mensen, Tom zaagt daar altijd over…:-)) Begeef u allen kuddegewijs naar facebook en u vind ons onder “Blanco Racing”

Met een redelijk goede voorbereiding vertrokken we om 6u ter hoogte van Willebroek. Naast de gebruikelijke probleempjes was het enkel Tom die zich een half uur te laat uit bed liet vallen en ons halfweg de weg naar Franco voorbijging met achter hem een wild flitsende paal… Aangekomen in de paddock viel het meteen op dat er redelijk wat teams van vorig jaar ontbraken of helemaal anders samengesteld waren. Na een vlotte en grondige technische controle werd de eerste training al meteen door Tom omgedoopt in een echte shake-down. De dit jaar toegelaten 160cc-blokken zijn een wereld van verschil en vragen minder zware aanpassingen dan de oude honda-style 140-blokken waardoor de betrouwbaarheid op het eerste zicht veel verbeterde. We hadden wel twee pogingen nodig om de juiste carburatorafstelling te vinden maar in de chrono was het duidelijk prijs en onze jongens konden vooraan starten. Een stevig resultaat voor Tom die bevestigde dat hij ook met nieuwe motoren snel kan gaan en een zeer degelijk resultaat voor Jerre die in zijn eerste race al meteen toonde dat er dit jaar met hem rekening moet gehouden worden. In de tweede race moest zelfs Tom even voelen dat het er dit jaar stevig aan toe zal gaan toen Jerre hem even voorbijglipte. Snel rechtgezet door Tom en er werd meteen veel minder gegrapt over de “no-teamorders”-mentaliteit binnen ons teampje…

Naast de gebruikelijke aanpassingen die men van ons gewoon is (afgezaagde spatborden, aangepaste zithouding etc) waren we ook net iets verder dan verwacht gegaan in het waterproof maken van de brommers. Spatborden en behuizing voor de luchtfilter werden soms nogal raar bekeken maar werkte precies zoals gepland. Enkel No77 bleek tijdens de race met een geluidsniveau van 106dB ver boven het toegestane geluidsniveau.  De nieuwe Fast Ace schokdemper bleek later op de dag ook niet aan het geweld te kunnen weerstaan en de voorrem was enkel in de regen voldoende krachtig. Kleinigheden die we tegen volgende race wel kunnen oplossen.

Race-action (Tom)

 Verslag van het slagveld…Afgesproken met de Jerre om me op te pikken om 5u45 en me totaal overslapen waardoor mijn eerste race van de zich al op de snelweg afspeelde om de rest van het team in te halen.

Aangekomen op een doorweekt en koud Francorchamps en de moed om de eerste training te rijden was ver zoek. Joris verplichtte me zowat om toch te rijden en dus toch maar aangekleed. Alles voelde OK en op naar de tweede training om de limiet van de regenbaden te zoeken.

Een mooie schuiver gemaakt en geen schade aan mens noch machine. Wel vreemd dat ik totaal geen waarschuwing kreeg van de banden. 

Voor de chrono had ik gepland om één van de snelle jongens uit de pro-klasse te volgen om zo een goeie tijd neer te zetten en dat lukt nog ook. Pole bij de lights!

Race 1 : Met de pole in handen zag het er goed uit voor mij, enkel drie snelle jongens van de pro voor me dus aanpikken was de boodschap. Maar, door een compleet gemiste start (verwarring over vlag of lichten) moest ik van bij het begin achtervolgen en inhalen. Eén voor één haalde ik de concurrenten in en eindigde toch nog derde. Redelijk ongelukkig over de start maar ook blij met Jerre zijn tweede plaats in zijn allereerste race!

