Glemseck 101 - Motorcycle Event with Vespa Surprise 2023
Glemseck 101 Round 16 - the roller class has its premiere
"Balls of Fire", that's how the Glemseck 101 announced the scooter class "Rock`t Roller" on its Facebook page. The Glemseck 101 is the largest motorbike event in Europe. 40.000 visitors found their way to the section of the former "Solitude" race track outside Stuttgart in 2023. This meeting has rightly earned this status. The centrepiece is a classic acceleration race. Oldscool, hand-started with a flag, without timing, over 200m. Handmade motorbike conversions are allowed to take part. Mostly the riders, the Screws and the designers. It's always about the style of the machines, not just their performance. Whoever is allowed to ride here has a passion for his or her bike that becomes clear at first glance. Regardless of whether you are a professional or a hobby mechanic, only people who still have oily fingers after work ride here.
This mix attracts all kinds of two-wheeled maniacs. Touring riders, sport riders, motocross riders, rockers come. But above all, there are customisers and racers, from backyard projects to the big brands of the motorbike world. They all succumb to the fascination of this mixture of passion and speed that thunders down the strip between the bales of straw.
I have succumbed to the gravitational pull of this fascination for years. To ride once in front of this ingenious backdrop. The thrill of competing with motorbikes rather than scooters with each other. A challenge with slim prospects of success, but great prospects of lots of fun.
Unfortunately, it seemed impossible to simply take part in the Glemseck 101 race with a scooter. There was no class that scooters fit into. You had to apply for each class, there were more than enough riders who would like to take part. The waiting list was long and the organisers were not exactly waiting for a request from scooters.
Of course, I was not the only scooter rider who would like to compete there. Veit Nübel is not only a Stuttgart "local", he is also a very good and experienced rider and we have already started other projects together. He called me and got the ball rolling. To make a long story short: In 2023 we were allowed to compete at the Glemseck. At the invitation of the "Rocket Race Club", we were given half an hour on the race track to compete in a scooter class with eight scooters in a knockout system. So unfortunately not against motorbikes, but having our own scooter class was more than we had hoped for.
The "Rocket Race Club" organises its own racing classes within the Glemseck 101 weekend. Spectacular café racer conversions with lots of bang for the dragstrip are in their paddock. We were allowed to join them this year with our racing scooters and had a lot of fun on and off the track. Good Screws, good guys.
Picture gallery Glemseck 101 2023
On Sunday at 14:30 the time had come. Slightly hungover but in perfect weather, we pushed the scooters into the pre-start area. The "Big Coffee Class" was still running. Four-cylinder motorbikes with 750 to 1300 cc. Modified motorbike legends like Suzuki GSXR or Yamaha V-Max from the 80s and 90s were at the start. An impressive show. Superior won by a for drag racing optimised GSXR with 1300 ccm from Italy.
Then we go to the start. My adrenalin shoots through the roof. I have rarely ridden in front of a grandstand with thousands of spectators. In the audience almost exclusively motorcyclists. How are scooters received at this event?
The flag drops, I ride the first race. Until the finish line, there is no perception outside the eight metres of asphalt that narrow in front of the front wheel. On the way back, I was curious to see how the scooters would be accepted as starters? Then the surprise: the grandstand applauds and celebrates. Hardly anyone had expected the performance of the old Gear Pulleys. In the end, everyone here is a petrolhead, whoever delivers is respected. The spirit of this event is unique!
I am lucky to win the scooter class. We really had a very strong field of riders with very fast rollers. The final was against Tobi Meusburger from Austria. A Vespa Smallframe with a high-end BFA plate rotary engine. Tobi not only has one of the fastest scooters, he also rode extremely strong and gave me and my VNA racer with a 400 Egig Cylinder a close race. The best show we could offer the Glemseck!
In the Connection, the organisers allowed a race against a motorbike after all. The winner of the scooter class against the winner of the Big Coffee Class. So it was me against the Suzuki GSXR Dragster. OK, I'm quite optimistic about such duels, but with this opponent I was afraid it might get a bit boring. Never mind, I'll just have to hurry up... I can win the start by a narrow margin and fight back until the middle of the second gear and about halfway. Then the Gixxer comes by. I shift into third gear and luckily don't lose many more metres until the finish. Second place in this duel for me, but one of the most brilliant races I have ridden.
The 16th Glemseck 101 comes to an end. We scooter riders say goodbye and are impressed by the atmosphere that prevailed here among the riders and the audience. Many thanks to the "Rocket Race Club", to the organisers of the Glemseck 101 and to the spectators. We will be back, no question about it!
The riders of the scooter class:
Andre' Jüterbock, Falco Engelfried, Jesco Schmidt, Michael Ziesel, Nico Gnisci, Patrick Brändle, Tobias Meusburger, Veit Nübel.
Special thanks to: Eva, our "starter girl"; Andreas, best moderator; Isa and Menzo for pulling the strings; the Stuttgart Scooterist for organising tents drinks and DJ.
SIP TV Video from Glemseck 2023
