Tunturi

The Finnish Puch importer Tunturi Pyörä Oy sponsored selected racers with engines.
	Pentti Salonen as interviewed by Petri Koroma! Pentti Salonen raced the Tunturi- Puch full season in the 1974 and 75 50cc world championship. The bikes were full race bikes, with frames built by his brother Pertti. Special race parts came from Theo Meurs(NL) shop, who posted the parts to Finland. Wheels, front disc brakes, front and rear shocks, + cdi ignition Kröber from Germany. From the Puch- factory in Austria, came the complete engine, paid for by Finnish importer Tunturi Pyörä Oy, and loaned to Salonen as in sponsorship. The 6 speed engine origined from motorbike. 15hp@ 15.000rpm. Because of snow in Finland, they could´nt test the bike after build- up, as no track was available. They went racing without any testing in April 74 in France! Pentti doesnt own the bike anymore, as he had to return the engine to Tunturi Pyörät Oy. He knows of a Tunturi race bike in Raisio undergoing restoration, and another bike with identical engine resides in Turku. Spare parts are uncommon, there were not much action in 50cc racing in Finland. From the races: At the Finnish GP at Imatra in 74, Swede Leif Rosell raced him for 10th place and 1 point. Pentti battled hard for the 10th place, and as usual Rosell was the opponent. Just a few laps before finish, Rosell had to go to pits to change the plug. After repairs, he rejoined the race, just ahead of Pentti, but a lap behind! Back then there was no digital timing, and officials did not notice that he was a lap behind! So Pentti officially finished 11th. and no points from that race! Pentti did not make a big deal out of it, because it was in the early races. But now he is bothered because of the history books. Pentti felt that with the Puch- engine in question, that was the best he could achieve, as Kreidler was that much better. The engine needed much development, but there were not any. Petri Koroma 2009