Race 2 ; Met het weer in Franco weet je nooit en de keuze om over te gaan op slicks speelde in ons hoofd. Uiteindelijk besliste we het om het bij regenbanden te houden en met een goede start hield ik Jerre tot goed halfweg achter mij. Tot die binnendoorglipte en ik op achtervolgen aangewezen werd. Enkele ronden later had ik hem te pakken en reed weer eerste. Naarmate de race vorderde verloor ik meer en meer grip waardoor het tempo iets naar beneden moest en Cornet kon aanpikken. Met een redelijk onfair maneuver kon hij me naar de tweede plaats verdringen en met een beetje geluk kwam niemand naast de baan terecht. Tweede plaats.

Conclusie, een geweldige dag met de Jerre als een zeer welgekomen nieuwe piloot in het team (alhoewel…:-)) Een derde plaats overall en Jerre vierde plaats maakt me benieuwd of we dit in Juvaincourt kunnen herhalen? Hopelijk bij betere weersomstandigheden.

Tom46

 Thanks to the APS-team the season had a great kick-off with their first edition of the “APS Superbiker”. With marshalls on literally every corner and the 2Race-team as partner it was the perfect race-day. Although rainy and cold, a lot of riders turned up and by the end of the day everyone agreed that the formula worked. Big thanks to the people that made it all possible!

Although we were running two new engines and we didn’t get them sorted in time, it became painfully clear that this year the big difference in laptimes will be due to tirechoice and not horsepower when it rains. While you could get away with Bridgestone ML50 or Sava MC20 Rains last year it will be all about the Heidenau K58 and Dunlop TT72 this year. Everyone knew they are better but as the sport goes to the next step, so will the budgets. In other words, the differences between the “A” en “B” classes (for 2009 ; “pro” and “light”) is getting smaller when it comes to preparation, equipement and commitment because a lot of “light”-riders are taking things more seriously.

Riders for 2009:

TOM146 : better known as Tom46. Legendary for trying to complete races with engines that were build from scrap and left-overs and blowing up multiple of these engines without spilling a single drop of oil on the track.  Doesn’t like to talk about limits…

 De Jerre : Some say he’s the last person you want to send out for take-away, others say he manages to keep the food inside the box no matter what…all we know is that’s he’s called “De Jerre”.

 Friends from the track;

“Pornstar” Tom : Out for some time after injuring his arm in a heavy crash. Word in the paddock is that they used fasteners from his crashed bike to repair his arm. Seems to know where people will crash two laps in advance and always gets the best pictures.

Quickly-racing : Turns up once in while to sweep the track. Needs to change his oil and rear-tire in one go.

Next up; Training at franco. Final check for suspension-mods and engines before we add the last gadgets.

Every year is the same. The racing-season is finished, weather gets worse and before you know it you haven’t been out on the track for 3 weeks. The offroad-bike gets more attention because you’ve lost the ussual todo-list that has been in the top shelf of your workbench all season. Then one day you wake up and start thinking about next year…

So what will 2009 bring? There are no rules so we can’t start on any idea’s that we cooked up during late night brainstorm-sessions on race-weekends. But that’s not going to stop us working on some unfinished bussiness. The V51-frame has proved to be a huge improvement but as always there are other things that need modification/improvement to keep up. First of all, the rear shock we bought after the big off-track excursion last summer needs an overhaul. Not sure if that’s going to be a lot of work or at all possible so i bought a RS250-shock that was waiting for a second chance in the Mototech-stock. A bit more weight than the DNM-shock but a lot more reliable and probably higher quality. While we’re at it, the rear-swingarm will be replaced with a lighter and stronger one. That means more welding to be done but the workshop still hasn’t got any heating so i prefere welding over other work. (Like fixing the wifes’ damn Volvo…)

During all this work on the rear-suspension i will probably try to find a way to fit the lightweight axles. They are not just lighter but also have a bigger diameter which will make the whole rear set-up more rigid. There’s more to gained in the swingarm-axle but i’ll leave that for the next frame which has a more suitable design for what i’ve got in mind. (More info soon)

People that walk into our workshop have been confused about what we do down there. There aren’t any jiggs around and the ussual pile of tubes are no longer scattered around the workbench. It’s all about engine-parts these days because we need to fix stuff for other riders so we can earn some bucks. The nice thing about this is that we can see a lot of different engines and parts. That makes it easier to puzzle and think about what we can do once the 2009-rules are out. Just for the fun of it i tried to build a bigbore 3-valve engine and it’s going pretty well. The china-based 3V-engines have really small valves and it will need a custom-made cam to get near the new 150 YX-engines so unless the rules allow more capacity than 4V-engines (max. 125cc for our class in 2008) for 3V-engines, it will remain a side-project and for racing i’ll stick to the 150YX-engine.

