Photo: Aleš Korvas / Karel Kalina stood on the box last year as well.
The name Karel Kalina has become a household name among bikers. This racing legend will go to the Slovak Circuit in Staré Město for the umpteenth time this weekend, and we all believe that the local racer will wear a laurel wreath on Sunday, May 5, the day of his 70th birthday.
Karel is not a typical senior citizen. You can find him behind the wheel of a van or polishing his machine in the garage. How does a small man with a big heart prepare for his double “jubilant” race?
What does the Slovak circuit race mean to you?
It’s a home race, but I don’t really like it. There are a lot of friends and acquaintances here, so I can’t really concentrate on racing.
How many will you participate in this year and in what category?
I have participated in all twenty years so far, in different categories, starting with sidecars, going up to the solo class from 125 cc to the Supermono 800 cc class. And this both in the Classic classes and in the open international championship of the Czech Republic. And this year I would like to start in the 250 Klasik class on a borrowed bike and probably in the Classic Legends class with my Yamaha 250.
Are you counting on a crate?
Let us be surprised…
It takes courage to race at so many years, or am I wrong?
It’s not even about courage, it’s about current health and finances. After fifty-one years of racing, it’s a bit of a drug.
What machines do you still have parked in the garage?
I also have a Kovrovec 175 cc motorcycle for the Classic class.
How many races do you still participate in next year?
I participate in six to eight races a year. I choose my races and only drive my favorite circuits.
Can you count how many laurels or cups there are in your collection?
I have about two hundred cans at home, plus about a hundred glass cups and various other prizes. I don’t have an exact count and lately I’ve been giving them away.
Which one do you think is the most heartfelt?
The second race in my life – Rohatec 1972. I finished in second place in the rain and on gravel. Among the more valuable ones is the 1986 Knežpolský triangle, where I won 1st place in the free class and, in addition, I set a course record that no one has broken. And then I am proud of the victory the year before last in the Gustav Havel 300-turn race in Hořice in the 250 cc class, where at the age of 68 I defeated my eternal rival, the German J. Kehrer. Of course, my mechanic friends helped me with all the cups: Pavel Koňařík, father and son Trávníček, Dušan Klapil, boys Matůš and Šobáň and also son Lukáš.
As a youth, were you also a wild person on a motorcycle?
Like any young boy, I started on a moped and a pioneer, and I counted my falls until the basic military service – there were thirteen of them.
Who actually got you into motorcycles?
Miloš Plachý, who was the head of the central warehouse of new motorcycles in Hradiště, who drove road races and who let us touch the motorcycles, hang around them. The guys from Mototechna, with his help, helped me build my first racing motorcycle – ČZ 175 cc. And after the war, Milan Šobáň Sr. helped me a lot, who tuned up the motorcycle on which I won my first gold medal – Moravany 1976.
Where do you place the smell of gasoline in your life?
He shares first place with his family.
How much longer do you see yourself riding a motorcycle?
As I mentioned before, it depends on health and finances. Even if it will be just the categories of the Classic class, i.e. veterans.
Did you manage to find a successor?
Since I know what it entails financially and in time, I did not pressure anyone from the family. But my younger son Lukáš has been helping me with the motorcycle as a mechanic in recent years. I try to at least give advice to younger competitors from our region, such as Pavel Navrátil or Petr Mikel.
And a final question: How do you view the initiative of some people to “extend” the Slovak circuit from the Old Town?
The championship on natural circuits has always been held in cities, villages, in short built-up zones. And I think that it is possible to endure it for the two days, or go on a trip away from home.
The Slovakian circuit, which is twenty years old this year, has a long-standing tradition, following on from previous circuits that were run in the Old Town, Uh. Hradišti or Kněžpoli. The organizers are trying to add an accompanying program to the races so that local people can also have fun. It’s only good for the city that something is happening here!
