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Old reports from the season 2005 2005.11.10 Now it was a long time since we wrote something here - and that depends on that itīs not so much happening with the racing at the moment. You who saw the final GP race at Valencia last weekend noticed surely that Fredrik wasnīt there, so the last race for him this season was the final European Championship at Cartagena - we of course would have liked that Valencia should have been the last race for him, but life doesnīt turn out the way you want all the time! What happends now then and what are the planning for 2006? Well, we are working every day to get the financial together for next season. What is clear right now is that Fredrik is on the list for permanent riders in the 250 GP, we have a Team that would like to have Fredrik with them for next year, but if it will be him or some other rider depends a lot of what Dorna says, and of course the financial statement. And the economical is very hard to get together, and can we not solve that in the nearest future it looks like there will be no racing for us 2006 I am sad to say, not in the GP anyway, and there is where Freddie should and would like to be. We have talked about going to some other Championships also, but that is not what Fredrik wants - so we are working as hard as we can to get him back into Grand Prix... For Erik the situation is quite the same - the financial sets the number of races for him. If Erik will continue to ride for Watz Racing is not clear yet, this depends of what kind of budget we can get together. So that discussion have to wait some more. Now we have to wait and see what happendīs here before Christmas, and as soon as we have some news for You we will update this site of course. Now we say Thank You to all of you who have been with us this year - You are all amazing and we are very glad and thankful for all we have been able to experience together with you during 2005... Many, many Thankīs / Watz Racing 2005.10.21 Now we are back home here in Sweden after spending 17 days down in South of Europe. First stop was Portugal and Circuito de Braga where the 7:th round in the European Championship was about to be arranged. We arrived to the circuit Tuesday evening and discovered that they had fixed up the paddock a bit since we were there last time, new palm trees, water pumps, toilets, showers and so on. Wednesday was a bit of a lazy day for all of us, so we spent it by unloading the bus, packing up tent and that kind of things. During the day Roma Racing, the Team Fredrik should be riding for, also arrived and they have booked some places together with the Danish Roadracing Team so there were also some work to do packing up their tent and some other things.
Thursday afternoon the first
trainings started, and both Freddie and Erik were out on the track. But for
Freddie he could not make so many laps beacuse the bike was overheating and
also the clutch didnīt work so he spent most of the session in the pit area.
For Erik, Braga was a ne
On Friday morning both Fredrik
and Erik skipped the first training. Freddie not so hard to understand, and
Erik beacuse it was quite cold weather in the morning. It was really nice and
warm during the days, but as soon as the sun went down it became very cold, so
this morning not a lot of riders were out on the circuit. When Fredrik finally
had gone out of bed, he went straight to the doctor and he gave him a lift
directly to the hospital for x-ray and check up. When Fredrik were away it was
time for Erik to go out on his first practice for the day, but unfortunately
he had made something wrong with the gear box yesterday evening so instead of
riding the bike he had to take it apart again. After some hours Fredrik came
back to the circuit. The x-ray had showed that during the crash his left hip
had went out from itīs place and then back again, which now meant that all the
muscles and everything else in the hip was damaged. The doctor said that he
should be absolutely still for 4-6 weeks, but for Fredrik that means 4-6 hours,
and it was up to him to decide if he could ride the bike.
In the afternoon it was time for the first included practice in the Championship, 50 minutes long, but for Freddie it went out to be around 10 minutes beacuse the bike started to leaking water again, but this time he discovered it in time so he went into pit. Erik was out on the circuit all session and he improved his lap times with around 3 seconds from yesterday so that was really good. Saturday and qualifications - For Freddie these two session went like fridays trainings, not many laps before the bike was broken, but he managed to take care of 14:th place on the grid, way back from where he should be if everything works, but until now he was far back in kilometres counted from the other riders. Erik had no problems with his bike and on every lap he got more and more speed. Ended the day with 20:th place on the grid. During the evening/night the mechanics switched engine in Fredrikīs bike, just in case, and perhaps it will work now. Fredrik has no confident in the bike at the moment but after some discussion with Team manager Roberto they have decided that Fredrik will take part in the race, but if he feels anything wrong he should stop direct. Sunday morning and race day. The warm up in the morning were the only session so far that Fredrik could take part until the end, the bike worked ok, not so fast but thatīs not the important thing right now. Erikīs bike worked ok like usually and he was satisfied.
