Dutch road racing champion last year, where did he go, what he does today and how he views the current road racing sport. Every week we bring you the best Dutch road races from the past in our “The Best Dutch Road Races Since Then” section and ask them all a series of (same) questions. This week: Swen Ahnendorp.

How’s Swain Ahendorp doing?

• Noun: Swain Ahendorp
• Nickname: – number
• Born: May 19 1984
• residence: Olft
• partner: Nothing, Candice Ivy’s 4-year-old daughter
• Start a road racing career: 1997
• Active in: IDM & ONK & EK
• Number of titles: 1
• The end of the road racing career: 2009
• current occupation: Ahnendorp tuner tuning
• Facebook social network: Swain Ahendorp
• Twitter: Tuning Ahnendorp
• Instagram: Tuning Ahnendorp

How did you deal with road racing back then?

Through my dad, he used to race Ducati Club races for fun. This also infected me with the racing virus.

Who is the driver who fought the best fights on the race track?

There were many. Raymond Schouten, Joan Weger, Taghe Solberg, Ari Voss, Roy Ten Nabel, Kerven Boss, Marcel van Neuenhuizen to name a few.

Best motorcycle I’ve ever ridden and why?

2007 Yamaha R6 in combination with Pirelli tires. I came from Honda with Bridgestone tyres, which didn’t work well for me. So when I switched to a Yamaha with Pirelli tires, a whole new world opened up for me.

What is your favorite track that you rode and why?

Without a doubt, Spa-Francorchamps. This is due to the design, speed, and the many variations in height. Great track to drive.

What’s the weirdest and funniest thing you’ve seen in a race?

There is so much, in fact there is so much I will never forget. One of them: a weekend in the rain at Spa-Francorchamps. As Supersport drivers, we’ve all been waiting in a ditch to get on the track. The 250cc riders came in after their session at that point and had to drive through a pit box next to us. But the paint on this pit box was very slippery, so within a couple of minutes there were several drivers on the ground who then tried to get up as fast as they could and try to pick up their bikes, it was really funny to see. After about 30 minutes, I also sent in the same box, and at that moment I didn’t realize it could be slippery… In short, I was already there with three others. Now we, like a turtle on its back, tried to get up again and pick up our motorcycle as quickly as possible. Now the laughing Superbike men were on the other side of the fence.

What is the best thing you learned from racing?

Great memories, many friends and of course my company that I still work with in sports.

What did you do after your active road racing career?

Racing bikes and bikes will be built and tuned for teams and other drivers including Raymond Schotten, Bob Withhag, Ari Voss, and many other known and unknown drivers.

Do you still exercise in any way?

Yes, because of my work as a tuner and builder for racing bikes and motorcycles.

Which current driver do you respect the most and why?

In fact, each person, in his own way, with his own budget and available capabilities, tries to make the most of himself.

Who do you see as the greatest (currently active) road racing talent in the Netherlands and why?

Michael van der Mark, Bo Bindsneider and Zonta van den Gorburg for the fact that they can participate at a high level of their own. Their level is so high that even if they can get a slightly lower quality result, they still have to drive really fast with a machine that probably wasn’t perfect at the time. We all underestimate this too often.

How do you view the current races, both nationally and internationally, from your experience?

Difficult, sometimes I regret that a lot has to do with money and available budget. Sometimes great talent doesn’t advance, or sometimes he has to make lower quality choices to survive just to be able to continue driving. It is and still is the most beautiful sport in this world that I can think of, but unfortunately it is also an expensive sport and not always everyone can play it.

Wednesday 12/22-2021: Since then, the best Dutch road racing: not yet known.

suggestions?
Do you have a suggestion on the “best road racing since” that you think would fit right in for this category (ex-Dutch champion, Grand Prix – or WorldSBK driver or Dutch TT race participant, for example). Let us know at [email protected] In this email, please include the driver’s name and contact details where and how we can access this “road racing from behind at the time”.

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