Deutsche Blechrollermeisterschaft Final, Aachen Sept. 2019
The most thrilling final of a race season always is the one where the championship still is not decided and the ranking of the final race determines who’s champion and who isn’t. That pretty much goes without saying. Where do you still get that though? In football, in Germany at least, Bayern München often enough celebrates winning yet another championship around eastern already, Moto GP and Marc Márquez is a done deal, depending mainly on Márquez making it to the flag or not, and in Formula 1 the pitlane matters more than the track. Few people other than the odd masochist manage to follow this stuff to the end without losing the will to live.
Good thing that there are least is the Deutsche Blechrollermeisterschaft aka DBM! This is not only motorsport at its finest, it’s also proper battles for the title right down to the finish line of the last race on the last race-day. Not always, but often enough to make sure it stays the riveting thriller that it is. The 2019 season with its final run in Linnich near Aachen is a point in case. For the third time the Sanctimonious SC and the Atomic Bridgeheads SC organised the Clutchtorture & Cowpattybingo. The name sure is a bit of a mouthfull, the event itself leaves nothing to be desired though. It’s not only sprint-racing but a full scooter run, complete with chip-shop, campsite and the very finest of Northern Soul to boot. Hence it wasn’t only the racers and their entourage who turned up, but also local and not so local scooterists who’d come to enjoy the evening do. Most of them made sure to turn up in time to watch the racing and to cheer the racers. The racing then delivered everything it promised in the run up: Championships still not decided in four classes plus the best-of-all-ranking boded well for a battle right to the end.
Some of the rankings in the individual classes were as close as they could be. In three of the four classes the overall leader changed on that last race day. The finalists of Class 1b for instance were in a tie for the overall ranking, and Tim Große-Brauckmann was finally crowned champion with Mathias Dahl second because of the number of runs he won. The title in class 4 was won by Marc-Oliver Neumann with a second place on the day for the first time. Jesco Schmidt took the overall victory in Class 3 with a whopping 6.692 seconds as fastest time of the day up to then.
The ultimate highlight then was the eagerly awaited final of the best-of-all ranking. The prestigious title was decided between Frank Schiemer, who’d had a brilliant overall season, and Jesco Schmidt, who, over the year, had struggled with a few technical problems on his SIP 25th anniversary racer. Both met in the final bout of the day which also was decisive for the overall championship. With 6.575 seconds vs. 6.800 seconds this last run then befittingly was the fastest run of the day, with Jesco Schmidt on his BFA 306 engined SIP racer taking the laurels.
The presentation ceremony during the Allnighter then saw the 12th DBM season off into the winter break; not without further plans for the future and hope for an even more thrilling racing season in 2020
Class 1a: Alex Bonald
Class 1b: Tim Große-Brauckmann
Class 3: Jesco Schmidt
Class 4: Jesco Schmidt
Class 5: Frank Schiemer
Class 6: Jered Fischer
Best of All: Jesco Schmidt (SIP Something Special)
For more pictures of the 2019 DBM Final in Aachen check out flickr.
