Challenge Scootentole – 10h race in Magny-Cours, Nevers (F)
The last long-distance race of the season took place in Magny-Cours last weekend. Scootentole invited to the 10-hour race on the 'PISTE CLUB', a 2,53 km long race track right next to the well-known GP track. As in previous years, we followedProject PAUL“ – along with 40 other racing teams from all over Europe – their invitation, because last year’s title had to be defended!
Despite some turbulence in the run-up - due to the organizer's postponement of dates and driver absences due to illness - we finally managed to win two teams with four drivers each in class SP1 ("Smallframe Proto") to name:
Team 1 consisting of Romain, Felix, Wolfi and Thomas went with the 40 hp strong M200 V50 racer (#6) at the start,
Team 2 with the Falc-PK (#176) with around 28 hp, driven by Volker, Markus, Julia and Dennis, who was also the boss and main mechanic of both teams (which should push him to his limits). But from the beginning...
After a long journey and a short night in a - let's call it - "cozy" 10-person mobile home, on Saturday, the day before the actual race, there was set-up, training and qualifying. Unfortunately, Peter showed no mercy, again and again it poured like buckets. With positions 6 and 19 on the grid after qualifying and the hope of drier conditions the next day, things went down early in the evening because the next day was supposed to start early!
Luckily, the race day started much drier than the day before, so we decided against rain tires. And then it finally started! The starting shot was fired at 8.45:XNUMX a.m. On slicks with the road still wet, Wolfi and Markus confidently drove the first stint. The track gradually dried out, which led to better and better lap times – until the first race was stopped after around three hours. A serious crash by a rider from another team kept the rescue team busy for a long time, with all riders stuck behind the safety car.
At this point, Team 2 was back in the box with its PK. The engine stalled during the third stint. The cause was quickly found: Massive tooth loss on the clutch sprocket gave us a four-hour break, during which Dennis, Volker and Markus disassembled the engine to search for the lost teeth. I quote pit neighbor Robert: "Sometimes you're the dog and sometimes the tree"...
Meanwhile, the race had picked up speed again - and so did our Romain: he drove his new best lap time of 1.28.116:6:2 and thus the third fastest lap time of the entire race. Starting from position XNUMX, we were now in position XNUMX just behind “Vespa Italy Team” from Crimaz and ahead of “Superbordel Deluxe”, our French battle partners from last year. The Lambrettas from Casa Performance and TD Customs were also in the front places and made for an exciting race!
Dropping back to 39th place, team 15 started to catch up around 2 p.m. Well, there can be no question of a real catch-up race, but at least a few laps could be collected, because the engine not only held up, it also ran like clockwork again. The guys did a great job and didn't give up and that's what it's all about in the end!
About two hours before the end of the race, team 1 was also hit. After the carburetor had slipped, a defective gudgeon pin bearing forced us to replace the engine. There were now too many laps between us and the very strong competition, which continued to battle for the top positions. And although a place on the podium could only have been achieved if one of the other teams dropped out, the fight continued until the checkered flag was waved exactly 10 hours later.
In the end, Project PAUL achieved 1th place (Team 4) and 1th place (Team 10) in class SP2, which meant 7th and 33rd place overall. Casa Performance burned the fastest lap time of 1.26.766, followed by Vespa Italy Team (1.27.527) and Projekt Paul (1.28.116).
We congratulate all drivers who made it across the finish line and thank each and every one of them, especially the organizer Scootentole, who made this exciting race weekend possible. Also our sponsors, the Scooter Center, KR Automation, FalkR and Egig Performance, we would like to say a HUGE THANK YOU, because only with you Project PAUL is what it is - a successful team of friends with a lot of heart for motorsport!
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#vesparacing #scootercenter #KRautomation #falkR #EgigPerformance #Egig #Heitec