So basically nothing new? Yup…except that a lot of people have seen the V51 in the flesh. (Get’s hard to hide it every time someone walks in) So i’ll just put it up here and see what you think.

As ussual the long winter will give me plenty of time for other projects. This year i’ll be helping out as much as i can to help the guys at Mototech build a low-budget CBR600F-racer for the NoBudgetCup. Some extreme plans are allready in progress and there will be pictures soon. There’s another team (Polymer-racing) that will also be able to count on our help for technical support if their Gixxer should need it. Further more, i’ve been promising the ressurection of the Silver-Psycho Classic Racer for a few years now and finally took the time to get all the parts out their boxes. Getting everything cleaned up and ready to be assembled will keep me distracted when i get a workers-block

The “Silver-Psycho” Duc 350 a few years ago;

Have great winter,guys!

A lot of people have been asking about the Version 51 frame and it’s progress. To be honest, the frame has been tested a while back and is ready for it’s first race.

The frame was handbuild on our own jigg and to get the highest possible stiffness in bending and torsion we used thin walled stainless steel.

Weight of frame : 2.78kg, weight of subframe : 0.72kg, weight of bottomframe (without pegs) : 0.26kg

We have to say that our luck is changing. Since Tom has shown to be a quick learner and adapted to fourstrokes in two weeks time, i didn’t have much work on the engines except for the ussual tune-up. The search for more power from these engines is no longer a priority ’cause everybody is talking about a 150cc limit in 2009 and we only have 3 races left.

So why has the search been stopped? The no51-bike already has a 150-engine?….not excately. Halfway through the season we had a brainstorming-session with the guys from R&Y about the search for affordable power. The goal was to build an engine that would produce the same power as a heavily modified 140 with old Honda-style head and still be reliable. I was allready looking at the new 150-engine for some time and turning it into a 140 wouldn’t be really difficult as R&Y was willing to supply an engine and all parts for us to build the engine. (R&Y is the importer for OORacing and other great stuff. Their range of parts is so big you can build everything from a jet-engined quad to a small aircraft.)  We basically changed stroke and bore to get it to 140cc and took it to the track. Without any tuningparts (apart from the 24mm Mikuni carb) it was just as fast as the heavily modified Honda-styled 140 we used for racing. The guys from R&Y were kind enough to let us use this engine during the last races so even when Tom blew up a few, we were still able to race. Big thanks to them!

If the 150-engines are allowed in 2009, there will be no need for robbing liquorstores if you want lots of power and the difference in laptimes between the low-budget teams and the moneyspenders will become smaller on most of the tracks. In the B-group, where power also makes a big difference, racing will get a lot closer and fiercer. Tracks aren’t getting any bigger but the bikes become faster so the need for decent brakes and suspension will increase and the price for building a bike that can win races will be the same in the end.

 If this will turn minimotard into a more mature motorsport where rider-skill and good tech back-up becomes more important than ever, then we also need to think about creating a new class for people that want to start racing with a 800EURO budget like we did. Food for thought…

Amay turned out a really fun track and with just one little technical problem we had a great day. This season hasn’t excately been free of troubles so even with one man short we had a great day and a rather surprising result. Since Tom kicked ass big time, he’s the man with the story:

As i said after our last race in Francorchamps, this weekends race would be the track that i like more. As both Joris and me had other things on our mind on saterday, we decided not to practice and set a good chrono on sundaymorning. We were told it was a short and technical track so our starting position didn’t really matter. (For me that is, as i don’t have a brain LOL)

Arriving at nine-thirty in the morning, it appeared that there was a slight change in the program and i could still have a go for a good chrono. Joris didn’t but i went out on my own and set the ninth time in only four laps! The track was short and technical and it was nearly impossible to pass. I loved it instantly!

