Christian Andersen, still a young man at only 13 years, recently swept the 300cc Air-Cooled Class Danish Championship on October 4th, 2009. Winning this Championship is a remarkable feat for him as this class is also raced by adults, often twice his age!

The final round was held at the Nybol Motocross Track located in southern Denmark. As usual, Christian was the youngest competitor of his class. He had a great day winning his first moto and taking second in the last moto. Those results allowed him to win the overall of the day and become the overall Danish Champion for the 2009 season.

Despite his young age, Christian proved he really deserves his title by dominating the Series with 232 points out of 250 possible points. Second position overall 2009 was taken by Alexander Norskov with 212 point and third was Anders Dyrholm Kam.

Christian commented:

I’ve had a great year without any injury and getting a lot of practice done. Prior to the race season, we even went to Spain to train and take advantage of the better weather in February. Down there, we enjoyed two weeks of intensive quad cross racing. Cool !

My Honda TRX300 has a great set up with Elka Suspension Elite shocks and Lonestar chassis components. Everything worked flawlessly during the entire season, especially my Elka shocks – they surely allowed me to cut precious seconds from my lap times when I needed it the most.

For the upcoming 2010 race season, my father will upgrade me to a set of Elka Factory Shocks for my LTR450!  I really look forward to the first practice hours so we can test them and dial them in.

Thanks,
Christian

Team GWC rider Jason “Dunk” Dunkelberger won the Open Pro Class at the Yamaha/ITP QuadCross Series Rnd #10 at Glen Helen Raceway.

Dunk’s Rage/Motoworks powered all new Yamaha YFZ450R was able to overcome a bad start and work his way up to 2nd position with the help of his Elka Suspension Factory Shocks and Lonestar suspension. Getting the power to the ground was the Series dominating ITP QuadCross Pro MX tire mounted on the all new Race G2 Douglas Wheels.

Jason finished 4th in the Series’ overall standings of the Pro Production Class. This 2009 season was a learning year with a new bike, new sponsors and a new team. Jason and the team are now looking forward to 2010!

28.06.2009 Rasmus Ørnholdt Nielsen participated in the German Championship, which took place at the track in Prisannewitz, and he delivered two very fine results. Rasmus is almost 100% back after a sprained foot, that has teased a little on the physical plane.

Rasmus was ready for race, which he already showed during practice by making 2nd fastest time, and subsequently 5th fastest time during qualification, just a few hundredths of a second after number 3.

“If I am among the first 10, I am happy. Then the qualification only means, whether I am going to start on the right side or the left side of the start house. I use it to indicate, whether I am in the fast end of the top 10 or the slower end” – Rasmus tells.

First heat starts really well for Rasmus. He is out as 3, but must surrender the position to Joe Maesen, who quickly goes to 2nd position and forces to catch the leading Stefan Schreiber. In the meantime Rasmus establishes contact to number 3, overtakes and then make a hole and can ride safely over the finish line as number 3. He ends the heat approx. 20 seconds after the winning Stefan Schreiber.

Second heat is almost a copy of the first. Rasmus again makes a nice start and is out as 3 after Stefan and Joe, but as Joe makes a bad landing on the first jump, Rasmus passes him and takes 2nd position. It doesn’t take long before Joe passes again, but Rasmus is doing his best and catches up for a while. Schreiber, who is in the lead, must stop because of a defect in the steering system, and Rasmus is back up as 2. “My first thought when I see Stefan stopped by the side of the track, is VOLL GAS! I try the best I can, but as I have made a stupid mistake in the same corner two laps in a row, I decide to relax and concentrate on keeping Ingo in 3rd position behind me. But he establishes contact later in the heat, and I have to see me beaten” tells Rasmus, who ends the heat as number 3 again, and thus is overall number 3 on the day, à point with number 2.

1. Joe Maesen – 47 points
2. Ingo Ten Vregelaar – 40 points
3. Rasmus Ørnholdt Nielsen – 40 points

“I am super happy with the result. I have worked hard to improve the technical issues and to find more speed around the whole track, and these efforts make results! I know I can do better than I have done till now in this season, and I have shown a little of it here. It will not be the last time, I stand at the podium, ” – says Rasmus.

Next race for Rasmus is the European Championship on the track in Slots Bjergby.

Click the image above to play video

Mesquite, Nevada – The final round of the WORCS 2009 race series had everyone beyond the edge of their seats as Beau Baron of Mike Cafro Racing battled from 21st place to win the 2009 WORCS Pro ATV Championship.

