Vous trouvez bizarre qu'il n'y ait pas de news? Eh bien... quand y a rien, y a rien. Et comme on dit, pas de nouvelle, bonnes nouvelles. Janne continue de s'entraîner. On espère que tout se passe bien. Tout ce qu'on sait, c'est que du 9 au 12 septembre, il sera à Santa Pod en Angleterre pour la dernière course de dragster de la saison.
 
You are thinking that it's strange that there is no news? Well... when there is nothing, there is nothing. No news, good news, isn't it? Janne is still training and we hope that it's going fine. All what we know is that he will be in Santa Pod (England) on September 9th to 12th for the last drag race of the season.

Main character: Harri Olli (narrator)  
Secondary characters: Janne Ahonen, Matti Hautamäki, Janne Happonen, Ville Kantee, Janne Väätäinen and Martin Schmitt
Places: Lahti and Mikkeli  
Kind of story: psycho drama  
Rating: R (not for sensitive and depressive people)  
Language: English  
Ended: yes  
Note: If you liked "The End of an Era" you will probably like "Forgive Me"
Story: After a dramatic accident that killed one of your teammates, it's not easy to make the difference between the real world and our imaginary world. What's happening in our mind? And why is he talking to me? Am I crazy?
 
Here you can read the beginning of the story:
    After my second jump that was as  bad as the first one, I saw that the spectators were leaving the  stadium. Was it because of me? Maybe. The situation was quite     funny and I smiled. But it was also because of my teammates that  were worse than me. The reporters wanted that I gave an explanation to  the public. We were bad. I had nothing more to add. Wasn’t     it their job to find answers to impossible questions? And they  looked also quite disappointed that I didn’t say something bad about the  jury or the coach. Why to make them happy after each     failure?  
       
 
       At the top of the hill I saw my  teammate Matti Hautamäki walking alone, lost in his thoughts, looking at  the ground. Maybe he wanted to look at the flower     ceremony? I smiled and went directly to our little house where our  serviceman waxed our skis. “Sorry Ville. It wasn’t better. Your wax is  like glue. I have no speed in the inrun. You should steal     the wax of the Austrians.” He looked at me like if I was accusing.  It was just a suggestion because we had experimented technical problems  during the whole season and it looked that we would not     find the solution in a short time. “And you, you should always jump  at 100% even if it’s impossible to reach the podium. You were 7th of the first round. What the Hell have you done to     finish 13th?” he asked disgusted. “What is the difference between the 7th and the 13th  rank? Both are bad.” He didn’t answer and closed his box     in which he stored his waxes and other materials.  When  my suit was packed I sat and opened a backpack. “Relax, guys. Who wants  a beer?” I proposed. Kalle Keituri and Ville     Larinto refused but not the two Janne. Ville was angry and didn’t  seem to want to have anything to do with me. “Where’s Matti?” Ville  Kantee asked like a mum duck that lost one of his babies. “He     spies the Austrians,” I joked. “I don’t know. He left about ten  minutes ago,” Kalle said.
 
 
Do you want to read more? Send me an email to ptitpou85@yahoo.fr

Corinna m'a très gentiment autorisé à publier ses photos d'Hinterzarten et j'aimerai la remercier chaleureusement tout comme Bee667 et ses photos d'Hockenheim. J'en profite pour vous dire que si vous aussi vous aimeriez partager vos photos ou anecdotes, n'hésitez pas à me contater: ptitpou85@yahoo.fr
 
Corinna kindly authorized me to publish her pictures from Hinterzarten and I'd like to thank her warmly like Bee667 and her pictures from Hockenheim. In the meantime if you wish to share also your pictures or anecdotes, don't hesitate to contact me: ptitpou85@yahoo.fr

Vendredi pour son premier run dans les qualifications, Janne est seul sur la piste. La voiture refuse de démarrer. Heureusement, tout se passe bien dans pour le deuxième passage. Il réalise un très bon temps de 5.134s et une vitesse de pointe de 426.58km/h. Il est 6ème. Samedi pour la 3ème session de qualification, il passe sous la barre des 5 secondes pour réaliser un temps de 4.985s et une vitesse de pointe de 432.44km/h. Il remonte à la 5ème place. Dans la quatrième et dernière session, son temps est moins bon (5.012s) mais il réalise sa meilleure vitesse de pointe avec 480.24km/h! Dimanche lors du premier duel, Janne a un problème d'accélérateur dans la deuxième partie de la piste et s'incline devant Stig Neergaard. 4.911/392.80 contre 5.539/294.9, le weekend de Janne est terminé. Malgré tout, ce fut un bon weekend. Les performances étaient au rendez-vous. Mico est toujours dans une phase d'apprentissage et il n'a malheureusement pas réussi son duel.
 