Race one was a disaster for me. After a really good start i was in sixth right behind our friend Yuri from R&Y when the bike just died on me…I saw the rest of the race from up on the tirewall and felt really bad.

(Something was wrong with the ignition but Joris kept looking for the problem and fixed it in time for race two. Thank You!!!)

Next issue on our minds were tires. Since it began to rain several times and it always dried up really fast we decided to wait as long as possible about which tires to use. Then just for the race a real storm passed by and set the track under water. The decision was easily made; Wet tires! I’ve never raced in a wet race so i kept my fingers crossed.

Since i had a DNF in the first race, i got the last spot on the grid and i decided to use the warm-up lap see how far these wet tires can go. Not far, and i felt it… Laughing inside my helmet with my own stupidity i positioned on the 14th spot for the start.

As reported before, no fear and no brain i went for it and found myself in 8th position. One after another pilot fell off and managed to get back on their bikes but then it started to rain heavily and while everyone was struggling, i started to have fun with the wet tires. Everything went well and suddenly i saw no51 in front of me. Their are no friends in racing so i passed him too…

With the heavy rain it was getting harder and harder to stay on the bike. I fell off twice and the second time no 51 went passed me. I did everything i could to get back and after two laps i went by him again.

With all these crashes nobody was sure about their position and i figgered i must have been fifth or fourth but the result was far better. Second place!

To bad the bike didn’t hold up in the first race as that would have got me a serious chance for a podium. Joris got the 3rd overall and with this result he’s back in third place for the championship. Three more races and things are looking good for 2009 too. I allready decided to stay with blancoracing since there will be nobody who believe in me and my chances for 2009 like Joris!

Tom (no146)

So, i guess we’re stuck with him for another season… :-)  And, no pictures, but we’ll try to make up for that when we get back from Marche-en-Famenne.

Our last race in Franco left us with a huge to-do list. We needed to fix both No2 and No3 engines and find a way to keep Jonathan from crashing and teach Tom to ride a fourstroke…i had a feeling there wasn’t going to be much time left for improving the bikes.

One week to go and Jonathan got a spare engine fitted and i decided it would be easier to fit my old 136cc-engine and have Tom try it out before the race instead of going to Franco with a rebuilt engine without testing. The goal was to enter the races and finish. No pressure, just keep it together and finish. Tom started out with reasonable 59.6 in the first practice session. Considering he had the least powerful engine on the grid and the carb needed some work, he did a hell of a job. Jonathan was lapping under 59 and seemed to have left the crash that took him out last time long behind him. Second practice he went under 58s. and Tom followed with a 57.6. The carb still needed work but he was getting the feel for the Sava-slicks that the guys from Mototech got for us. It all looked good.

We sorted out the small problems as the day went by. I ended up running a Dunlop TT91 that i inhereted from a friend (known as “The Pornstar” by insiders. The tire itself is famous:-)) Tom didn’t miss a single gear and loved the new exhaust. We were ready for qualifing.

Qualifying was strange since we ran together with the A-group. These guys run 5 seconds a lap faster then us and it is nearly impossible to get a tow on the straight or to set a good lap when they come flying by through the corners. Halfway through qualifying i saw Jonathans’ bike parked by the side and Tom slowing down to much to be normal. Back in the paddock i found out that my old engine blew the headgasket. I could easily fix that and get Tom ready to race but Jonathan didn’t feel like racing after his high-speed parkingmaneuver. Instead he took a camera and turn out to have gift nobody knew about. Enjoy these pictures.

You have to wonder where it will all end when riders are starting up their bikes halfway through the briefing… In case this picture ever comes up again, i’m NOT bored by the briefing but pissed about the lack of interest for safety-rules by some pilots. Maybe i’m getting old….yeah, that must be it. Old and pissed.

