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96th Edition of the Berliner Sechstagerennen

by Steve Penny
British 6-Day Correspondent for TBCC's 6-Day Site
Berlin

96th Berliner Sechstagrennen Finale

There is always a buzz in the Landsberger Allee Velodrome but arriving prior to last nights Finale you could feel it even more than ever. The top of the standings saw 4 teams in strong contention for the victory and as 2 of the teams included Berliners Robert Bartko and Guido Fulst, riding with Beikirch and Lampater, the anticipation was clear. The usual evening programme of Dernys, elimination and points races preceded the Finale and a few points were won here and there notably by the Swiss pair of Risi / Marvulli to leave the standings looking very close indeed before the 60 minute Madison that would decide the overall winners.

Standings before the Finale:

1. Bartko / Beikirch 245 points
2. Fulst / Lampater 239 points
3. Risi / Marvulli 239 points
4. Stam / Schep 137 points

+ 2 laps
5. Keisse / Pollack 232 points

Once the gun went off to start the final chase most of the 10,000 people in attendance were sitting or standing with their eyes glued to the 250 metre track. The first 30 minutes saw Bartko / Beikirch and Fulst / Lampater going away to gain a lap to be followed soon after by Risi / Marvulli, Stam / Schep and Keisse / Pollack. This appeared to be a pattern that would see the race decided by the points offered at the sprints during the last 50 laps but that didn't prove to be the case, as with 15 minutes to go, Bruno Risi launched one of his trademark attacks and immediately got a gap of 20 or 30 metres. The field was in panic and was strung out in single file for a number of laps. Sterling work by the Dutchmen Stam and Schep saw the gap remain at about half a lap and gradually with the help of Keisse and Bartko it started coming down. The Swiss pair have gone well when paired together this year but you sensed that this was a time when Risi missed his partner Kurt Betschart, of 14/15 years, the most. Marvulli although giving it everything, couldn't press home the advantage and as the final 50 laps approached the bunch had them back in sight. The Swiss team did manage to take the first 10 points on offer and so still looked in a good position for the fight for points and the win. This however proved not to be the case as soon after Risi / Marvulli were caught, and with 38 laps to race, Leif Lampater jumped away from the field in a classic Six Day counter move that at the time looked like an attempt to merely gain points as the lap gain seemed impossible.

With the main players tired after chasing Risi / Marvulli so hard, the gap edged wider and wider and roared on by the crowd Fulst and Lampater sped around the 250 metre track like men possessed. At a similar stage in last years Berlin Six the pair tried the same move but couldn't make it pay however the 2006/2007 Leif Lampater is a different animal and fulfilled his billing as the next big Six Day star by making contact with the field about 18 laps from the end. This basically sealed the win for the veteran Fulst and the young Lampater and it was just left for a disappointed local hero Bartko to out sprint Marvulli and seal a consolation second consecutive 2nd place with the Swiss taking the third and final podium place.

Elsewhere on the Final Night in Berlin

The final Madison is really all that matters on the last night of a Six Day race but with teams either looking for points towards that final or trying to salvage something from the event we still saw some interesting racing.

The team elimination especially proved hard fought and with Bartko / Beikirch, Risi / Marvulli and Keisse / Pollack the last teams on the track you know points were wanted. Bartko / Beikirch missed out and it was left to Gents own Iljo Keisse to beat Bruno Risi in a photo finish. The Swiss pair of Risi / Marvulli however took a prize as the overall Team Elimination winners, they took 60 points in total from this event over the whole six days.

Although the Derny Cup had been presented on Monday night there was another race behind the small motors and it was a fast finishing Andy Beikirch that took the win from Bruno Risi. This proved to be the highlight for the two Bs, Bartko & Beikirch, as the night ended in disappointment with them having to settle for 2nd overall. There was also an individual elimination race that saw a much needed and morale boosting win for Jacob Piil, from Franco Marvulli, before he heads to Copenhagen as the home favourite.

The 96th Berliner Sechstagerennen was of course a big success and having 5 teams in contention until the finish is what any promoter would wish for at the outset. Apart from the main teams and established riders we once again saw that Patrick Sercu's comments prior to the Gent Six about blooding new riders is what Six Day racing needs. And it would appear that there are riders around who are ready to take up the mantle. Already established and top of that list are of course Leif Lampater and Iljo Keisse but at 3 or 4 years younger and topping the list of the next wave of riders coming through must be Alex Rasmussen & Michael Morkov. The young Danes showed well in most events breaking the track record for the 1,000 metre TT and finishing at a very creditable 5 laps down in 6th place. Both looked to be going better than the more established, in Six Day terms, Marc Hester although Hester has raced at all the winters Sixes and at just 21 probably doesn't want to risk burn out going too hard. Belgians De Ketele and Steve Schets came through their first German Six well and as noted finished ahead of a lot of German riders who like the Belgians are also trying to break into the Six Day circus on a full time basis.

Sprinters

The final night for the sprinters saw Stefan Nimke take the flying lap in 13.114 and 19 year old protégé Maximillian Levy take the Keirin after jumping away with 300 metres to go. These victories left the overall event to be decided in a 2 up match sprint between Nimke and Levy. The more experienced Nimke took it after a close run at the line and the Kilo specialist was crowned winner of the 2007 International Sprinters Cup.

Stayers

The Stayers event (Steher Rennen) was also poised for a close finish with local favourite Carsten Podlesch needing to take the win to hold off Giuseppe Atzeni for the 2007 Steher Championat. From the start Atzeni once again took the fight to the whole field and romped away with only Podlesch staying anything like close. But with 10 laps to go Podelesch brings 'his' crowd to it's feet by coming really hard his legs turning the massive gear at an amazing rate of rpm. As he closed in on Atzeni you'd be forgiven for thinking that maybe Giuseppe had gone off too hard but that looks like it's just his way of racing, from the front. In the last 3 laps Podlesch goes ahead and in the final 200 metres he was as close to sprinting as you could possibly see in a motor paced race and crosses the line pumping his fist and saluting the part the crowd have played.

In a sporting touch Atzeni raises Podlesch's arm to acknowledge him as a worthy winner but Atzeni at 28 looks like he will be a player in Berlin for a good few years yet. Podlesch takes his 9th win in the Berlin competition and the reining German Steher champion I'm sure will be back looking for his 10th win in 2008.

Final Standings:

1. Fulst / Lampater 269

+ 1 lap
2. Bartko / Beikirch 267 points
3. Risi / Marvulli 259 points
4. Stam / Schep 143 points

+ 2 laps
5. Keisse / Pollack 236 points

+ 5 laps
6. Rasmussen / Morkov 207 points

+ 7 laps
7. Villa / Grasmann 48 points

+ 16 laps
8. Piil / Hester 110 points

+ 17 laps
9. Muller / Aeschbach 83 points

+ 20 laps
10. De Ketele / Schets 90 points

Steve Penny