Reckless Racing

07/09/2026

Last weekend we were testing the blower bike at Motopark track.

Friday started by setting up the camp and getting the bike ready. Since the day was very misty until early afternoon there wasn't huge rush. We got to the line-up when a short rain stopped the racing. Fortunately the track crew got the track dried pretty quickly so there was still time for one try before track closing time.

The plan was to do just a short pass to see if everything works as planned, slightly over 60ft or so. Although Marko said that he might run it a bit longer if everything feels fine. The bike started fine as usual, then a healthy sounding burnout and staging the bike. The bike launched hard and kept running strongly although sounding maybe slightly rough. Unfortunately it was heading towards center line right from the start so eventually Marko clicked off the 1/8 mile reflector. The time slip was looking pretty nice too: 1.02s to 60ft, 2.68s to 330ft and 4.03s to 1/8 mile.

When checking the log and bike we found a couple of less pleasant surprises. The front cylinder was dropped off around 3s but that was almost expected since the fueling was intentionally adjusted on the fat side. But a worse thing was that also the oil pressure was dropped about at the same time and due to that the rear cylinder rod bearings were toast. And the rod was damaged too. So some work ahead again.

Unfortunately our spare rods were missing one essential modification so we couldn't use them. But Jaska Salakari promised to bring a modified rod on Saturday morning. So while waiting for that we got everything else ready and also investigated possible reasons for oil pressure loss. Once we got the new rod the bike was assembled again pretty quickly. Unfortunately mysterious oil pressure issues continued during warm-up so we had to continue troubleshooting. After several checks and tests it was finally looking like we got the issue fixed and there was still time to make it to the last round of the day. But then the rain hit again and racing was called off for the day. So no any runs for us on Saturday.

Weather forecast for Sunday was looking pretty bad too. Maybe some rain and in any case it would be very cold. On Sunday morning it was looking that the day was going to be rather dry but it was pretty windy and cold indeed, around 8°C. Any way, we warmed up the bike and headed to the line-up. But while standing there shivering Marko came to conclusion that it isn't worth of the risk to hit the track at those conditions. So we headed back to the pits and started packing up...

So results for the weekend were somewhat mixed. Naturally it would have been good to get more runs and get the oil pressure problem sorted out for sure. But on the other hand the only run was pretty promising after all. Strong performance up to half track especially considering the conservative setup. And besides the bearing failure the engine was looking happy without any signs of detonation or melting. So looking forward for the next season!

Video interview by Salo Livestream (https://www.youtube.com/salolivestream)

29/08/2026

The blower bike is fixed again after the meltdown at Mantorp. Then some testing at Motopark on next weekend.

18/07/2026

The plan was to test the blower bike on this weekend at Kauhava. But too many little problems came up while preparing the bike so we decided to call it quits and instead spend the weekend in the garage by making some improved parts and getting the bike ready for the next event.

Video and photos by http://motorsport.kuvat.fi

27/06/2026

27/06/2026

Race report: IHRA Triple Crown at National Trail Raceway, Ohio

The team arrived to the track on Wednesday and after setting up the camp we spent rest of the day by doing some maintenance for the bike.

Thursday was a testing day and the plan was to do 2-3 test passes to get some tuning data and more seat time for Mike. At morning we still spent some time by going through local shops and trying to find a filling hose for bike's CO2 bottle. Finally one gas supply company was able to make what we needed and then we were ready hit the track.

The first test pass wasn't exactly what we hoped. The bike headed towards the wall from the start and also dropped a cylinder at the same time when Mike had to close the throttle. Any way, the first pass done. While warming up the bike for the next run we noticed an issue with oil pressure. Luckily the reason was located pretty quickly and we even had needed parts to fix it. But due to few small problems it took quite some time and the day was done already when we got everything ready again.

Friday was the qualification day. And quite tough one. There were about 20 Nitro Harleys in the list, only two qual rounds and 8 field expected. So not much room for errors. For the first round we tried to make a safe but still pretty quick tune. And for our relief it went as planned. The bike run straight and the result was 4.27s for 1/8 mile. This placed us 6th after the first round. After the round we also heard that the field was changed to 16 so it was quite safe to say that we were in the race. For second round the plan was to keep the launch the same and add a little more power for mid track. Unfortunately the bike had some tire spin right from the starting line and then a massive tire shake around 60ft. So no improvement. Fortunately others didn't improve that much either so we ended up to 7th position after the second and final qual round.

On the first elimination round we were against Jimmy McMillan. We expected an even race so no need to pull any special tricks but no change to take it easy either. The run went within the plan. A nice straight run to 4.32s and since Jimmy had some troubles it was a clear win. So to the second round! On the second round we faced GT Tonglet who had been really quick and consistent during weekend so it was time to put all in. Just when we were going to move to the starting area it started to rain lightly and soon the organizers told us to rush back to the pits since the rain was going to get much heavier. And indeed it was quite intense but luckily short rain! After a couple hours we got called back to the line-up. We estimated that the track would be as good as before the rain so we didn't touch the tune-up. Mike took a good reaction time but unfortunately bike steered to the right so heavily that he had to lift the throttle and we lost the race. GT run 4.3something so with a good run we could have had a change. Well, that's racing...

Overall it was a good event for us. Naturally it would have been nice to go more rounds but still we are happy with the results. Sure we are clearly slower than the top guys but still perfectly capable to keep up with the competition. And there seems to be plenty of room for improvement once we get the bike optimized for US tracks. The race was again well organized and everything just worked there. So big thanks for the IHRA organization! A small minus comes from the pit area which was located on grass and gravel 😉

21/06/2026

Nice race that ended too soon for us 😞

But hey, eyes to next one! 😎

20/06/2026

Update 2

Again in line up! Sun is shining and all looks good 🤗
......

We're back in pits due to rain. Will take couple hours at least.
..............

Line up to E2. Now.

Just dropped few drops of water so might take some time before run.

20/06/2026

In line up! About 15min to first round of eliminations.

Get to your live feed! 👀

20/06/2026

Ladder for today’s elimination! To line up in an hour or so.