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| 2009-09-21 Nordic Formula Offroad Champion 2009 |
| It has been a interesting season in
many ways. The financial crisis did hit hard on some of our sponsors
so I wasn't sure how many races I could do this year. We still had a
good sponsor for diesel, Magnus Viberg with AGTOS, so our first plan
was just to go for the races in Norway and Sweden. So we went to
Matrand in May and finished 4th in the first race. But the engine
didn't perform as it should. It only rev'd like 5300 rpm. After some
troubleshooting during the evening with some good friends, we found
out that the crank trigger was too close to the trigger wheel. And
it have been so all the time since last summer. We made a couple
shim's of a beer can and the engine rev'd 7000 rpm!!! With this small adjustment the engine really came alive and we took our first victory for many years and the first one with Insane. After the first 2 races we was number one in the Nordic Formula Offroad cup and we had to find a way to get to Finland for race 5 and 6. (Race 3 and 4 was in Iceland and way too expensive for me). Fortunatelly a friend of mine, Per Malmberg, dropped by the garage and said "...then I have to help you to Finland...". Many thanks Per. We went to Kangasala, Finland. A good race, nice tracks, car worked great and we finished 2nd on saturday and 3rd on sunday. Siggi Jonsson from Iceland had 2 more races at this time and he was in the lead. We was now in second place but as the rules said that 2 races must be removed from the total we still had a good chance for the title. Two weeks after Finland it was time for Skien and the highest slopes in the whole series. We made a quite good race on saturday and finished 3rd. We also recieved the "Best in Show" trophy. Sunday's race started quite good. 3rd place almost whole day when the disaster happened. Track 5, same as saturday, I tried to get thru the finish gate when I rolled over quite bad. 3 turns to the bottom of the pit. Broken collar bone (nyckelben) and some damage to the rollcage. At this time I was sure that the season was over. I knew that I could never fix the car for next race. But a couple of days later Johanes, my crewchief, called and said he can fix the car if I can drive. It was a lot of work but with help from the team and some friends he made it and we went to Uppsala. I still didn't know if I could drive the car or if it would too painful. he race started and I went for the first track - and I made a 350!!! This was the start for another great race. After 3 tracks we was in the lead and managed to keep it to the end. First place and we was just 2 points after Siggi in the total. Sundays race started as good as the day before. Siggi had a terrible first track and we was in the lead after 3 tracks. No mistakes in the remaining tracks and we was number 1 again and with Siggi in 7th place the title was ours!!! I could hardly belive it was true. I would like to thank my sponsors, my team, friends and families for this season, your help is very valuable for me, thank you. I would also like to thank the other teams and drivers, and of course all organizers for good races this year. //Hans Mäki |
| 2008-10-19 Sponsor Event 2008 |
| This years sponsor event took place in
a small pit in Rimbo. Last years sponsor event was a success so we
had the same plan this year. First some information about the car
and driving instructions. And then inspection of track one and two.
These tracks were in very soft sand where the drivers had to keep
the car moving all the way to the end gate, otherwise they would get
stuck. And some of course got stuck :-) but most made it quite well.
When everyone had drive the two tracks we had a lunch break. After
the break we walked thru the other two tracks. Number three was a
quite long one with a end spectacular end gate where you had to make
a small jump over the finish line. Track number four was a speed
course, and that was great driving. You can really feel the power of
the car when the paddletires are throwing sand up in the sky. It was
a great day for us and I´m sure that everyone went home with a big
smile :-) I would like to thank all sponsors for this season, your
help is very valuable for me, thank you. |
| 2008-05-06 Engine disaster in Vormsund |
| The season didn't start too good. We had a decent first day in Vormsund where we ended up in 6th place after a misstake in the last track. After the race we made a show run for norwegian TV2 with a girl from the norwegian soccerteam in the passenger seat :-). I almost used the whole bottle of NOS during that run :-). Not sure if that was too much for the engine because in the first track on sunday it suddenly started to produce white smoke which use to mean a blown head gasket so we decided to put the car in the bus to avoid bigger disasters. With the engine in pieces I can just conclude that the engineblock is ready for the scrapyard, one piston is broken, one rod is bent and the head have some dents. Pictures of the disaster can be found here.I have found a used block and hopefully I can get a set of pistons and rods from my friend and colleague Roar Johansen. So hopefully we will have a upgraded engine to the next race in Denmark. See you there. |
| 2008-01-23 Mäki Offroad Racing - Information Folder |
| The new Mäki Offroad Racing information folder is now availible. Please download it and print it double sided, landscape to get a nice, readable folder. If you knwo someone who might be interested of Formula Offroad and would like to help one of the nicest teams in the nordic cup, don't hesitate to contact me. Download the folder here. |
| 2007-12-03 Insane at Persåkers Speedshop in Åkers Styckebruk |
| After Bilsportmässan we took Insane to Åkers Styckebruk and Persåkers Speedshop. It will be in Jöran Persåkers shop for a couple of months with some other nice cars. If you are "on the road" between Strängnäs and Södertälje, please drop by Persåkers Speedshop. A picture of Insane can be found here. And Persåkers Speedshop homepage www.persaker.se |
| 2007-10-23 Sponsor Event 2007 |
| We had a sponsor event a couple of
weeks ago (Pictures here).
