Spring Race 2013 Vespa Race Austria

Vespa races in Austria

For the fourth time, the endurance race took place on April 27.04.2013, XNUMX as the season opening the spring race on the ÖAMTC test site in St. Veit. We, the DART RACING TEAM, took part again of course.

The 1200m long circuit offers not only relaxed full throttle passages but also tricky sections.

The start / finish straight is certainly to be seen as a particular challenge. After a good 200m run downhill, it goes over a knoll behind which the route drops again by several percent. If you are traveling fast enough at this point, the tires lose contact with the ground for a short time. In short, a route that is really fun.

Here is the route profile, the circuit of the Vespa race in Austria marked in red.

We have briefly explained the more important route points (1-11) again below.

Before the start, from 6:15 a.m., there was still the opportunity to do a short 40-minute training session on the track. Fortunately, good weather was forecast for race day.

And shortly before 7:00 am it was time to take the starting line-up.

It started in the classic LeMans style at the Vespa race in Austria.

The day before, when setting up the pit lane

the starting places were awarded by lottery.

Mmmmh ... who knows what this is good for ...

Since our starting number 39 can be divided by our starting position 13 and the result is 3, we simply saw that as a good omen :-)

The first 90 minutes went without any problems. Until Robert tore off the crossbolts when they were flipped in the circular path.

A loose motor has a lasting effect on driving behavior and so the crossbolt had to be replaced. Unfortunately, we dropped from 10th to 38th place due to the repairs.

Far back it was all about driving evenly in order to let the distance to the targeted group of the first 10 melt again.

But as is the case with long-distance races, the placement is not decided in the first laps. 12 hours is a long time and so there was still a lot of work going on around us.

and next to us ...

and again on the other side….

But it was our turn again after 8 hours ...

The long downhill stretch of the route takes its toll in the form of 2 sets of brake pads

The remaining 4 hours ran without any problems except for a cracked fan cover.

Our Polini Evo, charged by a bigbertha and ventilated by a 33 Keihin got us through the 12h without any problems. Even with the Sava tires the 12h left no lasting impression. We will probably continue to use this set of tires for the 24h race in Spain.

Especially in the uphill sections, the torque that started very early could push us forward. The small drop at 8000 rpm is the price for the impressive performance entry at 5600 rpm and the maximum torque around 6500 rpm. A guarantee for very good gear connection and good thrust from the uphill curves.

Exhausted but quite satisfied with 8th place, we were able to cross the finish line at the Springrace Vespa race in Austria after 12 hours.

We, the DART RACING TEAM, would like to take this opportunity to thank the organizers of the race and all participants. It was another party and we hope to be able to take part in this successful event again in 2014.

Here are a few more details about the route:

1) Start / finish straight, downhill, gear 4 full

2) Shift 3, brake the small chicane in front of the crest

3) Short gear 3 full, brake on the 80 ° left to the circular path

4) out of the circular path in gear 3, accelerate briefly to 90 ° to the right

5) shift into gear 4, gear 4 full up to point 6)

6) brake uphill to the 90 ° right, switch back to gear 2, over the little hilltop

7) as soon as the front wheel is on the ground again, brake on the small chicane, driven in gear2

8) 180 ° left, uphill, accelerate out, shift into gear3

9) uphill, shift into gear4

10) brake to the 180 ° right, shift back to gear 2

11) accelerate out to start / finish, shift gear 3 -> gear 4 soaas ...

Vespa races in Austria