Bee667 était sur place et a décidé de partager avec nous ses photos. Un grand merci!
 
Friday for the first qualification run, Janne is alone on the track. The car refuses to start. Luckily everything is fine during the second session. He realizes a very good time of 5.134s and a top speed of 426.58km/h. He is 6th. On Saturday for the 3rd qualification session he races less than 5 seconds, exactly 4.985s and a top speed of 432.44km/h. He is 5th. In the forth and last session, his time is less good (5.012s) but he signes his best top speed with 480.24km/h! On Sunday during the first duel, he has a blower problem in the second half of the run and looses against Stig Neergaard. 4.911/392.80 against 5.539/294.9. The weekend is finished. But it was a good weekend. The performances were much better. Mico is still learning and unfortunately losst his duel.
 
Bee667 was there and decided to share her pictures with us. A big thank you!

Il n'y a pas grand chose à dire de cette première compétition internationale individuelle. Elle s'est déroulée dimanche sous un déluge. Les sauts étaient très serrés. Janne s'est posé à 95m (bien meilleur que son saut d'essai à 88m). Insuffisant pour atteindre la finale. Il est 34ème. Un résultat à l'image de la météo. Le Grand Prix d'été est terminé pour Janne. Retour en Finlande pour s'entraîner et petite pose dragster ce weekend à Hockenheim en Allemagne. Prochaines compétitions: les championnats d'été de Finlande en septembre à Lahti et peut-être une autre compétition internationale.
 
There is not much to say about this first international individual competition. It was on Sunday under a heavy rain. The jumps were close. Janne landed at 95m (much better than his trial jump at 88m). But it's not enough to participate to the final round. He is 34th. A result looking like the weather. The Summer Grand Prix is finished for Janne. He goes back to Finland to train and will have a short drag racing break his weekend in Hockenheim in Germany. Next ski jumping competitions: Summer Finnish championships in September in Lahti and maybe another international competition.
 
Résultat:  
1. Adam Malysz POL 265.6pts (103.5m et 107m)  
2. Thomas Morgenstern AUT 261.8pts (107m et 106m)  
3. Kalle Keituri 250.7pts (99.5m et 106m)  
...  
34. Janne Ahonen 106.4pts (95m)  
 
Résultat complet

Samedi avait lieu la compétition par équipe. Après 3 sauts à plus de 100m réalisés par Matti Hautamäki, Harri Olli et Kalle Keituri, la Finlande est en tête. Janne est le 4ème homme dans le groupe le plus fort. Malheureusement, son saut est trop court (98m) et l'équipe rétrograde à la 3ème place. En manche finale, Matti et Harri ratent leurs sauts. Kalle essaie de récupérer des points mais c'est trop tard. Et Janne, avec 97m, laisse la Finlande au 5ème rang. Ce que l'on peut dire, c'est que ses sauts ne sont pas mauvais mais il manque un petit quelque chose pour gagner 4-5m.
 
On Staurday there was the team competition. After 3 jumps over 100m made by Matti Hautamäki, Harri Olli and Kalle Keituri, Finland is leading. Janne is the 4th man in the strongest group. Unfortunatelly his jump is too short (98m) and the team drops to the 3rd rank. In the final round Matti and Harri missed their jumps. Kalle tried to get more points but it's too late. And with 97m Janne lets Finland at the 5th rank. What we can say is that it's not bad but a little something is missing to jump 4-5m further.
 
Résultat de la compétition par équipe:  
1. Pologne 1001.7pts (M. Kot 103m et 102.5m, K. Mietus 93.5m et 99.5m, D. Kubacki 102m et 103.5m, A. Malysz 106.5m et 105m)  
2. Norvège 966.2pts (B.E. Romören 98.5m et 99m, J. R. Evensen 99m et 100m, A. Jacobsen 95.5m et 99m, T. Hilde 99.5m et 104m)  
3. Allemagne 957.7pts (M. Neumayer 101m et 98.5m, A. Wank 95.5m et 100.5m, S. Freund 103m et 101.5m, M. Uhrmann 104.5m et 98.5m)  
...  
5. Finlande 945.6pts (M. Hautamäki 104.5m et 97m, H. Olli 101.5m et 95m, K. Keituri 101.5m et 104.5m, J. Ahonen 98m et 97m)  
 
Résultat complet

A Hinterzarten, Janne a très bien sauté. Pendant les sauts d'entraînement, il s'est posé à 95.5m et 90m. Il s'améliore saut après saut et c'est très bon signe. Puisqu'il est pré-qualifié, son saut de qualif est un saut d'entraînement. Il vole jusqu'à 99.5m. C'est une bonne nouvelle pour l'équipe de Finlande. Kalle Keituri et Harri Olli ont sauté plus de 100m et Matti Hautamäki 96m mais ses sauts d'essai étaient meilleurs. Seul Olli Muotka a été malchanceux avec le vent et ne s'est pas qualifié. La compétition par équipe commence ce soir à 18h00 et Janne sera le dernier Finlandais.
 