Some of our proud sponsors came to the event and we had a little
introduction in Formula Offroad driving with them. It started with
drivers meeting and we checked the tracks for the day. We had made 4
tracks, 2 easy ones to start with and 2 a bit tougher. We also
checked out the car and gave instructions how everything works and
what to think about before and when driving. The drivers (read: Sponsors) agreed on starting order and Nicklas from Mekonomen was first out. He drove a little bit to carefully and got stuck for a while but he solved it out and made the way for the other drivers. The first 2 tracks went thru without any problems more than penalty points for some drivers. One who was really dissapointed was Arne Swartling, former T-Rex driver, who got stuck in the second track :-). It was a great day with perfect weather and after the 2 first tracks we had a little lunch and some time for discussing the next 2 tracks. First out after the lunchbreak was former Rooster driver Thomas Evsäter, also known as the butcher :-) He made a powerful drive in track 3 and 4. We had also put on the Nitrous system for these 2 tracks to make it possible to make it all the way in the very soft sand. Second driver Arne Swartling made a huge wheelie in track 4 so we decided to cut of a bit of the edge to make it easier and safer for the following drivers but the track was very difficult due to the soft sand so several drivers got stuck and had to reverse out of it. As the car is a 2 seater all drivers had the opportunity to bring a co-driver and many did so. I think they co-drivers also enjoyed the ride and I'm sure the drivers really did. I saw a lot of smiles and happy faces when they took off the helmet after each track. It was a great day to finish up the season with and I hope to see you all next year and also the sponsors who couldn't make it this year. Want to be a sponsor? Contact me on maki(a)makioffroadracing.se or call +46 70 626 19 65 I would also like to thank my team who have helped me over the season, especially Johanes, my crewchief, for all the time they have spent in the garage and on the races. And I also want to thank all people who have helped me in one way or another, too many names to put here but you know who you are :-) |
| 2007-10-03 Insane on MonsterJam and Bilsportmässan |
| If you visit MonsterJam in Stockholm 9-11/11, please drop by the "Bäckström" stand somewhere in the hallways and meet us there. We will also have the car at Bilsportmässan in Stockholm 23-25/11 in the SBF Offroad stand. |
| 2007-10-03 Pictures from Iceland Tour 2007 |
| We got a late invitation to the last WC
round in Hella, Iceland so we went there and made our best. Car
worked very fine all weekend but we definitely need a couple of
hundred horsepower to run all the way over the river and mud. Some pictures from our trip is uploaded in "Pictures". I also got a bunch of great race pictures from the great JAK, defenitely one of the most experienced Formula Offroad photographers :-) |
| 2007-06-21 Insane has arrived |
| After a very hard week of work we
finally managed to get it running. Had to solve some problems with
the fuel injection and ignition set up before it fired up for the
first time thursday night 01:45. Made a testdrive around the block
outside the garage and made a quick and dirty set up for the fuel
injection. This was friday evening at 20.00 something. Back in to
the garage and finish up the last few things before we could start
the trip to Vormsund Norway. Left the garage at 03.00 something. Got
a flat tire halfway to Vormsund :-( Arrived 10.30 and just made it
to the first track :-) I would like to thank you all who made it
possible to have the car ready for the first round of the Nordic
Formula Offroad Cup. Crewchief Johanes, Staff Helge and Stefan,
Anders Hallberg, Eva, Peter "nightshift" Ingdahl, Räkan for express
delivery, all sponsors, and all other persons which I don't
remember for the moment, you know who you are. Thank You All !!! |
| 2007-03-21 Pictures from Birthday celebration |
| I had a small party last weekend to
celebrate my 40th birthday. I would like to thank all my friends who
was there and made it to an awesome evening and night. I would also
like to thank you all for the great presents you brought. I hope you
all enjoyed it as much as I did. Thank you all. Pictures from the party is found here. |
| 2006-10-11 Added some garage pictures |
| As some people has asked for garage pictures of the new car I have uploaded a bunch. You will find them under "Pictures" in the menu. |
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2006-10-05 New working name "Insane" |
| A good name is quite hard to find. The previous car "Sandstorm" didn't have a name during the first couple of years. We will try with "Insane" and see how it feels :-) Feel free to send me an email if you have a good name in mind. |
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2006-10-05 New homepage |
| It was just about time to create a new homepage. I hope you'll find it nice and intresting. |
| 2006-09-18 Mechanic Of The Year |
| Johanes won the special prize "Mechanic Of The Year" on this years prize ceremony in Skien. He got it for his spirit to help everyone when needed. |