Race - we had Fredrik on 14.th
place and Erik on 20.th place on the grid. Freddie made a really good start,
maybe the best he has ever done and were up on 4:th place in the first corner.
Then there were some crashes there and it got a bit turbulent so he dropped
back down to around 10-12:th place. Riding in a group of four riders, riders
he usually are much faster then, but this weekend it has been some problem for
him building up speed. On lap 12 he had to retire from the race beacuse the
bike only worked on one cylinder - not so good end to the weekend, but itīs
just too forget and look forward. For Erik the race became a lonely trip, he
had seconds both to the riders in front of him and to the riders behind. But
he thought the race was fun anyway and he ended it on 15:th place and one more
point in the Championship. Except all technical trouble with Fredrikīs bike and also the fact that he hurted his hip quite bad, the weekend in Portugal has been really ok. Roberto and rest of Roma Racing Team are very good and nice guyīs, very helpful in every way and easy to work with. Besides that it was also really nice to meet all the other riders and teams again as it not be so much anymore when Fredrik is not riding the European any longer.
Late sunday evening we had
packed everything together and started the 1000 kilometres long trip to the
other side of Spain and to Circuito de Cartagena were the final race in the
Championship would take place the weekend after. We had to make a pit stop
just before Madrid to change a tire on the bike. On our way down to Portugal
one of the rear tires exploded and we had to use our one and only spare tire.
So now when the next tire separated we had to find a tire company - and what a
luck, just beside the autodromo in Spain we found a little one eyed man with a
tire shop, and he fixed it for us very quickly and half an hour later we were
on our way again! Monday evening we arrived to the circuit in Cartagena and parked our bus besides Milan and his Team. Tuesday we had a vaccation day, and spent most of it just relaxing in the sun - quite nice! Wednesday were also a free day, but we spent it fixing some small things on the bikes and just taking it easy. Thursday and free practice - Both Fredrik and Erik were out during all session. Fredrikīs bike didnīt revving (not sure of name and spelling there) but anyway he could make laps and that was the important thing. His hip felt a little better he said so that was a plus. For Erik it didnīt go especially fast but as more as he is riding the better it will go. To the final session Fredrik didnīt made it out beacuse in between the trainings the mechanics unfortunately managed to brake a pin-screw in one of the cylinders and they didnīt got it together before the session was over. So for Freddie it was just to look at the other riders on the track and concentrate for tomorrow instead. Erik was out, but he didnīt thought the bike worked so good, but anyway he improved his lap time from yesterday with around 2 seconds. At the end of the training he noticed the bike started to vibrate more than usual so he went into the paddock. It then showed that a bearing were about to break, so it was good he stopped before something happend.
On the final practice on friday,
which also was the first included one in the race, Fredrik was out the whole
session and the bike worked without any bigger problems. Still he had some
trouble getting the front fork and gear box right, but that is things we could
fix. When the session was over Freddie was on 5:th place in the list with lap
time 1.39.3. Molina who was the fastest rider out there set the time 1.37.0.
Fredrik thought it was quite easy to make this lap time, and he drove several
39-times. Last year he drove 36-times on this circuit, so he thought it should
be no bigger problem to maybe drive 37-times anyway with this bike if itīs
only worked. Erik made a really good training and improved his personal record
from the year before with almost 1 second. He ended up at 13:th place on the
list with tha
Saturday and first qualification.
Sunny weather and around 23 degrees Celsius - not so much to complain about
there! Freddie made 20 laps and Erik 23 on this session. Fredrik was still not
perfectly happy about the suspension but he changed and tested thru all
training. Both riders made stable lap times and Fredrik ended up with 5:th
time, 1.8 seconds behind Mloina, and Erik with 19:th time on the list. Final
qualification - after som more changes and testin Roberto and Roma Racing was very happy with Fredrikīs place in the first row beacuse this was the first time ever for them to be in the first row of the grid - so You can say they were satisfied...
Sunday an
Fredrik made an ok start and was
up on 4:th or 5:th place in the first corner, lost some on the first lap, but
were up on 5:th position again on the second lap. Stayed behind Martensson who
lost some to Freddieīs team mate for the weekend, the Danish Kenni Aggerholm.
