GCC GOLDBACH. LIGHT AND SHOWDOW OF A RACE WEEKEND

[totalmotorcycle]

GCC GOLDBACH. LIGHT AND SHOWDOW OF A RACE WEEKEND
Thursday, July 17th, 2008 - BMW Motorcycle Press Release - Total Motorcycle - http://www.totalmotorcycle.com



Munich.The 4th round of the German Cross Country Championship (GCC) in Goldbach - the prime event of the series - was a mix of emotions for the BMW Motorrad Motorsport team. Joel Smets and Bert Meyer ended up on the podium, but Simo Kirssi who had been the leading man in the series so far didn't finish due to an electrical problem.
In best weather conditions and on a perfectly prepared race track the BMW team showed an impressive performance in front of the approx. 5000 spectators. After a Le-Mans-Start all three BMW factory riders were in front. Simo Kirssi managed to create a gap of one second between himself and his fellow riders. After five rounds the gap had grown to 30 seconds. But then the Fin had to consult the pit crew because he noticed ignition problems with his BMW G 450X. The cause of the damage couldn't be located on the spot so Simo went back on the track. Unfortunately the problem kept coming back and Simo had no other possibility than to stop the race.

It went not perfect either but still a lot better for the five time MX champion Joel Smets. Over several laps the Grand seigneur of cross sports fought a hard battle with the GCC newcomer and French MX star Cyrille Coulon. Then the Belgian accidentally touched the kill switch and had to stop for a moment. Furthermore he broke the bracket of the front mask in the fight, with these handicaps he couldn't keep up with the young Frenchman.

Bert Meyer showed once more his reliability. The track was earthy and peppered with jumps, Bert went through the two hours race distance like a machine becoming faster with every lap. He was rewarded with third overall in the end. With this result he is taking the overall lead in the GCC championship and he will start with start no. 1 at the next race in Mühlhausen.

The tension is on before the last three rounds of the series. Simo Kirssi is still keeping the lead despite the DNF of this week-end, however he is points even with his strongest opponent Cyrille Toulon. Bert Meyer is right behind ready to pounce.

Joel Smets:
"It was a great race on a great track. You had to ride very precisely and couldn't allow for any mistakes. Unfortunately I did make a few mistakes. Somehow I touched the kill switch and the bike stopped. And then the front mask bracket broke which made it hard to control the front wheel. I had it fixed at the fuel stop to avoid riding into the pits twice. Cyrille is a young and excellent rider in best shape. He had pulled too far away for me to attack him so I decided to take it easy and be satisfied with the second place. I am happy with my result but very sorry for Simo, it's a pity he couldn't finish the race."

Bert Meyer:
"I am very happy with my performance. Unfortunately I couldn't find my rhythm throughout the first lap - that's an old and well known problem, but I am working on it and hope to do better in the future. After halftime things went well. I didn't have any technical or other problems. A great race."

Simo Kirssi:
"Well that's racing. Technical problems can happen. I had a good start and pushed right from the beginning. It was my goal to pull away fast so I could ride a little bit more relaxed in the second half of the race. Then all of a sudden my bike hat problems with the ignition and I had to ride into the pits. The team tried to fix the problem. I went back out on the track but the problem was still there and couldn't be fixed so I couldn't finish the race."

Wolfgang Fischer (Head of the Team):
"Today the most important thing was for Simo to show that he can keep up with the speed of Coulon. He was more than keeping up, he had pulled away 30 seconds before he had to give up due to a technical problem. His two team mates were compensating the result by finishing on the podium. Now it's full attack for Simo for the final three races of the GCC season. Victory is all that counts. Joel was well in the fight for the lead in the first half of the race showing a great fighting spirit. So did Bert, Steffen Albrecht was seriously attacking him in the first half of the race, but after the pit stop Bert fought hard and pulled away to take podium position."

GCC Goldbach XCPro Class
1. Cyrille Coulon (FRA), Yamaha, 23 laps
2. Joel Smets (BEL), BMW Motorrad Motorsport, 23 laps
3. Bert Meyer (GER), BMW Motorrad Motorsport, 23 laps
4. Steffen Albrecht (GER), Yamaha, 23 laps
5. Marco Straubel (GER), KTM, 23 laps
6. Falko Karbautzki (GER), KTM, 22 laps
7. Jan Zulauf (GER), KTM, 22 laps
8. Stefan Geyer (GER), KTM, 22 laps
9. Jörg Haustein (GER), KTM, 22 laps
10. Andy Boller (GER), KTM, 22 laps