Press Release BMW win twin-cylinder race at Erzberg XIII Erzberg Rodeo 2007, 7th to 10th June 2007, KingsClass
BMW Motorrad Motorsport factory rider Simo Kirssi claimedhis second twin-cylinder class victory in three years at theErzbergrodeo event staged in Eisenerz, Austria, where theFinn posted the fasted time of this year's event on his secondrun up the 'Iron Mountain'. Competing for the BMWMotorrad Motorsport team along with US racers, and Erzbergfirst timers, Micky Dymond, Gary Trachy and Greg Tracyand experienced Erzberg racer Chris Pfeiffer from Germany,Simo saved his best for the second of his two runs and posteda time four second faster than that of his closest competitor,defending twin-cylinder class champion David Knight.With the 13.5 kilometre course not quite as fast and flowingas in previous years, a result of the organising team addingseveral chicanes in order to make the high-speed racea little safer, Simo's first run didn't go exactly as planned.Mysteriously Simo was unable to change gear at high rpmsoon after leaving the start ramp and although the problemsorted itself out soon after he then proceeded to ride a little 'too hard'. Running too deep into a number of corners, Simostruggled to find his rhythm and as a result finished eightseconds behind David Knight, yet still in second place, atthe end his first run.For his second run Simo opted to use a different engine setupand chose to compete with the motor he has previouslyused for cross-country racing. Giving the Finn a little morebottom-end power, as well as a closer ratio gearbox, Simowas able to get better traction on the dry, dusty and slipperycourse and set about posting the fastest time of the event.Well aware that he could ill afford any mistakes on his finalrun Simo rode much more consistently than he had on hisfirst assault on the mountain and making no mistakes reached the top of the mountain in a time of 9:02.93. In doing so he claimed victory in the Erzberg twin-cylinder class forthe second time in three years, much to his and the BMWMotorrad Motorsport team's delight.Of the remaining members of the BMW Motorrad Motorsportteam it was former AMA motocross and supermotochampion Micky Dymond that performed best finishing ina highly creditable sixth position. Having never competedat Erzberg before Micky, like the majority of riders, postedhis best time on his second run up the mountain. Finishingjust over one second behind '06 Dakar Rally winner MarcComa from Spain who placed fifth, Micky performed extremelywell despite being an Erzberg 'first timer'. Recording atime of 9:31.71 Dymond got to spend valuable time aboardBMW's HP2 ahead of the Pike's Peak race, which will beheld in Colorado, USA in July.Behind Dymond stunt riding world champion ChrisPfeiffer claimed seventh, eight seconds behind his US teammate.With Greg Tracy placing eighth, Gary Trachy finishedin 15th. Running into troubles on his first timed run Gary'sonly recorded time was his second run, which would havebeen good enough to place him in ninth. Disappointingly,the fact that Gary failed to finish his first run resulted in theorganisers adding 30 seconds to his time.Simo Kirssi: "It's great to have won the twin-cylinder classagain. The course rode very different to last year, becausesome changes had been made and because the weatherwas different. The track was a little slower this year becauseof the areas where they'd made the course a bit safer."The first run didn't go so well for me. I had a problem shifting gears soon after the start, and then I was riding a little bit too stiff and made some stupid mistakes like running toodeep into some of the corners. I always find the first run difficult."My second run was really good though. I was usinga different bike, which had a slightly different engine. I usedthe bike I use when I race the HP2 in cross-country races- it doesn't have quite as much top-end power but it hasreally strong and smooth bottom-end power. It worked reallywell for me. I was more consistent and didn't really make anymistakes. I guess you could say I rode with my head a littlemore than on the first run."Mickey Dymond: "It was definitely a great experience.I wish I could go back and do a couple more runs up themountain now because I learned a lot in my two runs. It'shard turning up at Erzberg for the first time and being timedup the mountain straight away. But I had a great time."The first section of the track was a little more like endurothan I'm used to with some narrow sections, rocks andeven some water on the course. It seems a pretty cool eventthough."The whole course was really slippery and I was looking fortraction, but there wasn't any. For me the most importantthing was just getting more time on the BMW HP2. I've nothad a whole lot of time on it and it is different to what I hadbeen used to racing. It's a really valuable test for me on thebike ahead of this year's Pike's Peak race."Erzbergrodeo 2007KingsClass
1. Simo Kirssi 09:02,93, BMW Motorrad Motorsport
2. David Knight 09:06,8, KTM
4. Giovanni Sala 09:21,27, KTM
5. Marc Coma 09:29,5, KTM
6. Mickey Dymond 09:31,71, BMW Motorrad Motorsportv
7. Chris Pfeiffer 09:39,05, BMW Motorrad Motorsport
8. Greg Tracy 09:42,09, BMW Motorrad Motorsport
9. Klaus Martinjak 09:49,96, Aprilia
10. Peter Bachler 09:57,72, Aprilia
15. Gery Tracy 10:19,27, BMW Motorrad Motorsport
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