Saw smoke coming out from Martenssons bike and drop off a bit if it were about
to break down, and it did so Fredrik passed him and took everything in on
Kenni for the next two laps. But unforteanaly Fredrikīs bike were starting to
go worse and worse, and what he lost on the straight he had to make up for in
the corners, which meant that the tires started to get really bad. Passed the
fi Now the season is over for Erik, the bike is now back in our workshop and the future for Erik is not ready yet, but he will be riding a 250cc for sure. For Freddie the season also seems to be over as he didnīt got a start in the GP in Turkey, but there is still one chance that he will be able to make a start in the GP final at Valencia - but that is not absolutely clear yet, so we have to wait and see. Thank You to You all that have helped us in any kind of way during the season 2005. We are very happy and thankful to You all, and now we are working hard to get next season together. We will update this site during the off season with information about what is going on. Thank You - Ciao, Watz Racing 2005.09.28 Now we begin the long journey, in kilometres counted, towards the end of season 2005. And on the first two races we will have both Fredrik and Erik on the starting grid. Freddie have been offered a place in the Italian Roma Racing Team for the last two races in the European Championship as they were in need of a rider, and they thought Freddie would be perfect. The teams bike is Yamaha, so there will hopefully not be so hard for Fredrik to prepare and set up the bike together with the mechanics. First we go to Portugal and the Braga Circuit. This track has been back in the European Championship calender to this season, beacuse when Anderstorp here in Sweden cancelled their race earlier this year UEM had to find another circuit and organizer - that is why Braga is back... After that race we cross the border to Spain and stop at Circuito de Cartagena were the Final in the Championship is held as always. At this circuit Freddie have been the owner of the lap record, I donīt know if it still stands but I am sure we find that out when we get there - anyway it is a circuit he knows his way around! When these races are over and done, we are in the end of the season for us in Watz Racing. For Erik the season is final when they cross the finish line at Cartagena, but for Fredrik there will hopefully be some more races to take part in. If it works out the way we plan, hope and work for, Freddie will go directly from Cartagena to Turkey and the new build Istanbul Circuit to race in the GP 250. And if there will be start in Istanbul it also will be start at the Final GP race at Valencia in Spain two weekends after. We would really like to finish 2005 to be back on the grid in GP - were Fredrik should be. The report from these weeks out in Europe will be updated on this site as soon as we are back home here in Sweden, beacuse we do not have Internet access on our mobile computer - we are not so hightech maybe... But if someone is left home here we can at least get the results out from every weekend. Anyway, have a great couple of weeks, but if You would find yourself being in Portugal or Spain during these weeks - please come and visit us - You are so welcome! Ciao, Watz Racing (we have to practice our Italian language) 2005.09.06 What a weekend this has been! We arrived to the short and small circuit down in south of Sweden thursday evening, and as always we spent some hours packing everything up. A little later in the evening our mechanic Magnus arrived together with Patrik Fredriksson who had been so kind and let us use his bike this weekend again. During the night also Erik and Peter arrived, so on friday morning almost the whole Team were at place for breakfast. On friday the race weekend started with two free practices, and Freddie decided that he would go out on the track and see if it was possible to ride with his broken foot. It had only been worse since it happened last weekend and now it was very hard for him to put his boots on. For Freddie the first practice was most about getting out and see if it worked , and also he had to see if there were something he would like to change on the bike. Last time Fredrik were on this track was 2003 and then he took over the lap record for motorcycles with the lap time 1.01.57, and this was still the lap record now this weekend, so to find his way around the circuit was not a problem for him. For Erik it was quite the same, just go out and see if there was something he would like to adjust on the bike. Last time he was here was last year so he also knew his way around.
There were some more riders this
weekend than it usually is - and it was riders that normally do not compete in
the Swedish Championship - Freddie of course, and the Tomas Pallander who do
not ride at all anymore and also the Danish Roadracing Team with Kenni
Aggerholm and the Dutch Emile Litjens who otherwise rides in the European
Championship.
