DRAG RACE in Slovenia

Last weekend we were on our way to Ljubljana, Slovenia. We had been invited by Jaka Hrovat of Skuterist.si, who held his first major meeting 'SCOOTER DAYOFF' there. Of course we had our Malossi racer with us, so we could participate in the sprint race. On Saturday morning we arrived at the event site and were astonished: The area was a sports field and in the middle of the large paved square there was a huge stage with a fat sound system. A small circuit was marked out and a beer mile was included as well. On site we met the organiser Jaka, who was very happy that we had come to Slovenia.

Upon arrival, we built up our tent. We had brought some merchandising material for the Slovenian guys and also exhibited the SIP N8TRO and Lukas' DIO. The guys of the Slovenian RC team (whose tent stood right next to ours) were very surprised and excited that we had found the time to come to Slovenia. They welcomed us with open arms and thanks to their good knowledge of German, we not only got along very well with the guys but they also acted as our interpreters.

In the morning the volunteers had to organise some last details before the event could begin. The day started with a free riding session on the circuit. There were not only riders with tuned scooter, but also a lot of moped pilots. A Supermoto rider joined the fun, too. Then the sprint races took place. The track was rather small and the very short braking distance made the whole thing even more difficult and exciting. If you didn't brake hard enough, you were likely to end up in the gravel. Unfortunately the traffic lights didn't work properly and the organisers spontaneously changed their mind and went for a class-specific elimination system.

Since the scene does not yet have quite as many followers in Slovenia, as it does in Germany, there were only six racing classes. Our pilot Sebastian Bauch started in the dragster class. An open class in which - as the name implies - only proper dragsters are allowed to start. Unfortunately, there were not many riders inscribed in this class and so Sebastian's only serious rival was the dragster pilot of the RC team. But he was soon beaten on the short distance.

We were quite surprised to see the daring outfits of the riders. In contrast to the races back home, no technical acceptance tests or special protection gear were required in Slovenia. So people were actually racing in flip flops and shorts. Although this might seem an attractive option with regard to the weather, this careless gear policy should definitely be changed. In addition to the races, good music was playing all day long and during the breaks the DJs involved the audience in some entertaining games. Towards the end of the race day, the award ceremony took place. Good music, a cheerful audience and consolation prizes for those without a trophy made everybody have a good time.

After we packed our belongings, we waved goodbye to our new Slovenian friends who then started their 200km long journey back home. We decided to stayed on the event site, because we had found out that the big stage didn't belong to the scooter event, but to the festival that happened on Friday and Saturday night. Three student bands played late into the night and the audience was getting bigger by the minute. On our way home (Sunday morning) we stopped by in the capital Ljubljana to enjoy the sun and drink a coffee.

For Jaka the event was a great success. Not quite as many visitors as expected had come, but all participants were enthusiastic and the weather had been just perfect over the weekend.

This is the video we brough back home for you: