Martin Whiteley on Kaprun  
(0 comments) Wednesday, 17-September-2003  09:45 AM - by Scott 
The Global Racing Team arrived in Kaprun, Austria, site of last year's excellent World Championships with great anticipation for the World Cup Finals at the classic venue. The riders' enthusiasm was soon cut short as they walked the course in rain that was to persist all week. The course shared only a small section with last year's classic course and was only half the original length, and most of it was off camber on fresh grass.

For Lindsay Klein (AUS), the youngest member of the team, these were conditions he had never raced before and he found the going tough. Towards the end of training he started to feel more comfortable thanks to his cut Michelin Mud 3's, but in the semi final he suffered 2 crashes and unfortunately failed to qualify for the final.

Andrew Neethling (RSA) had been battling a head cold all week and spent a lot of his spare time resting in bed and consequently didn't have the best weekend. Despite having a fall in the semi final, he qualified 44th, then in the final had another two falls and finished 54th, outside of the points. "I was trying to pin it in the final, but crashed early. I got back into my rhythm quickly but once again got caught in a rut that took me out yet again. Then it was matter of just getting down. It's a mess out there," said a clearly disappointed Andrew.

Matti Lehikoinen (FIN) had a better week as the slippery conditions suited the Finn's style. Matti displays incredible skill in the wet and muddy conditions and many riders came up to congratulate him, after training, on his excellent cornering skills in the wet. In timed training Matti recorded the 4th fastest time and was looking good for the race on Saturday. However in his last training run before the quails he crashed hard on his head and was briefly knocked out. After assessing his condition he was permitted to race, but the crash shook him up for the semi final where he went for a steady run without errors and came in 19th. In the final Matti was feeling better and went for a strong time, and despite a near fall when his bike fell in a huge hole on the course, he saved it and went on to scored a 15th place, his best result ever in a World Cup Downhill (except for the rain affected Grouse Mountain race this year).

18 year old Karlis Kisuro (LAT), who is managed by 23 Degrees and is a development rider in Global Racing colours, not only qualified for the first time in a World Cup, but finished an excellent 30th place, just 3 seconds behind World Class riders like Steve Peat, Chris Kovarik and Eric Carter.

Results on www.araiglobal.com

The 4X was cancelled due to excessive rain, poor conditions, and some safety concerns.

The Global Racing Team now heads to La Bresse in France for the finals of the French National Series. Check in for results from that event next week on www.araiglobal.com

News on whether or not Global Racing will be racing in 2004 will be released in late November this year. Once again, a big thanks to all of the fans and supporters, and of course to our valued official suppliers, we thank you sincerely for allowing us to race season 2003.





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