Freddieīs foot was not in so good condition after this first session, so he kept his leathersuit and boots on the whole time until the next practice, beacuse if he had taken the boot off he would not have been able to put it back on again. To the last session Fredrik had made some changes in the set up of the bike, Erik had thought his bike worked quite good so there were only some small changes. Back out on the track again and both if the guys were trying to improve their laptimes. But after around 10 minutes Erik crasched when a crankshaft bearing broke. The training were stopped beacuse Erik was not the only one who crasched at this time, so they had to take care of all of them. Erik were ok but our bike looked a little used son on the evening it should be a lot of work for Magnus fixing the bike up again. The other riders got 15 more minutes on the circuit, and Freddie were out the whole time improved his laptimes. After that he could finally take his boots off, and the foot didnīt lokked so good but he thought it should work to take part in the race. The evening was as You can understand, spent with fixing Erikīs bike, and Freddie would like to change the front fork and some other things so we didnīt left our tent very much during these hours.
Saturday and qualification
session - one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The first one went ok
for both Fredrik and Erik and they ended it on fifth and ninth place in the
list. To the last session of the day we just checked the bike so eveything was
ok. Freddie would have liked to change springs in the front fork, but Patrik
had forgot all of the springs back home in Stockholm so there was not so much
to do. On this session Freddie didnīt improve his laptime from the first
qualification, but Erik drove half a second faster then on the first one
before he got a high sider on the back of the circuit, and fell to ground like
a stone. Unfortuanaly he hurted his left foot guite bad, and as this point we
thought we should change out Teamname from Watz Racing to Team Crutches or
something like that beacuse now we had three riders who all had crasched
feetīs. Fredrik with his broken foot, Patrik with also his broken foot and now
Erik - Phu! He didnīt hurt himself anything more, but the foot was not in good
condition at all and he was a little down of course.
Our bike looked at this point really used, and all our fairings was not useable anymore, so we took Patrikīs extra fairings instead and put on the bike. So instead of a blue/silver colored bike we now had two greenīs. A lot of mechanical work of course on saturday evening trying to get the bike ready for sundays race - and we fixed it but now our spare parts need to be refilled pretty soon.
Sunday and race day then - woke
up tp another great day, in terms of the weather forecast. This whole weekend
it has been very nice weather all the time and quite warm to be Sweden in
September. The warm up in the morning didnīt go so well at first for Erik, he
could not change gear, but after some adjustments it worked a little better.
Freddie were the fastest rider on track this morning so it looked good -
Freddie is so much faster then most of these riders, so we just took this
opportunity to get some training for him, and also see how the foot worked.
But there was some riders who said to Freddie that he had a lot to prove on
this race - but we donīt understand that - we have already several titles in
this Championship and for us there is nothing to prove - Fredrik is the best
rider in Sweden at the moment, and most of the other riders has quite a long
way before they are there - so for us this weekend was just fun mostly - we do
not care what others sayīs or think!
Well, the race then - Fredrik
started from fifth place on the grid in the second row, and Erik just behind
him at eight spot. Neither of them made such a good start and on the first
Fredrik were around third - fifth place and Erik around twelve.At the lead
Andreas Martensson tried to get a gap between him and the second group were
Freddie, Pallander and Kenni were. But Fredrik had his eyes on Andreas in the
front and after some laps he had overtaken the other riders and after 2 laps
he were up behind Andreas and just waited in the back. During this time he
also overtook his own lap record, so now the new record is 1.00.700 - maybe
someone will overtake that in the future, but the old one that Fredde has had
since 2003 were there only one rider who could overtake - and that was
himself, and this time with a broken foot and on a Well, as Freddie went up behind Andreas, Erik overtook rider after rider and were up on eight position after six laps in the race. Fredrikīs plan was to sneak up behind Andreas and let him know that he was there and the passes him and try to get a gap between them - just so he could concentrate on the lap record beacuse Freddie would really have liked to get under a minute as a lap record.But on lap eight or nine the engine seized in Fredrikīs bike and he crasched - the race was over for him. Again the foot got a punch, but as it already were broken before it was not so much to be worried about, but also his hand and back something happened with - but he was up on his feet directly and he watched the rest of the race from the side of the circuit.
