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King Racing Press Release - Cambridge, England 22nd September 2009

This season a UEM European Dragbike Championship event took place in Hungary for the first time. The venue was a former Soviet Cold War airfield nearby the village of Kunmadaras to the east of the country and close to the Romanian border. To say it was different to the usual venues the teams are familiar with is a complete understatement. In effect we arrived in another world to that we are used to.

Kunmadaras was one of the largest Soviet fighter bases outside the Soviet Union. It housed two complete regiments: a reconnaissance regiment with Su 17M-4, Su 17UM-3 and Su 24MR, and a fighter-bomber regiment with MiG 27 and MiG 23, some equipped with nuclear bombs. After the wall came down in 1989, the Soviets left the base in April 1991.

Very little is known about what went on at this air base of 776 acres housing 69 aircraft hangars and housing for a few thousand personnel, isolated from the surrounding villages.

What is known, however, is that in 1968 the Kunmadaras Fighter-Bomber Regiment was instrumental in the crushing of the uprising in Czechoslovakia and in 1989 the West German Air Consul in Hungary revealed that Kunmadaras housed 13 of the 'secret' Su 24's.One of the residual benefits of the Soviet legacy is the huge 2500 X 72 metre main concrete runway with asphalt overruns, the location for this historic event. Having previously run events featuring less powerful machines than those of the UEM contingent track preparation of the rough concrete surface was going to be very important. A team of track experts from Championship Promoter and Santa Pod operator Keith Bartlett were dispatched to the track over a week before and set about sledging and spraying the virgin surface. The topography meant it was very difficult to lay sufficient rubber to seal the surface, but the crew managed to get the track in good enough shape for the first qualifying day.

The first day dawned with very hot and sunny weather and the King Racing team set out on their first run with the same settings as those used at their recent successful Hockenheim race. At the hit of the throttle the 1000 HP Puma stepped sideways, and King rolled off the throttle before grabbing another handful with the same result. The bike rolled to the end at a sedate 7.69 @ 175.56 mph, slow but good enough for number one, a position not relinquished for the event. After such an onerous run King was pleasantly surprised to be met by a very attractive promotions girl in the shutdown area proffering cooling beverages...!

The team got their heads together and came up with a new set of clutch and fuel settings to cope with the track and the now almost unbearable + 40 degree heat for Q2. Despite tremendous wheel spin and a wild ride for King that saw him click off early at 6.3 seconds into the run the crowd were sent into raptures to see a 6.79 @ 208.35 mph come up on the board, the very first six second pass by a motorcycle in Hungary!

Saturday saw the same hot conditions and the team elected to sit out the first qualifier of the day, hoping for more favourable conditions for Q3 and an optimized setup. However, King was shut down on the line after the ever vigilant Chief Starter Ian Marshall spotted some oil on the track left by the previous rider. The lack of time for the team to refuel and reset the systems before the end of the day's activities meant that the team was unable to try their new settings, and would have to wait until the first round of eliminations.

Sunday finals day saw a complete contrast in weather, somewhat chilly, windy and wet. The settings the teams had settled on for 35 degree and 25% humidity were completely inappropriate for the 19 degree and 70% humidity now, and in any case the wet surface seemed to indicate that the event may end early. However, late in the afternoon the rain ceased, and the hardworking track crew got the surface sufficiently dry to commence racing.

The team made their best stab at new fuel and clutch settings and King had the benefit of a bye run. Again, tremendous wheelspin saw King wrestle the 400Kg machine from one side of the track to the other, but he flashed over the line to record a fantastic 6.41 seconds at 215.37 mph. The crowd and the organizers elation was matched by that of the team, how was it possible for a run so quick to take place on this new track?

The team's tuning experience showed in the semi finals as King overcame Greek rider Tilsisoglou Savvas with another great pass of 6.49s @ 214.63 mph and into the final to meet Finland's Kai Selkämaa on the ex Norbert Kutzera Puma Yamaha.

King had the amiable Finn covered all the way and crossed the line with another winning pass to take the event title and extend his lead in the championship, a 6.53s @ 220.95 mph proving too much for Selkaama's tyre spinning 7.06 @ 187.78 mph.

The team made many new friends and fans after both sharing and making history in Hungary, and look forward to the event in 2010.
They would like to thank the Hungarian fans who made the event so special, organisers Judy and Joseph Hadnagy, the hard working crew and management of Trak Bak Racing and Speed Riders MC, the local Government and sponsors who gave financial support, and last but not least the track announcing duo of Par 'PiPPi' Willen and Joseph who lent their own unique style and expertise to whip the crowd into an unbelievable state of excitement!

Pictures courtesy of Ernst Gruber - www.motorsportfotos.at and Ian King.