Always brothers. Dviņi Lielbarži on the motorsport racing track since childhood / Article

No sign of star sickness

It’s a normal Monday morning at Madonna City High School. So it happened that the team of the Latvian Television program “Province” arrived a little late and unfortunately we did not meet the heroes of the program in sports class anymore – they were already gone to the locker room and getting ready to go to the next lesson. I shyly asked the sports teacher – what does he think, if we could ask the boys to return to the sports lesson for a moment. Stars, however, often go their own way… “Of course,” answers the sports pedagogue and, without a moment’s hesitation, invites the two students back. After a while, Daniel and Bruno return to the hall, having changed into sports clothes again – tall, slim, blond, smiling and absolutely open young people. Together with the other boys in the class, the two brothers play table tennis, while exchanging names. It turns out that they like and are good at almost all kinds of sports, but it is best if they both like basketball, but they should not get carried away with this sport, because, like contact sports, it is relatively traumatic, and this is a completely unnecessary risk for every athlete.

Despite the increased risk associated with basketball just discussed, the two brothers offer to go play as well basites, so that we have more variety in the picture. I’ll be honest, such kindness based on self-initiative in the filming process is not that common, that’s why we are pleasantly surprised, even more so – we have barely met the new heroes of our program – the talented moto brothers Lielbarži.

Did someone here mention something about star sickness? “Nonsense,” laughed the brothers, “what kind of stars are we there… Will you come with us to science class?” Of course we will come!

Motocross in the blood

It seems that the young twin boys Daniel and Bruno had no chance of becoming the next stars of piano, ballroom dancing or checkers. This is really probably the case when guys have started driving with tormented even before the learning of confident and stable walking skills, because the first riding gear was received as a gift for the anniversary of the first birthday. On the other hand, the brothers started training seriously and regularly from the age of four. “I already made them sick,” admits father Kaspar half-jokingly, half-seriously, “but to be honest, during all these years I never had to force them to go to training. The exception is a couple of times when the boys, for example, didn’t really want to go to skiing training. Then well, I said – see where the phone is, take it, call the coach and tell him yourself that you don’t want to train. That’s how this debate actually ended forever.”

“I guess motocross is really in their blood,” thinks the twins’ father and main supporter Kaspars Lielbārdis, “because I myself have always been interested in motoring, I have been involved in it myself, of course at a very high amateur level, but still.”

What they didn’t do – even with the old “Ural” mochis, they made “gonks” themselves together with the Daider brothers who lived nearby, whom no one knew at that time. Then Kaspars went from Liezere elementary school to study at Vecpiebalga secondary school, where he fatefully met the later motorcycle legend Kaspars Stupelis. “Imagine, the same Stupelis has sung for me!”, Kaspars remembers with a smile. On the other hand, now the same Kaspars Stupelis is the playing coach of the Lielbarži brothers – although he plays conditionally in another team, he never refuses some wise advice based on great experience to Liezerians.

Champion shortbread

To talk about the rising stars of motocross, we also meet the legend of this sport, the four-time world champion in motocross Kaspars Stupelis. Kaspars is the right expert to talk to about the prospects and future of motorsport in Latvia, because he himself has gone through all the circles of motocross hell and paradise, and also knows Daniela and Bruno very personally. “It’s very hard to break into the world of motocross,” admits Kaspar, “you have to earn that respect, because there are such battles of giants! Even I, in my 40s, allowed myself to be poked in the back in matches last year – either that respect for the champions quickly disappears or the young ones want to stand out… but it’s definitely not an easy sport.”

