MICHAEL PEDERSEN ON AN RSV4 SHINES AT SLOVAKIARING, THE GREBENSTEIN TEAM DOMINATES THE HOCKENHEIM 1,000 KM ENDURANCE.
DANISH CHAMPIONSHIP: 343 RIDERS FROM ALL OVER EUROPE. The first round of the 2017 Danish Road Racing Championship was held on 16 April in Slovakia, on the Slovakiaring circuit, with Michael Møller Pedersen on an Aprilia RSV4 in the Superbike class winning third place in Race 1 and first place in Race 2. The races were held on the Slovakiaring circuit, with a track length of 5,922 m.
Zenergy Racing was the organiser and with a total of 343 riders from many European countries, the classes were well-stocked. The air and track temperature were low, and with the rain of the previous days and high humidity over the entire weekend, the races posed significant challenges for the riders.
For Saturday’s race, the first event in the Danish championships, Michael Møller Pedersen started from the sixth position and finished third, behind Simon Tirsgaard and Steven Tirsgaard. On Sunday (Race 2), Michael (bike no. 58) began from the third position. He and his RSV4 got off to an excellent start, and entered turn one in first position. During the race, Michael increased his distance over his rivals and reached the chequered flag with a lead of 2.658 seconds and the fastest laptime at 2.08.647.
“Today’s victory definitely didn’t come easy, but after a lot of attempts with the set-up and tyre selection over the four days, I finally found a very good feeling with the bike. I started from third and led the race from the first corner,” said Michael. His best time was an improvement of just over 3 seconds since he was on the track in 2013. “I’m very pleased with the result and I’m looking forward to the next round at Mantorp Park in Sweden, where I’ll try to do just as well as this weekend!".
Michael Møller Pedersen with his Aprilia RSV4 Factory APRC; photo credit: Dan SP Photo.
INFO:
www.facebook.com/TheMichaelMoller
After the first two races the championship scoreboard is headed by Simon Tirsgaard, with 45 points, followed by Michael Møller Pedersen in second place with 41 points, Steven Tirsgaard in third place with 36 points and Rene Prang in fourth place with 24 points.
GERMAN ENDURANCE RACE AT HOCKENHEIM: 72 TEAMS AT THE STARTING GRID. Like every year, the German DLC Endurance Championship opened the season on Easter Saturday (15 April 2017) at Hockenheim. The Aprilia Grebenstein team from Gera fielded its proven rider line-up of Ralph Uhlig, Andreas (Andy) Scheffel and Jürgen Scheffel, riding an Aprilia RSV4 (no. 17). In cool yet dry weather, the qualifying session began with a packed starting grid of 72 teams.
The Aprilia Grebenstein team reached an excellent fourth place on the starting grid for the race, which covers a distance of 1,000 km, the equivalent of 219 laps on the Hockenheim circuit.
At 11.30 sharp, the green light marked the start of the 42nd edition of this endurance classic. The starting rider Ralph Uhlig immediately secured a position in the leading group and was in third place when he passed the baton to Andy Scheffel at the first pit stop. Halfway into the race, the weather worsened with intermittent drizzle. Despite these difficult conditions and a stop-and-go penalty due to speeding in the pit lane, the team from Gera defended its previous lead through to the finish. This was its first victory at Hockenheim, in the 1,000 km, class 4.
INFO:
www.dlc-endurance.de