First and second for Valtra at European Championships

08/31/2005

No less than 21 tractors participated in the Pro Stock 3500 class, with 9 tractors achieving near identical pulls. Valtra’s success was backed up by Matti Herlevi, who came up just 14 centimeters short of his father. Johanna Herlevi placed sixth, despite pulling just five meters less than the winner.

“I used a higher gear than Matti and Johanna for my first pull, so I had nothing extra to give in the second pull. Easy Rider’s third place was a surprise for me, whereas I expected Denmark’s John Deere to do better. It looks like the level is getting tougher every year,” commented Pekka.

Pekka was the first to pull in his class, while Matti was fourth from last. This gave him plenty of time to listen to advice from his father.

“I was pretty nervous before the pull off. I would rather have driven among the first drivers. It was hard just to wait and watch everyone else make their pulls,” Matti told us.

Johanna pulled best in the first round, but she couldn’t match the pace in the pull off.

“I tried to steer a little with the brakes, but then the tractor started bobbing up and down. That’s where I lost a couple of meters, for sure. My first pull was a dream, on the other hand,” commented Johanna after the competition.

Before the event, all the Valtra Shell Pulling Team tractors were prepared in equal fashions, for example balancing them in the same way. The higher compression ratio that was tried in the some previous competitions was returned to its former lower level. This caused the start-up of the tractors to look dramatic, with lots of coughing and flames. All in all the team was satisfied with the results.

“Gold and silver among such strong competition is an excellent achievement, and even Johanna’s sixth place is not at all bad. The competition is now so tough that we will have to find some extra pace for next season,” stated Team Manager Markku Lappalainen.

Around 15,000 spectators were on hand to watch the two-day event in Great Ecclestone. The weather was ideal for both competitors and spectators, with only slight rain on the morning of the second day. This helped make the track a little soft.

Results: 1) Sigma Power, Valtra, Pekka Herlevi, FIN, 103.94, 2) Caesar, Valtra, Matti Herlevi, FIN, 103.80, 3) Easy Rider, Case IH, Mark van Lejsen, NL, 102.17, 4) Code Red, Case IH, Geert Amhouts, B, 100.79, 5) Rocky, Case IH, Brend Huijbregts, NL 99.24, 6) Doris, Valtra, Johanna
Herlevi, FIN, 98.83, 7) Rough Justice, Case IH, Martin Nicholson, GB, 97.72, 8) The Eagle, Valmet, Johannes Örn, FIN, 96.73, 9) John Deere, John Deere, Michael Galsgaard, DK, 95.97, 10) Blue Bambino, Ford, Niels Damgaard, DK, 88.56.

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