World MX: Back In The Winning Game In Germany

In 2007 I made myself a promise – Visit Germany for the Motocross Grand Prix sometime soon. In 2008, when I made the choice to attend all but two Grands Prix, this vow became a reality. In a way I dreaded visiting Germany for personal reasons, but at the same time, I was terribly excited. You see, of the Grand Prix tracks in Germany, Gaildorf and Teutschenthal, this year would be at Teutschenthal in what once used to be the old East Germany. I grew up with the inevitable stories of the post-World War split, or Volkstrennung as the Germans call it, and my first, and frankly only, sign of that after leaving Berlin Tegel airport was a small series of signs on the E51 motorway towards Halle where the old border used to be.

Was there any difference beyond that? No. Arriving into Halle, the nearest city to the track, it didn't feel any different to Cologne, or Hamburg, or – well, Berlin. Checking in at my hotel was just as painless, my rusty German quickly polished up to have a chat with the staff before hopping back into my Smart Fortwo to find the track. In the rolling countryside it was not too difficult to see the paddock, but to get there was slightly more challenging thanks to the inevitable GPS leading me down some tiny back roads.

The Teutschenthal track, or Talkessel to use the track's proper name, is hidden away in the shadow of a massive mountain of spoil of a nearby potash mine, and it has been around for over four decades. Throughout the Communist era it held both national and international races, and in 1971 the first world championship made its way there. But that was it for eighteen years before the wall came down and the world championship came back.

When you see an organisation like the MSC Teutschenthal lining up sponsors like DHL and the Sparkasse, a major bank, you have to wonder what we are doing wrong elsewhere. Granted, the reunification process between east and west has been painful, and DHL's ad also reflects this reality, but it still baffles me that no British bank has any interest in progressing the sport. But, all the politics aside, the view of the track is fantastic. From the spectator areas, the track is almost completely visible, only some back sections and the mechanic straight are slightly hidden away. The organisation is almost flawless. Even the internet connection, dead on arrival, is soon sorted out thanks to some hard work. And after that, it is incredibly fast.

Friday evening is spent at the Hotel Maritim, where Youthstream impresario Guiseppe Luongo presents his plans for 2009. Amongst those plans are the already proposed forty riders on the gate, which is in one way a return to the good old days, while on the other hand the fact that both classes will no longer have more than fifty riders attempting to qualify for the thirty spots on the gate, means that riders will have less of a chance to be spotted on the off-chance for a Grand Prix team spot. Of the forty riders, the majority will be permanent team riders, while another significant chunk will be left as promoter's choice. This means that Youthstream will choose the riders for those spots. The remainder of the riders will be left for the applicable federation to choose.

Another proposal which will undoubtedly be the topic of much discussion after publication, is the riders fee that Youthstream will charge. A €10,000 fee per rider is the proposal, and Luongo expects the motorcycle manufacturers to foot the bill, not the teams, mostly on the basis that the fee per rider is a drop in the bucket where marketing is concerned. In return, there are no extra fees incurred by the teams, so the cost of paying for infrastructure should fall away. An expanded pit lane that extends the existing pit boxes upwards onto a second floor for team dignitaries and VIPs is also added.

With the motorcycling industry in the United States feeling the bite of the threatening recession, Luongo hopes to entice the manufacturers to be able to interest all their affiliates and subsidiaries in the world championship to allow the championship to shake off the stigma of being more European than worldwide.

Saturday morning brings with it clouds and wind, but mercifully it does not rain. It is warm and throughout the day, the voluntary fire brigade keeps watering the track to keep the dreaded dust down. This round again features the women's world championship as well, mostly because Germany, together with France, Italy and the Low Countries, is a major force in driving forward the participation of women in the sport. Indeed it is one of the club's senior officials who was instrumental in getting women their own spot in the sun in the German side of the sport. The one person that is missing from this round is Ashley Fiolek who is instead competing in the American Women's Motocross championship.

The morning practice sessions see some interesting lines already, and by the time it comes to the qualifying practice for the MX2, the track is rough around the edges. German girl power superstar is KTM's Steffi Laier, who in second practice already proves that she wants a German on the top podium spot this weekend. In the MX2 qualifying practice it is incumbent leader, Red Bull De Carli Yamaha's Antonio Cairoli who goes pole with a time just over two minutes around the track, followed by Ricci Racing Yamaha's Nicholas Aubin and CLS Racing Kawasaki's Steven Frossard. The second free practice session for the MX1 class is headed by class leader David Philippaerts, Monster Rinaldi Yamaha's Italian rider.

The first MX2 qualifier goes to the line at 3pm sharp. Red Bull KTM's Rui Gonçalves looks like he is coming into his own as he takes the lead for four laps before Cairoli is able to reel him in and then pull away after a pass. Champ KTM's Jeremy van Horebeek keeps a very solid pace seven seconds behind Gonçalves for a third place. The two other big names in this race, Ricci Racing Yamaha's Davide Guarneri and Gonçalves' team mate Tommy Searle, pull a shocker by not qualifying. The second qualifying race is stacked with talent and therefore it is no surprise to see South African Red Bull KTM rider Tyla Rattray taking the lead from start to finish. He is hotly pursued by Team KTM UK's Shaun Simpson and NGS Team Honda's Marvin Musquin. Aubin and Sarholz KTM's Joaquim Rodrigues are the two big names in this race who do not qualify.