Hi Everyone,

I just wanted to send quick email to thank Elka Suspension for their help this year. Jeff Tigert and myself finished up the year clinching the following: Formula 1, Open Mod Production, 1000 Superbike and the WSMC Overall #1 plate this year.

We were also able to get 4 lap records this year as well plus the Formula overall lap record, Open Superbike, Open Mod Prod and Lightweight twins. We had a great year and Jeff Tigert and myself just wanted to thank everyone for the help you gave us this year.

Our Elka Suspension shocks worked flawlessly for us all year long and they were just great to work with this year.

Thanks again, cant wait until next season.

Tige Daane

Catalyst Reaction
CM Motorsports
www.catalystsuspension.com

I had a chance to install these the other day and yesterday was my first ride with them and it’s time to do a little report.

My stock shocks had been ridden pretty hard and it’s no wonder that they were pretty much shot after 42K. I decided to give the Elka Suspension a shot as I’ve heard good things about them on this board and they were quite a bit cheaper than the competitors setup. The install was pretty easy. You will need a jack for sure but other than that no special tools are required. [...]

As soon as I pulled out of the driveway I knew it was right or at least pretty close. No more side to side roll and the Spyder tracked so much better than it did with the stock shocks. This thing felt like it was on rails now. The rear shock didn’t need any adjustment that I could tell but I will play with that later just for fun.

I looked for every bump and pot hole I could find and hit them head on. The shocks soaked up the bumps great and I got to say I felt like I was riding a new Spyder, not new as in not old but new as in totally different than stock. I guess I should have done this a long time ago but I just didn’t want to cut loose with that much money not knowing if it was worth it or not.

I worked my way up on the twisties starting off slower than I normally run them and finishing off running much faster than I should of. The Spyder did great and I’m very happy with my investment. If I wind up with an RT this will be one of the first things I do to the front.

Read more at: http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15419

For more information about Elka shocks for your own Spyder, please contact John Ilkiw at 1-800-557-0552 ext. 257.

Kevin Ristenbieter takes home the last race

(October 18th, 2009, Frankenau, Germany)- The last race in the German Quad Cup took place in Warching, Germany. With high winds and rain the entire day, the outcome of this race seemed muddy already. Yamaha Team Quad Briel, riding with the new YFZ450R, did not have an exceptionally good season this year. National Champion of 2007 and 2008, and rider for Yamaha Team Quad Briel, Maximilian Freund received 8 DNFs (did not finish), severely damaging the possibility of another Championship title. However, the team continued to be optimistic and strove even harder to finish in their usual top position.

In the first moto, Maximilian had a good start and was right up there with this season’s leading riders. With strategic manoeuvres and consistency, Max maintained a position in the top three, until a rear flat tire. This unfortunate turn of events led max to another DNF, where within this year’s 18 motos, 8 outcomes were DNFs. Kevin Ristenbieter got a little luckier, and rode hard into 4th position.

In the second moto, Maximilian started off strong, and rode alongside with top competitors. However, on the 3rd lap, a false manoeuvre caused him to swerve off the YFZ450R. He managed to get himself back on the bike, but with time as a crucial factor, he only had the time to catch up into 3rd position. Kevin maintained consistency, and rode strong the entire moto. With no problems whatsoever, Kevin finished in astonishing 2nd place.

Overall in the Warching race, Kevin finished 2nd place. However, overall in the German Quad Cup 2009, Kevin finished in a strong 4th position, and Maximilian in 7th. With continuous perfections being made with the YFZ450R, Yamaha Team Quad Briel are confident that next year will reap a podium position.

Thank you to all Quad Briel Racing Team sponsors:
Yamaha Motor Germany, Quad-Briel GmbH, Yamalube, Elka Suspension, ITP, Pro Armor, Quad-Works, Streamline, Shark, RPM, Houser Racing, Cross Pro.

For more information, please visit our website at www.quad-briel.com

Race Nation Honda Claims Championship and Titles At Koue Bokkeveld 400 on their Houser Racing & Elka Suspension & HMF powered machines

Race Nation Honda’s Dirkie Baard is the 2009 Pro 450 Class champion and has won the overall quad category of the SA National Off-road Quad Championship after winning the Koue Bokkeveld 400, the final round of the championship held in the Ceres area in the Western Cape this past weekend (16 and 17 October).

This is the second race Baard has won this season and he has added this victory to his historical win of the Quad Roof of Africa earlier this year in Lesotho when he became the first foreign off-road quad racer to win this traditional event. Except for the double victories, Baard has also added three more overall runner-up results to his tally and has the SA National Quad MX championship to add to his 2009 accolades.