In Hinterzarten, Janne jumped very well. In the training rounds he landed at 95.5m and 90m. He is improving jumps after jumps and it's very good. Because he is pre-qualified his qualification jump was a training jump. He flew until 99.5m. That's a good news also for the Finnish team. Kalle Keituri and Harri Olli jumped further than 100m and Matti Hautamäki jumped 96m but his trial jumps were longer. Only Olli Muotka was unlucky with the wind and didn't qualified. The team competition will start this evening at 6pm and Janne will be the last Finn.
 
Résultat de la qualification:  
1. Dawid Kubacki (POL) 130.4pts (103m)  
2. Tom Hilde (NOR) 128.1pts (105.5m)  
3. Kalle Keituri 126.8pts (103m)  
...  
30. Matti Hautamäki 109.4pts (96m)  
...  
52. Olli Muotka 93.7pts (87.5m) NQ  
 
Harri Olli 103m PQ  
Janne Ahonen 99.5m PQ  
 
Résultat complet

A la fin de la semaine commence le Grand Prix d'été à Hinterzarten (Allemagne). Ce sera la première fois de la saison que les sauteurs du monde entier concourront l'un contre l'autre. Depuis plusieurs années, le vainqueur du Grand Prix d'été a remporté le classement général en hiver. C'est probablement l'une des raisons pour lesquels presque tous les top sauteurs seront à Hinterzarten. Grâce à l'absence de Gregor Schlierenzauer, Janne sera pré-qualifié pour la compétition individuelle de dimanche. Il aura ainsi moins de pression sur les épaules et pourra se concentrer sur les compétitions. Il a dit dans une interview qu'il aimerait participer à la compétition par équipe de samedi. Pekka Niemelä, l'entraîneur national, devra choisir 4 sauteurs parmi Janne, Matti Hautamäki, Harri Olli, Kalle Keituri et Olli Muotka. Après Hinterzarten, Janne ira à Hockenheim pour une compétition de dragster. Il sera remplacé par Kai Kovaljeff et Ville Larinto.
 
At the end of the week starts the Summer Grand Prix in Hinterzarten (Germany). It will be the first time of the season that the jumpers from the world will compete against each other. Since a couple of years the winner of the SGP wins the Overall World Cup in winter. It's probaly one of the reason why almost all the jumpers are coming to Hinterzarten. Because Gregor Schlierenzauer is not on the start list, Janne will be prequalified for the individual competition scheduled on Sunday. He will have less pressure on his shoulders and could focus on the competitions. He said in an interview that he wanted also to participate to the team competition on Saturday. Pekka Niemelä, the new head coach, will have to choose 4 jumpers between Janne, Matti Hautamäki, Harri Olli, Kalle Keituri and Olli Muotka. After Hinterzarten, Janne will go to Hockenheim to compete in drag racing. He will be remplaced by Kai Kovaljeff and Ville Larinto

Sur la piste de Mantorp en Suède, Janne a réussi une belle qualification. Il a signé le sixième temps, très proche des meilleurs. La compétition est momentanément interrompue à cause de la pluie. Pour sa part Mico a signé le 36ème temps. Il apprend toujours.
 
On the Mantorp track in Sweden, Janne did a good qualification session. He signed the sixth best time very closed to the leaders. The competition is currently stopped because of the rain. Mico signed the 36th time. He is still learning.
 
1. Anita Mäkelä 4.0599/422.63
2. Andy Carter 4.1825/452.48
3. Urs Erbacher 4.1853/442.52
4. Risto Poutiainen 4.1942/451.91
5. Timo Lehtimäki 4.2485/395.17
6. Janne Ahonen 4.2531/446.61
7. Stig Neergaard 4.2538/414.88
8. Jöran Persåker 4.3629/375.30  
--- DNQ ---
9. Monica Öberg 4.3741/341.19
10. Jari Halinen 4.4747/436.12
11. Micke Kågered 4.6634/275.48
12. Håkan Fällström 11.2882/125.25
 
Update: the race has been cancelled due to the rain.
 
Extract from eurodragster.com: Top Fuel racer Janne Ahonen said "Yesterday (Friday) was difficult with the rain and the track conditions. I am hoping for better today but otherwise the car was running well. We had a problem with the clutch in Finland and have got a new AFT one here." Tony Pearson from Janne's crew added that the new clutch didn't lock up quite as it should in yesterday's run but it wasn't a real issue given the conditions. Janne's time was 4.3849/373.37, good for no.4.