First Cross Country Double Victory for BMW Motorrad

 

It was the second race of the German Cross Country Championship 2008 in the Thuringian city of Walldorf, and it was the second victory for Simo Kirssi and the BMW Motorrad team – and it even was a double victory! There was no way past the two BMW factory riders in that Walldorf forest special. The Fin Simo Kirssi and his Saxon junior colleague Bert Meyer were the fastest of the approx. 750 starters in this race which was held in best weather conditions. The track was very well prepared, and the two riders were riding convincingly marking their double victory in superior style.

Meyer had a better start than his Finish team mate and was holding second position. Then Simo Kirssi rode two fantastic laps which were enough to set the ranking in the field of the XC-Pro and the XC-ProLight riders. Coming from sixth position Kirssi quickly worked his way up to the front and managed to create a big gap between himself and his opponents. The rest of the race was looking like routine, and at the end of the two hour race the Finish rider was finding himself two and a half minutes in front of his team mate and nearly five minutes in front of the following riders. This shows the dominance of the Finish Cross Country specialist in the XCC series 2008 which he is leading now with maximum points. Behind Kirssi Bert Meyer was battling with his arch rival Arnaud Demeester who after about an hour had to give in to the power and determination of the younger BMW rider.

Simo Kirssi: „I didn’t have a very good start and first I was taking it easy trying to find my rhythm and figuring out my tactics. Then I started to push a bit more, and when Steffen Albrecht and Arnaud Demeester made mistakes in front of me it wasn’t difficult to pass them. The rest of the race I was just riding my pace. I didn’t feel so fit today and therefore I’m even happier about the result.

Bert Meyer: „I am very happy about my performance in Walldorf. I had a really good start. Usually I have problems to keep up the pace in the first hour, but this time I was able to follow closely. Then in the second hour I could catch up and managed not only to get past Arnaud Demeester, but also to create a good distance between him and me.

Berthold Hauser: „Weekends like this are absolute highlights. First we had the second place of Letti at Erzberg, and then a double victory in a XCC race. The race in Walldorf was a great event with a great track. Once more Simo showed his good feeling for tactics and was riding brilliantly and powerful. And Berti surprised with his second place and his fighting spirit. In Walldorf we could convert what we had tested last week with the 450 bike. This double victory is the reward for our continuous work and shows the potential of the bike.

Results GCC Walldorfer Waldprüfung XCPro Class

1. Simo Kirssi (FIN, BMW Motorrad Motorsport), 16 Rd.
2. Bert Meyer (GER, BMW Motorrad Motorsport), 16 Rd.
3. Arnaud Demeester (FRA, Yamaha), 16 Rd.
4. Mike Hartmann (GER, KTM), 16 Rd.
5. Andy Boller (GER, KTM), 16 Rd.
6. Bern Eckenbach (GER, BMW), 16 Rd.
7. Stefan Geyer (GER, KTM), 16 Rd.
8. Marco Straubel (GER, KTM), 16 Rd.
9. Jörg Haustein (GER, KTM), 16 Rd.
10. Falko Karbautzki (GER, KTM), 15 Rd.