Tom teaching me some paddock-ettiquette.

Race One; We placed 8th and 10th but since A and B were running together, the grid was full and we got 16th and 20th place on the grid. To be honest, i just dont have the balls to dive full throttle  into a bunch of wacko’s that are pushing to gain that extra place in the first corner. Tom flew past me as he is to dumb to be afraid and to crazy to think and i could see him go into turn one about halfway the pack. He had to let a lot of bikes get by on the straights but managed to take every one of them back in the turns and kept his position all through the race. After a few laps i finally managed to get closer to him and just before the end i took advantage of the “slightly” higher topspeed of my bike. (sucks to be second rider in a team:-))

Tom, surrounded by other riders who dont have a clue that there’s a madman amoungst them.

I slipped by Tom who did the impossible but couldn’t get No41 of his back. They both rode a great race.

in between an A-rider and a 150cc-rider.

Race two:

A slightly better start for me and a much cleaner take off by the fast guys meant it was a lonely race until the leader started to lap us. It was a lonely race were both of us battled against a big gap. Finishing was almost a relief.

Results;

I took the 6th place which brings me further down to the 5th overall in the championship. Tom had 9th place and never really gave the championship much thought as it’s only his second race with us, so he was pretty pleased. Jonathan will need some convincing but i’m pretty sure he will be back and ready for next race.

Tom reporting from the frontlines;

After breaking two engines at our last appearance  in franco I really felt that I had to do something to make it up with the team. I’m not really able to help the team out on the technical side of racing so I just did nothing really and waited for the team to tell me that my bike was back and running. Last Tuesday I had my First training and everything felt ok for Sunday’s race. On raceday the bike was ok in cornering but I missed about 20km/h in the long front straight. (Something mechanical????)  In quailifiyng everything was ok untill I saw Jonathan lying in a corner, the session was red flagged and we all came in. After two minutes we could go back out but I wasn’t able to start my bike again. I qualified around ninth position. That deserved a beer (or two)!!  First race; I had an ok start and fought the whole race with Benjamin Cornet for eight’ place. I finished eight’ but I wasn’t completely happy with the bike. It sputtered at high Rpm’s but inbetween races I decided not to change a thing. (read to let change a thing)  Second race same start but I was completely alone during the whole race and finshed seventh. Mission completed, no engine breakdown and a great day of Sunday racing fun. The whole team deserved another beer or two…. Next Sunday technical circuit in Amay, That’s where I’m slightly better so we’ll see

Our friends from R&Y had a great result in Juvaincourt and came to Franco for some more points. Lapping under 56s. all day and putting down a 54.7 as his fastest lap made him take 4th place.  He’s up in second spot in the overall standings and is planning to show more!Next week: Amay !!! A new track for us at blancoracing. Not to safe as far as we can see but slightly less high speed as Franco. But, still some straights where horsepower is needed. Stay tuned!

The last race on Franco was supposed to be a relaxing day, some racing and lot of fun. We had fun but it wasn’t excately relaxing. We arrived with 3 bikes for the first time and everything went smooth until the first practice.

Meet our second rider : Tom. (Totally unaware that the pile of junk behind him will only get bigger in Franco)

There are a few things about Tom that you should know before i do my report about this race. First of all, he is fast. He also is the only person i know that can crash 12 times during a 1.5hour race and still finish second. When we left for Franco i was still thinking he doesn’t do these things on purpose but when our 3 rider crashed out he went out to crash twice as hard ,nearly going over the tyre-wall. He then performed a strange ritual dance…definitly blancoracing material but nevertheless a bit strange. He also has a bit of a problem with the technical side of racing but i guess you better read our small report to find out how serious that is.