The 21 year-old Namibian posted the fastest time after the qualifying time-trial of the Koue Bokkeveld 400 on Friday (16 October) and started the 380 kilometre race from pole position. A crash early into the race as well as a flat tyre could not keep him from remaining at the front for almost the whole race and he beat the 2008 overall quad winner, Brian Baragwanath, to the finnish.

There were more podium positions for Race Nation Honda with the ever consistent Juan Coetzee finishing fourth overall in the Western Cape to confirm his second place on the overall standings for 2009 putting Race Nation Honda at the top of the overall quad standings for the season.

Coetzee also claimed the third place in the Pro 450 Class championship and has added these podium positions to his third place in the Pro 450 Class of the SA national Quad MX Championship and the runner-up place in the Northern Regions Quad MX Championship.

A very successful racing season was rounded off by Race Nation Quad Revolution’s Paulo Costa who brought his Honda TRX700XX home in sixth place in the Open Class at the Koue Bokkeveld 400. This result, however, put him third in the Open Class Championship for the 2009 season and added another championship podium position to Race Nation Honda’s quad racing list.

Dirkie Baard: 2009 Pro 450 Class Champion and overall winner of the off-road quad category:

“This is like a dream come true. It was not easy to win some of South Africa’s toughest off-road races and to compete against the country’s best racers and for that I have to thank my sponsors, Race Nation Honda and Pupkewitz Honda in Namibia as well as Quad Revolution for their support. It was difficult to leave Namibia to race in South Africa and I would like to thank my family who travelled all the way from Namibia to my races in South Africa,and the great products on my quad like my new Houser Pro series a-arms together with my Elka Factory shocks made it all easier for me to win”

Juan Coetzee: Runner-up in the overall off-road quad category & third in Pro 450 classs:

“It was a privilege to compete for Honda Race Nation on my HMF powered TRX450R that brought me home race after race. It tackled the toughest of terrains, which was made easier to traverse across with the combination of my Elka factory  and Houser Pro series suspension. My thanks go to my sponsors Race Nation Honda, Quad Revolution and HDM Productions for believing in me and my parents who sacrificed their time to support me at the races.”

Quote from André Strauss, Manager Team Race Nation Honda:

“We are delighted to win another national championship with Dirkie. Juan Coetzee and Paulo Costa also made us proud and both finished an extremely competitive 2009 season on the podium. They have claimed championships titles by combining their talents and commitment with the Honda’s reliability, toughness and capabilities. I would like to thank Honda South Africa, Castrol, Streamline,Elka suspension & HMF Performance for their support this season”

EICMA 2009 (Fiera Milano, 10 to 15 November) will be the only international expo of the year to be entirely devoted to motorcycles and Elka Suspension will be represented by it’s Italian importer RF Moto in booth PAD-14 STAND L-36.
Fiera Milano will host 420 direct exhibitors and another 500 brands will be represented. On a percentage basis, participation from foreign countries is stronger than ever: China is present with 3 collective stands and 14 additional Companies, Taiwan with 3 collective stands plus 26 Companies, Pakistan with a collective stand and 22 Companies, Spain with a collective and 10 Companies, the U.S. with one collective stand and 10 Companies.

An extraordinary rendez-vous that has been a pivotal event for Milan since 1914.

http://www.eicma.it/moto/en/default.aspx

Les Golden Quad récompensent, les meilleurs pilotes français et les meilleurs teams de l’année. Parmi la dizaine de catégories, Betty Kraft / Polaris Outlaw était nominée dans 2 catégories. Son rêve d’enfant, comme elle se plaisait à le dire, était de participer au Dakar. C’est sur un Polaris OUTLAW 525 IRS que son rêve s’est accompli! Mieux qu’en rêve, Betty a terminé à la 8ème place au général et est devenue la 1ère femme de l’histoire à boucler un Dakar sur un quad. À l’instar d’Eric Carlini et d’Hubert Deltrieu à l’arrivée du Dakar 2009 cette performance est justement saluée et récompensée par des centaines de votes, de la part des amis, des pilotes, des concessionnaires Polaris, des partenaires, et des quaders internautes.

Betty remporte donc 2 Golden Quad dont:

• Celui tant convoité de « la meilleure performance de l’année 2009 ». Elle devient aussi la première femme à décrocher un tel trophée, une consécration suprême pour cette vétérinaire de métier qui l’emporte notamment devant Jérémie Warnia et Romain Couprie, pourtant pilotes professionnels et favoris de cette catégorie.
• Naturellement, avec une telle performance, Betty a également enlevé le Golden Quad «Meilleure pilote féminine 2009»

Bravo Betty!