ACC Türnitz '10

Simo Kirssi is on a roll. The Finn has taken yet another win in the European Cross Country Championship (XCC), as he owned round three of the Austrian Cross Country Championship (ACC) at Tuernitz. The BMW Husqvarna Motorsport rider came from behind aboard his BMW G 450 X to dominate the two-hour moto.

Kirssi started with number twenty-one, following a late decision to participate. This meant having a not-so-favourable position on the grid. The Scandinavian nevertheless passed a bunch of riders immediately after the Le Mans-style start procedure. Kirssi came in fifth around the first corner, where he stayed until mid-race to study the track and his competition. Once the 30-year-old European champ felt fully accustomed to
the technical, woody and rather muddy Tuernitz course, he twisted the throttle a bit further. When all was said and done, Kirssi had increased his lead to two minutes over second-placed Markus Tischhart.

Simo Kirssi: "That was a fabulous race today - a real nice Enduro terrain with lots of difficulties included, pretty much like at all the ACC rounds. I needed to find way to the front, but then I was able to ride my own race and control the field. Some of the root sections were extremely slippery. Two weeks ago during the GCC in Germany, the ground was rock-hard, the complete opposite of today. This proves how my BMW works perfectly on all types of track.

"I´d like to add a special thanks to my brother Juho and everyone on the team. They´re all doing a fantastic job. This has been my fourth consecutive cross country win in a row. We´re back to a round in Germany at the beginning of July. Hopefully the streak will continue."


Austrian Cross Country Championship 2010, Rd.3 Tuernitz, XC-Pro Class:

1. Simo Kirssi (FIN), BMW Husqvarna Motorsport, 21 laps
2. Markus Tischhart (AUT), KTM, 21
3. Daniel Stocker (AUT), KTM, 21
4. Rudi Pöschl (AUT), BMW, 21
5. Markus Auer (AUT), KTM, 20



Photo: Joe Figl