Imatra and Chimay - Top results for Schmiddel !

Hello "Laserscanning Europe Road Racing" friends,

The last two races in Imatra and Chimay were very satisfying for Schmiddel and the entire team. We summarized both weekends and provide some impressions.

Imatra

On Tuesday before the racing weekend, the team around Schmiddel and mechanics started out for the long way to Finland. Using the ferry, they moved from Travemünde into the Finnish capital Helsinki. After 27 hours on the ferry, the last 300km to Imatra were proceeded by car.

When arrived in Imatra, the team has to get accustomed to the weather in Imatra; there was a strong and cold breeze. After the tent was set up quickly, team manager Eric Bergholz joined up with the team. By the way, the Finnish women liked the weather anyway as the following photo shows. :)

 Eero Sherman Eero Sherman

The first training runs started on Friday. The motorbike worked well; Schmiddel was very comfortable and could drive a second more quickly compared to the previous year. During the second training, he improved by further two seconds - at this time, we already had a good feeling for the weekend.

After successful qualifying rounds on Saturday morning (starting position 5 as result), the first IRRC race started in the afternoon. After a first interruption resulting from an accident and the subsequent restart, Schmiddel could be glad about position 4  - he missed the podium but it was already a great result for the team.

Impressions of the race in Imatra.Impressions of the race in Imatra.    Impressions of the race in Imatra.Impressions of the race in Imatra.

On Sunday, Schmiddel started the race on position 4 with a perfect start. During the race, he won and defended position 3. From round to round, the distance to the driver behind became larger so that he achieved the position masterfully. Podium - Wow, everyone was happy!

 Eero Sherman Eero Sherman

The second IRRC race already started shortly thereafter and Schmiddel had to achieve further important credits for the championship ranking. Schmiddel drove like the clappers and reached the third position. In the middle of the race, he had an exciting tackle with Thomas Walter; at the end, he couldn't make up for another position. But he reached the podium  at the end - position 3. Awesome - The weekend was unforgettable! To put the cherry on the cake, we have to mention that Schmiddel drove the second fastest round with 1.58.256 min in the second race.

Imatra in a nutshell - Position 4 | Position 3 | Position 3 - Sensational, Schmiddel !

 Eero Sherman Eero Sherman


Chimay

Benefitting from a significantly shorter arrival, the team left for the Belgian Chimay on Thursday. The following Friday, Schmiddel had to discover the race track and test the motorbike. "The reuslts were better than I thought", Schmiddel said in the aftermath. After the training, a 1.45.50 min round resukted in position 1 in the Benecup ranking. He had position 3 in te IRRC series.

Schmiddel on the Circuit de Chimay.Schmiddel on the Circuit de Chimay.

Due to the great times achieved the previous day, Schmiddel started the qualifying rounds full of anticipation on Saturday morning. Unfortunately, things didn't go that well; Schmiddel couldn't get close to the time achieved on Friday. At the end of the qualifying rounds, he had 1.46.20 min which means start position 4 in the Benecup and start position 6 in the IRRC race.

Since Schmiddel was not in the best of health on Sunday, we decided not to drive the Benecup races so that Schmiddel could focus his energy on the IRRC races. After the start, he gained one position during the race. After a few rounds of tackle with Laurent Hoffmann for position 4, Schmiddel got the short straw and had to be satisfied with position 5. However, he had further important 11 credits for the champiionshp ranking.

Position 5 in the first race in Chimay means further 11 credits for the championship ranking.Position 5 in the first race in Chimay means further 11 credits for the championship ranking.       Exciting first race on the Circuit de Chimay. Schmiddel achieved position 5 at the end.Exciting first race on the Circuit de Chimay. Schmiddel achieved position 5 at the end.

The second race was a water fight - the drivers needed floaties and flippers to be in one of the front positions since it was bucketing down. It seemed that Schmiddel had a great rain set-up; he could achieve the podium during the race - position 3, on the stairs again!

Water battle during the 2nd race in Chimay, Schmiddel with great rain set-up.Water battle during the 2nd race in Chimay, Schmiddel with great rain set-up.

Successes result in inspections since Schmiddel had a dope test after the race. But even this time-robbing procedure couldn't disparage the positive impressions; Schmiddel had two great results to his credit and, at half-time of the IRRX race series, Schmiddel had position 4 of the overall ranking thanks to 71 credits.

In the second week of August, the team will drive to Ulster Grand Prix in Belfast / Northern Ireland for the first time. Schmiddel intends to do his best. The weekend on the Emerald Isle will probably become another highlight this year.

So far, stay sporty!

Your Laserscanning Europe Road Racing team