He was a little disappointed
that he didnīt get a chance to go under a minute on one lap, but there is not
so much You can do when the engine decides to give up, and there is no one who
not think Fredrik should have won this race quite easy if they saw him on the
circuit - he was so much faster then all the rest. Erik then - he was still in
the race and when he crossed the chequered flag he was sixth rider over the
finish line, and this was a result we are very happy with during the
circumstances with his foot and two crasches before and so on - and Erik was
quite happy himself but he had a little pain when he got of the bike after the
race. Well, this was our weekend at Ring Knutstorp and the Finals in the Swedish Championship - You could say that we have had both upīs and downīs these last days, but also we have had so much fun even that all our riders not were in their best conditions. The Championship title now belongs to our very good friend Robert Dobrich - and we all think that he deserve it better than anybody - Congratulations to him! Now we have a lot of work these nearest days as we have two broken bikes here at home to fix. We will get back to You all when we know what the next step for us is - the season is far from over yet! 2005.09.01 Today we are leaving Linkoping to go to the Finals in the Swedish Championship 2005 where the medallions should find their owners, and all this happends down in south of Sweden at the short circuit Ring Knutstorp. Watz Racing Team has several of these medallions in different brands since earlier seasons when Freddie took all of them home. This year it doesnīt seems like we are going to get one, and this depends on as You all know that this is the first season for Erik in our Team, and in the beginning of the season we had some trouble finding the right setup for Erik on the bike, and also he had some difficulties in the beginning to learn how the bike worked. But next season I am sure that Erik will be at the top on the list as he this season has made big progress in both the Swedish and the European Championships this year.
For this race our plan was also
that Freddie would take part, as we again had the opportunity to borrow the
bike he last raced on in Karlskoga a month ago beacuse the owner of the bike
has broken his foot and can not ride himself. But last sunday Freddie were out
on a little minimoto bike just for fun, and somehow he managed to get his
right foot caught under this bike, and the result of that - well, now the foot
is very big and he has really big problems to walk. Still - we are planning for him to race anyway - just he can get the foot into the boots, and why You maybe ask? Well, he needs all the practice he could get and as race are the best training we go for that. Hopefully Freddie will be able to take part in the last GP races of the season so all time on a bike before that is welcome. So now we are looking forward to this weekend with Freddie and Erik. Report on how it went will come up here in the beginning of next week.
Have a nice weekend! Watz Racing 2005.08.23 Now this weekends European Championship at Schleiz in Germany is over and the Team is on the way back home. On friday the practices started with two sessions, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. After the trainings Erik had ninth best lap time, about two seconds behind Alvaro Molina who had the best lap time of the day. On saturday they had said it would be raining, but on the first qualification of the day it was still nice weather. The bike worked perfectly Erik said, but he himself could not find the right way around and he didnīt manage to improve his lap time since fridays sessions, and when the qualification was over he was way back in the list at 22:nd place - nothing he was satisfied with at all. But when the last qualification should start it rained so a lot of riders didnīt went out, and Erik was one of them so to sundays race he had to start from the 22:nd spot on the grid. Sunday and race then - Erik made a good start and after the first lap he was up on 17:th place, and overtook rider after rider until the ninth lap when he was up on 13:th place, and shortly after that he had to retire from the race due to that a tranmission gear went broken. He noticed it directly and stopped so hopefully the damage is not so bad. Unforteanaly no new European Championship points with him back home but the season is far from over. In the EC there is still two more races later this autumn, and the first weekend in september we all are going south in Sweden to take part in the Final in the Swedish Championship - so there is still many kilometres on the bike and still a lot of points to fight over. Thank you for this weekend and now we are looking forward to next race - Watz Racing 2005.08.18 This weekend to come itīs time for race again. This time in Germany, at Schleiz where the 6:th round in the European Championship is taking place. Hopefully we will be able to give You some small updates about how itīs going for Erik during the weekend. After this race we all have one weekend off, and then we are heading to south of Sweden for the Finals in the Swedish Championship, but first we concentrate on Schleiz. Have a great weekend / Watz Racing 2005.08.02 Now we are back home again from the weekend in Karlskoga and the Nordic and Swedish Championship. I arrived to the circuit on tuesday evening and it was already a lot of people in the pitarea beacuse it had been races since the weekend before, so we had to park way down, but it was quite ok anyway. Well, it was right in front of the 125cc rider Hakan Olsson, and he is not so