FIRST ADAC SX CUP RACE 2023…
Last Thursday, the VisuAlz Production Racing Team traveled to Stuttgart for the first race of the ADAC SX CUP. The team had five riders from all over the world with them. Three in the premier class SX1 and two in SX2.
Rider line-up:
Adrien Escoffier #137 France SX1 Husqvarna FC 450
Hugo Basaula #747 Portugal SX1 Husqvarna FC 450
Dylan Woodcock #260 England SX1 Husqvarna FC 450
Yannick Andres #23 Germany SX2 Husqvarna FC 250
Hugo Manzato #965 France SX2 Husqvarna FC 250
Adrien Escoffier #137 (SX1):
With Adrien we were able to win a top rider for our team, just like last year. Adrien comes from France and also competes for the top places there. Already on Friday in Stuttgart Adrien showed that he can ride at the front. Adrien got off to a good start to the weekend and was able to finish fifth for himself and the team in the final on Friday evening.
His weekend was to continue in exactly the same way on Saturday. His goal this weekend was clear. He wanted a podium finish.
Adrien qualified lap after lap on Saturday and was very close to third place in the final. The podium was within his grasp. Unfortunately, in the end it was “only” enough for a strong fourth place. Overall, our strong Frenchman also finished fourth in the premier class. The team is completely satisfied with this performance. We would also like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to his mechanic Sascha Beier.
Hugo Basaula #747 (SX1):
Hugo Basaula is actually already part of the team inventory. We can always rely on Hugo. If a rider is missing, Hugo steps in. That was another reason why we decided to bring the likeable Portuguese into the team again this year. Hugo traveled to Germany with the goal of reaching the final. He narrowly achieved this on Friday evening. Unfortunately, this was not to be the case on Saturday. Hugo was eliminated in the semi-finals. Thanks also to our longtime mechanic Gerald Dittmeier.
Dylan Woodcock #260 (SX1):
This was Dylan’s first time riding for us in Germany and also his first time on a big bike. Dylan would have liked to ride SX2, but unfortunately there were no more starting places. While preparing for the SX in Stuttgart, Dylan realized that the decision to switch to a 450 was not a bad one. Dylan felt comfortable and got on well. His journey to Germany was a little shaky, as his flight was delayed by 3 hours and last but not least, how could it be otherwise, all his luggage including his chassis had disappeared. (Classic) When we received a call from Stuttgart airport the next morning to say that everything had arrived, we were relieved! Dylan grooved in on Friday, but his run of bad luck was not to end. During a training session, the pressure tank of his shock absorber inexplicably burst. White clouds of smoke billowed up.
His mechanic Matthias Stock and chief mechanic Kevin Welzenbach were immediately on hand to check on the bike. Many thanks at this point. Fortunately, Maurice Becker (S-Tech) knew Dylan’s suspension builder from England quite well. With Maurice’s help, a new shock absorber could be set up perfectly for Dylan. Dylan made it to the night show but unfortunately did not make it past the semi-finals. He started all the more motivated on Saturday. Dylan got more used to the bike lap by lap and his times got faster. Well deserved, he then made it straight into the final on Saturday. A strong performance! In the end, Dylan was very satisfied with 11th position in Saturday’s final.
Yannick Andres #23 (SX2):
The weekend did not go so well for our only German rider Yannick Andres. Yannick started the Supercross weekend in Stuttgart perfectly prepared by his coach Stephan Büttner. But it was already clear in the free practice session on Friday that Yannick would not be able to fully deliver what he had trained for. Yannick put too much pressure on himself, which ultimately meant that he was unable to qualify for the night show on either day. That was not the goal. Our SX2 rider knows what he has to work on and will do so until Dortmund in order to make it into the nightshow. Despite the modest weekend, many thanks to Yannick’s mechanic, Werner Andres.
Hugo Manzato #965 (SX2):
For the third time for the VisuAlz Production Racing Team, our young, wild Frenchman Hugo Manzato was at the start. Just like Yannick, Hugo also started on a Husqvarna FC 250. Anyone who knows Hugo knows that he is bursting with motivation and ambition. That’s exactly how we received him again in Stuttgart on Thursday. Just like his teammate Adrien Escoffier from France, he had set himself the goal of finishing on the podium. With a very strong fourth place on Friday evening, he almost succeeded. Hugo was motivated again on Saturday and wanted to improve on his performance from Friday. Unfortunately, Hugo got off to a very bad start in Saturday’s final and had to fight his way up from the back of the field. In the end, he finished the final in fifth place. A good performance, even if he couldn’t quite reach his goal! Thanks to Paul Ullrich, who has been Hugo’s mechanic for the second year now.