The timed practice session for the women does not see Laier at the top. No, instead it is GPKR Kawasaki's Livia Lancelot who storms across the track fastest, followed by Pfeil Kawasaki's Maria Franke and Inotec Suzuki's Larissa Papenmeier. Laier is fourth. The timed qualifying session for the MX1 class also sees a different rider at the top. Inotec Suzuki's Ken de Dycker is the fastest around the track, followed by GPKR Kawasaki's Sébastien Pourcel and Monster CAS Honda's returnee from a shoulder injury, Billy MacKenzie. Philippaerts languishes in seventh. The last chance qualifying session for the MX2 class is clearly going to see the three big riders Searle, Guarneri and Aubin at the top. After all, qualifying with the fastest time is easier for them than the many other riders who attempt to make it to the big race on Sunday afternoon.

Sunday morning looks to be beautiful, all weather forecasts go out the window. The morning warm-up sessions are soon over and the paddock is swarming with people. The various seating areas around the track are absolutely jam-packed and it looks to be a good day. Bring on the racing then, already.

At eleven the women's first race is ready to go. The leading trio that is blazing across the track is headed by Lancelot, followed by Franke and Laier. The times between the three is incredibly tight; the gap between them and the remainder of the pack is nearly fifty seconds. It is therefore no surprise to see these three lap halfway up the pack. This is how things end too, Swedish goddess Elin Mann a distant fourth.

Then at high noon the first MX2 race goes to the start. Again Gonçalves has the first corner nailed and stays ahead of the rabble for two laps. Again it is Cairoli who then takes the lead, followed soon after by his nemesis Rattray. The second corner mêlée costs Searle a good start, and he makes a good recovery, only to get stuck behind Frossard for most of the race. Only after the timer stops does Searle pull past the Frenchman to take the third place.

The first MX1 race makes the day exciting for the first time. MacKenzie, treated with ice spray to give his shoulder a fighting chance, takes the lead, with Nagl right behind him. For Nagl the race ends the next lap, embarrassingly right in front of the Red Bull KTM truck and the assembled VIPs. His bike simply stops. Frustrated he gives it a kick, only to realise afterwards that that was not particularly sportsman-like. With him out of the picture, the black-clad rider in the third spot sporting the number six, slides into second, and sets his eyes on the front. Monster Rinaldi Yamaha's Josh Coppins knows how it feels to race injured; he has had to do so for much of the first half of the season. But he knows that taking ruthless advantage of MacKenzie's situation is something he must do.

As the pain starts wearing MacKenzie down, Coppins takes the lead, adding some distance before Inotec Suzuki's Steve Ramon, coming from eighth, can make his own move from third. Ramon's team mate De Dycker is also right there in sixth, and shortly after Ramon takes on the mantle of runner-up, De Dycker rides shotgun in third. Philippaerts also makes the top more interesting as he passes De Dycker for the second runner-up spot, and there is only six second between the three as they race across the finish line.

The second women's race follows soon after, too soon for some, not soon enough for others. This time it also gets slightly interesting. Lancelot leads into the first two laps, but then Laier attacks. Taking the lead aggressively, it is clear that she wants this win, and wants it bad. So does Franke, who makes her own pass on the Frenchwoman halfway into the race. The roles reverse for first and third, and with the eighteen second lead it is clear that Laier was plotting for the win all along. The podium is Laier in first, sharing the number of points with Lancelot in second. Franke is third. In the championship it is still Lancelot though who has the pink plate, while Laier and Franke tie for second and third. There is much jubilation – of course.

The second MX2 race is completely different from the first. While Gonçalves again leads for several laps, Cairoli has a bit of a tougher time. A start in seventh becomes a battle up to the front. Rattray takes the lead from Gonçalves and sees off challenges from Searle. After Cairoli makes it to the front, the battle is between the numbers four and triple-two. Searle tries to keep up, and only a few laps from the finish drops it, losing five positions in just a few seconds. To add insult to injury, Inotec Suzuki's Xavier Boog steals another place from him with three laps to go. Frossard tussles with Gonçalves and Simpson, ending in fifth behind Gonçalves.

The second race win trumps, Rattray takes the Grand Prix win over Cairoli. Frossard is a distant third, beating Gonçalves by a point. The young Frenchman is overjoyed, Rattray also cracks a smile. I'm not quite sure how to sum up the moment though when it is the old South African national anthem, Die Stem, starts playing. What happened to Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika?

The final race of the marathon is the second MX1 race. It is practically a rinse-and-repeat affair of the first. MacKenzie has the hole shot again, and he tries hard to shake off the competition. But this time the freeze effect on his shoulder lasts even less. In the second lap he dispatches Pourcel, but two laps later he slips off, and drops away. Nagl has a much better second try, running in second behind Coppins, with De Dycker in third. It is De Dycker who makes a move on the German and ends up in second, keeping up the pressure on the man in front, Coppins. Third across the finish line is Kawasaki Racing Team's Tanel Leok.

Predictably, with two race wins, it is Josh Coppins who is on the top step. De Dycker takes second with Leok third. Philippaerts loses out on the basis of his second race result.

With all the racing over, there is one other thing left to do. Germany is to play Spain in football. But even there the luck doesn't last. Spain wins one-nil, much to the chagrin of the remaining track staff, and the people in the streets who force the police to block off the main drag in Halle-Neustadt.

On the way back to Berlin in my little Lego car, I ponder the fact that while the rain stayed away and some unexpected and expected winners stood on the podium, Germany turned out to be pretty damn good. Bis dann, Talkessel. See you next year.

Teutschenthal is reachable either from Leipzig (LEJ, 60 mi), or Berlin-Tegel (TXL, 120mi) or Berlin-Schönefeld (SXF, 125mi). Fly from Gatwick, Heathrow, Luton, Birmingham, Bristol or Stansted with BA, Lufthansa, Easyjet or Ryanair. Stay at the InterCity Hotel in Halle-Neustadt, 15 minutes from the track, or 15 further minutes away, the Hotel Maritim in Halle.

Results:

Championship Standings:

www.msc-teutschenthal.de
www.motocrossmx1.com

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