Nordic Supermono Cup, fourth round at Linköping, Sweden

The race 7 and 8 of the Nordic Supermono Cup took place at Sviestad, just outside Linköping. I got my new billet rocker arms on Monday evening, so the preparations were just as late as normal. The definition of a race bike is that it is in molecules the weekend before it is supposed to be used.

This was the first time I saddled up after I broke my collar bone. The first practice was feeling uncomfortable, but at the next session it was "coming back to me" as Inspector Clousseau used to say. I was back in business for the qualify and got 2nd position on the grid.

I started the Saturday race a bit too careful and was no better than 6th after the first turns. After 5-6 laps I had fought myself up to 2nd position. At the 7th lap the rear slipped slightly once or twice. I realized that the bike was fuming oil on my rear tire, and that I had to give up. I slowed down the pace a little into the chicane before entering the pits. Out of the chicane I just barely cracked the throttle and high-sided big-time! Unfortunately my family was standing on the other side of the fence... My ribs were hurting and I caught migraine from the stress, so I took some pills and an hour in bed. As it turned out, the rear rim was dented and the frame was cracked, so there was no mechanical connection between the front and rear... Well, racing is not for the weak. I fellow racer, Johan Rydén, had cracked his Husaberg 650 crank case and offer me his bike for the Sundays race. So it was decided! He (Johan Rydén) helped me getting his engine out and assemble mine in his RGV-chassis. My carb fitted under the fuel tank but his exhausts had to be modified to fit my cylinder head. It was not possible to fit my exhaust system on his bike. We were done at 1am.

I took 2-3 laps to find out if I could race despite my cracked ribs, find out where the oil was coming from and hopefully try to figure out how this RGV was behaving. Riding was pretty much painless, so that was good. The bike was a little slower to throw around and the rear wheel couldn´t handle all the power, but all in all it was quite OK. The oil came from the water pump weep hole! And I had just replace sealing and o-ring before the races! I threaded the hole and plugged it. For the race, my only goal was to finish and save points for the championship. I settled at 5-6 position at a comfortable pace, about 2 seconds slower than normal. At lap 7-8 the exhaust was starting to get really noisy. I tried to look down, but as I couldn´t see anything, I thought perhaps the primaries had come off. Next lap I got the black flag. Big sigh. Well I did my best, I thought. When I entered the fast lane, Johan was running towards me with tools! I looked back, and saw that the muffler was hanging straight down the side of the bike! With the engine running we took off the muffler and the officials let me reenter the track! Afterwards they told me that they decided to let me do one lap to see if the noise was acceptable. Apparently it was OK, so I crossed the finish line after 16 laps! I saved 7 points for the championship. Unfortunately I had to let go of the lead, and it will be tough to gain 17 points at the last 2 races. But I sure will give it a try! Better not waste more time in front of the computer, I have an alubox-frame in two halves to weld...

Huge thanks to my good friend Johan Rydén!

Thanks Craigy!
The work list is tough. Yesterday I found the lower fork triple clamp to be twisted. More work... :?

Thanks, Håkan! The chicane I´m talking about was built this year, on the far end of the straight. We had a fatal accident last year, so something had to be done to reduce the speed. For me the speed was reduced in my normal travelling direction, but increased laterally.

That is correct! A sharp right turn followed by a equally sharp left turn, then full throttle back on the straight again through a right turn. In my opinion the track has gained in more than one perspective by introducing this chicane.

I took a day off today to get ahead with the repairs. I have welded the frame, repaired the front engine mounts, the cooler brackets, the muffler and some other small bits that needed attention. Looks possible to race!