Gasoline in the blood - The Felix Melnikoff column #46

October was, without question, the most stressful time of the year for me. With two races in the German Enduro Championship, with the 6 Days and the final of the Enduro European Championship, the competitions followed quickly.

The focus was of course on the International Six Days of Enduro, where I was supposed to compete for Germany in the Junior Trophy together with Fynn Hannemann and Leonard Koch.

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DEMANDING – THE Streitberg

But before we set off on the big trip to Spain, we made our way to Streitberg for the seventh round of the German Enduro Championship. Despite great conditions and a beautiful, demanding route, it wasn’t easy for me to cope with the unfamiliar terrain. So at the end of the day I reached P3. That wasn’t what I had planned, but I was still able to defend my lead in the championship.

Image: Peter Teichmann

CHALLENGE 6DAYS – ISDE Spain

Now we quickly drove 700 km back home to grab our suitcases and get on the plane to Santiago de Compostella. This year, over 600 riders from 30 nations traveled with us to the 98th ISDE in Spain to compete for their country in the Enduro Team World Championship. In my last column, I was looking forward to experiencing the 6 Days under “normal” conditions, unlike last year in Argentina, and had hoped that our team would survive the six days without any loss of people or machines comes to Spain. But unfortunately, as so often, things turned out differently.

Bild Robert Pairan

Image by Robert Parain

As soon as we arrived we got a first taste of the weather that would await us over the next twelve days. Our plane was probably the last one that was allowed to land in Santiago de Compostella. All others had to turn back due to the storm and heavy rain. It was pouring rain and so our first trip the next morning took us to the Decathlon, where we bought all the rain capes, rubber boots and hiking poles for the team so that we had any chance of running the route. We had eleven demanding special stages ahead of us, and even that was sometimes a real mud fight, which unfortunately didn’t end until the final Corss on the last day of the race. So we were able to leave the sunscreen in our suitcase.

Bild Robert Pairan

The conditions were by no means normal and unfortunately my second wish didn’t come true either, because our Junior Trophy team was only supposed to start together on the first day. After Fynn was injured in the second lap of the first day and was unable to continue, Leo and I unfortunately only fought as a pair from day 2 onwards. In addition to the challenges of riding on the muddy routes, these conditions also meant we had to do a lot of service work to get our bikes through the six days.

Bild Robert Pairan

Private picture – Six Days finisher Leonard Koch and Felix Melnikoff

You can find out how I fared on the individual race days on enduro.de, where you can read a detailed race report from every day or you can listen to my interview with Niederlausitz Aktuell, where I report on my experiences .

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Day 6/Finale:

In any case, I would like to take this opportunity once again to thank everyone who made this adventure possible for me. Above all, my family and the Enduro Sport Association, which, as every year, meticulously took over the organization and support on site. This meant that we drivers could once again rely on the fact that all the necessary equipment, tools, materials, fuel and lubricants were on site. And not only were our motorcycles taken care of, but also us. After each racing day there was a warm meal ready for us and the physiotherapist who expertly got us ready for the next day. Of course, a big thank you goes to all the helpers in the paddock and on the track. Team Germany stuck together really well again and that’s what makes this event very special for me. For me, the 6 Days were definitely a huge experience and I am proud that I was able to hold the Finnish Plate in my hands for the second time, despite difficult conditions.

Interview with Niederlausitz Aktuell

FINALE No. 1 – THE Kempenich

There were actually enough events in October and I would have needed a little break, but unfortunately that wasn’t possible. The decisions about the championship title were to be made the following weekend in the final of the German Enduro Championship. So we set off again to the other end of Germany to give it another go. In my case it was all about the sausage. Due to a canceled result, I went into the last racing day of the season with the same number of points as Avid Meyer. It was another really good racing day for Arvid, but unfortunately not for me. The route didn’t suit me and the 6 days were still in my bones. So I was second that day and therefore also in the championship, and therefore the first loser. Even though I had the lead in the championship all year long, I unfortunately only went home with the runner-up title in my pocket

Image Peter Teichmann

I hadn’t planned it that way, but I didn’t have much time to digest the disappointment. The very next weekend, as the last event of the season, the final of the European Championship was to take place and we had to grit our teeth one last time and gather our strength.

FINALE No. 2 – Enduro European Championship in Woltersdorf

Thank God the journey here wasn’t worth mentioning, because I was able to start almost on the doorstep in front of a home crowd. And that was really good again, because the fans on the side of the track, the helpers on the track and the presentation at Kesselsee were simply great.
I had planned to have a lot of fun again and this time I succeeded. I really squeezed my 125 KTM again and was able to set great times that I was really happy with. A huge thank you to all the fans and helpers on the side of the track who supported me loudly. So I can now go into the winter break with a good feeling

Bild Winfried Kastler

Image GrenzNic

outlook

My bikes have a break for now but unfortunately I’m not quite there yet. I now have the selection process for the Motor Sport Team, Germany 2025 in Stuttgart and for the talent pool of the ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg, where I have to accelerate again without my bike. Things are now getting serious at school too, because the pre-Abitur is coming up. Somehow I’ll get this over with before I can go on winter break. I hope you keep your fingers crossed for me too. See you soon!

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