HP motor racing, Mühlhausen, D

Conditions were perfect for the penultimate heat of the German Cross Country series in Muhlhausen near the city of Erlangen.

After emerging from the Le Mans heat in second place, the spectators? favourite, Simo Kirssi wasted no time in showing the crowd what he was made of.

On board his superior performance BMW HP2 Enduro, he had plenty of opportunities to turn the throttle right up, on a course that was half classic motocross and half a special-class skills test for Enduro riders.

For a good few laps, he was even able to hold off the attacks of the cross-country champion and runner-up, Samuli Aro and Marco Tarkalla from Finland.

Sascha Eckert, three times German cross-country champion and second team rider on the HP2 found his feet more quickly, although this was only his third race on a Boxer Enduro.

His aggressive riding style stood him in very good stead indeed.

At the end of the race, Simo Kirssi, who was forced to undergo a rear wheel change in the middle of the race due to sponge rubber damage, finished 9th, while Sascha Eckert made it to 11th place in the first professional class.

Sascha Eckert: ?Once again it was great fun to take the HP2 through its paces with its perfectly coordinated power distribution for two hours.

I have managed to improve considerably in the big jumps in the motocross section.

The overall winner of the race was the guest rider and Enduro World Champion E2, Samuli Aro.

The next heat is set for next Saturday at the final of the ACC Championship in Mattighofen, Austria.