dangerous but his dog is.... it doesnīt like all people and Patrik Fredriksson who always stays with us every race weekend in Sweden is so afraid of dogs.... it was not a perfect spot for him, so he didnīt go near Hakanīs tent during the whole weekend. On wednesday almost the rest of the Team arrived, and this weekend we again should have Magnus Fransson as our mechanic, so he and his family also arrived on wednesday evening. Erik came early thursday morning, beacuse he had to go home to our workshop in Linkoping on the night to pick up the bike which Freddie had fixed the front fork on, so he was very tired all thursday morning. Both wednesday and thursday were quite lazy days for us, we just fixed some small things on the bike and then put the tents and everything else up which is the same procedure on every track we come to. Friday the trainings for the race started, and first there were a free practice in the morning and then the first qualification in the afternoon. On the free one Erik just went out to see how the front fork worked, and also we had some new modified pistons in the bike beacuse there is a lack of pistons at the moment, both in Europe and in Japan, so we had modified some other pistons and Erik should test that. And it worked but Erik thought the bike behaved a little slower and not so aggressive and he thought it was quite difficult to ride the bike that way, but it was an interesting test. To the first qualification we left these pistons in the bike, but unfortanely we had some very used tires on, so when half the practice were over it slided a lot for him, so he ended up with 5:th best lap time on that qualification. On the evening both our father and Erikīs father arrived and also Freddie who as You all understand was not at the GP at Sachsenring in Germany.
On saturday there were two more
qualification session, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. On the
first one Erik improved his laptime from yesterday a little bit, so after the
session he was third in the list - nothing he was very satisfied with. To the
last practice he was determinated (donīt know if that is the right word) to
take pole position, and so he did. On the last minutes of the session he got a
free lap and could go fast, before that it was a lot of riders out, it was
over 30 250cc riders so there was not so easy to get free laps. But as we said
- he fixed the pole position and he was very glad after the session. During
the day we had some friends coming and on the evening we had a big barbeque
with a lot of people - very nice and itīs always fun when people come and
visit us - we enjoy that very much! Sunday.... and we all woke up to heavy rain, and very grey clouds. So everybody changed to rain tires for the warm up in the morning. Erik went out and tried to go quite fast just to feel the grip on the track beacuse Gellerasen has a way of getting very slippery when it rains due to the fact that they are driving with cars there very often. And it was slippery but not so much that you couldnīt control it. The clouds didnīt light up a bit during the day so there was no question about that all races should be wet races. Usually 125cc and 250cc is right after eachother, so we normally never has the time to see a full 125cc race, but this time there were the European Championship in Sidecars between the 125cc class and our, so this time we could see the whole race. Won that race was a rider from The Netherlands, and he was outstanding on the wet surface, but he was from Holland and 9 times out 10 when we are there it rains so I think he have had good practice in rain many times. When it was only one, one and a half hour to our 250cc race, Patrik had to go home in a hurry. Not so fun for him beacuse he had been training since wednesday and then he could not race. But the thing at home were more important so he had to go. But he left his bike, a Yamaha TZ, with us and the Fredrik and I went to the judges and asked if it would be ok if Freddie took part in the race on Patrikīs bike - and it was, but he had to start from the last place on the grid, and that was on 33:rd place, and then we had Erik at first so Watz Racing covered the whole starting grid you could say.
Erik made not so good start from
pole, and were 4:th when he passed the start and finish line. Freddie made a
better start from his 33:th position and after the first lap he was up on
10:th place. On the second lap Erik crasched on the wet surface and the race
was over for him unfortanely - not so funny but itīs just to forget and move
on and concentrate on next race instead. The most important thing is always
that he did not get hurt and he was not. But Freddie were still in the race
and overtook rider after rider from lap to lap, but when it was 5 laps to go
the brakes disappered, we dont know why yet, but anyway he crossed the finish
line on second place. Quite a good perfomance on a bike he never have ride
before, no brakes on the last laps and started from 33:rd place on the grid...
We thought it was really funny and Fredrik were glad to have been on a bike
again. This was our weekend in Karlskoga - and it has been very nice. Too bad for Erik with the crasch, but we are happy about the improvments he has made this weekend and he is driving better and better all the time - now we are looking forward to the next race instead and for Erik that will be the European Championship at Schleiz in Germany in about three weeks. For Fredrik we still donīt know what is going to happend but we are working on it. Thank you for this time / Best regards Watz Racing
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