Racing: I replaced the good old Lifan 136cc engine with a modified YX160-engine. The only modification is the bore which was reduced from 60 to 56mm. With the original camshaft and a slightly higher compressionratio it ran a lot stronger then the Lifan. The KLX-style head is much more suitable for racing then the old Honda design and the new timingchain with sliders also makes it much safer for riders who tend to forget they’re riding a fourstroke. (Like Tom)

During training our 3rd pilot crashed out. Jonathan had his first race with  the blancoracing-colours on his bike and must have thought it would bring him luck. I dont think he has finished a race, not without crashing anyway, and our hopes were high he would get over the finishline in one piece. He didn’t but managed to get some attention by making a big cloud of dust when he attacked some gravel. Injured at the knee, he offered his bike to Tom who already managed to blow up his engine. Tom didn’t seem to like the idea but we talked him into it anyway. Jonathan kinda promised him that the engine was bulletproof and even after Tom almost burried the bike twice as deep, things were looking….erm…acceptable?

prepairing to blow up another engine. He must really hate fourstrokes…

First race: Tom blew up Jonathans’ engine in less then one lap. (Or was it in warm-up?) I was in second and much closer to race-pace with the new engine then ussually. After a few laps the Bridgestone-tyres started to go in all directions and since my teammates used up most of the available gravel, i slowed down a tad. Finishing roughly halfway the field. While waiting for the second race we took apart Toms’ engine and forgot the fuel up. Tom ran to the car for fuel just in time and away we went. I ran a pair of Jonathans’ slicks and after some laps got used to the feeling. Laptimes were going down with more then a second and all looked well until the new engine started to loose power in higher revs. We ran the engine without oilcooler so it might have been temperature or bad fuel. I didn’t want to take any risks so i pulled in and the engine seemed fine. Although it means a second DNF, we are rather pleased with the new engine and the idea to let Tom have a go with it in the A-group didn’t seem all that crazy. Unfortunatly, riding in the A-group sometimes seems to require a ridingstyle that doesn’t suit him…for now. (Read; Some  A-group riders try to run you of the track when you try to pass them)

 The painful result;

Toms’ engine:

Jonathans’ engine:

The sole survivor, struggling to keep up with the faster riders;

The fifth race in Franco seemed like the next nail in the coffin for our low-budget project. We missed Bilstain due to a broken piston and couldn’t make it to Juvaincourt on mothersday. To pick up the competition on Franco was not what we wanted. It’s a fast track with a long straight and most corners have a highspeed entry so the stabilityproblems that we had in the first race needed to be fixed to get a good result. In the first few laps of practice we noticed the modifications on the suspension gave us a much better feel on the entry and the rear tire improved the cornerspeed (and obviously the grip) that we had in the first race of the season were we used a worn front tire on the rear. (see report Franco 30.03.2008)

During practice it became painfully clear that our low-budget engine was also low on power. With a clear track we managed to get onto the straight with a decent speed and with some slipstreaming the third place on the grid was secured. First place went to the Takegawa-engined T-factor bike who was 2 seconds/lap faster than everybody else in the B-group.

A really good start in the first race got us the second position in the first corner. There was no way we were going to keep up with the Takagawa in front of us but it was to good to be true and atleast we were in front of our big opponent from past races. There was no time to see where he was and i could only hope he was held back by the pack. Halfway through the race he came by and it took a while before i settled down and started to really race. When he got blocked (ok, nearly knocked off) by a backmarker, i had a chance to get passed him. The gap was to big to close so a lucky 2nd place in the first race. As ussual we had the camera on board and captured most of it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aq46cnucIDY

We got a bit less luckly in the second race were no 30 came passed us in the beginning of the race but we managed to keep more or less in touch in case something happened. (it didn’t…)

On the way home we gave it all some serious thought and allthough the result wasn’t bad we have to admit that winning a race just isn’t going to happen if we stick to the low-budget-idea. There’s a lot of cash involved to get our Lifan engine to the point where it can pick a fight with a Takegawa or a full blown Jailing.  I guess it’s true when the say it’s more important to participate than to win. Even if that means looking like a fool and slipstreaming your way through the race