In recent years, the brothers’ coach and consultant Kaspars Stupelis had to meet his students and test their strength also on the race track. “In the last couple of years, the Lielbārži brothers don’t even pass by on the track, but go ahead right from the start, and we really have nothing to oppose,” admits Kaspars, who is very proud of the brothers and truly admires their rapid growth in the last couple of years. Of course, in the first joint season, when the brothers passed for the first time, there was almost a lump in the neck, but that’s the time of an athlete, and for Kaspars Stupelis, the moment has come when the sidecar motocross book has to be closed and something else should be done. On the other hand, he will not deny advice to Daniel and Bruno in the future and wishes them to stay firmly on the ground with both feet, work hard, keep faith in themselves and continue to gain experience – then everything else will come.

The sour roots of the sweet fruit

After hours, my brothers and I go to the nearby Madonna Sports Center, where they have daily athletics training. “I’m lucky because I could tell them apart right away, but many others don’t,” admits coach Lana Līcīte. At first, the boys came to her only with the idea of ​​strengthening their physical fitness, however, both of them really liked athletics, and both have been training for several years and have also competed in athletics competitions with good success. In addition, the drive for both is the constant internal competition and the desire to beat the other in everything – long jump, high jump, hurdles – in any discipline.

One small episode from the training process is very characteristic, in my opinion. Daniel and Bruno have already been working hard on the treadmill for an hour, and there is still work to be done in the weight room. Before going to the gym, the trainer tells you to perform jumps on the stairs – on one, then the other, and then with both legs… from the first to the third floor! The brothers start to perform the exercise, suddenly the coach’s voice is heard: “Squat down, Daniel!” And Daniel descends the first five steps without a murmur and resumes the exercise with a deeper squat. It seems that only with such an attitude can you push plans for world championship medals…

Always brothers

Last year, they not only achieved the title of Latvian motocross champions, but the brothers also became Germany’s youngest motocross champions in one stage, and it was a real pride to listen to the Latvian national anthem in Germany, admits father Kaspars. Unfortunately, the intended debut in the world championship did not go so well, as Bruno broke his arm as a result of an unfortunate fall in the very first stage, when there was one and a half laps left to the finish line. But difficulties are only a means of hardening – the fractures heal and the brothers are back in line.

Very soon after our meeting, the whole Bigbeard family goes to a motocross training camp in Italy. We ask the brothers what is their motivation to train so hard and diligently. “First of all, we owe a huge debt of gratitude to dad, mom and their support. The family house is still not finished, because all the money goes to support motorsport,” the young motorsportsmen say. But the second thing is the desire to bring back the glory and popularity of sidecar motocross in the eyes of fans. And what about the dream of becoming world champions? “I would like to do it at least once,” admit the brothers, and after thinking a little, laughing in their characteristic way, add: “Well, Willemsen has to be beaten – that means that you have to win the world championships at least 11 times champi!”

It seems that Daniela and Bruno really have an almost or tangible connection.

“It feels like we feel each other more mocha and we feel what one or the other of us will do,” the brothers admit. The brothers’ father also admits that even though Daniel and Bruno are competitors in everything, Daniel and Bruno always remain brothers who fall and stand up for each other. But the comment of the Bigbeard brothers puts an end to everything : “And you know why we ride a sidecar motorcycle and not for squares? Because dad wanted us both to be the first!” That’s why I took advantage of my official position and, just to be safe, I already took a picture with the future two-hundred-time world champions. And I say this without irony. Fingers crossed, we’re looking for blankets and folding benches so that it’s more comfortable to enjoy the bright light. sidecar motocross comeback story.

NOTE:

Latvian athletes Daniels and Bruno Lielbārži took part in the first round of the world championship sidecar motocross in Spain on Sunday, March 26. In the first race, the 16-year-old Lielbarži brothers were in second position after the first lap, behind only the representatives of the Netherlands and Belgium, Gert van Werven and Robes de Veen. The brothers slipped to third place after only ten laps, but after one more lap they were in fourth place, where they also ended the first race. On the other hand, in the second race, Lielbarži did not have a successful start, however, they managed to fight from the tenth position to the 7th place, when the handle of the canter Bruno broke, which made them drive more cautiously and finish in the 17th place. Lielbarži ranked 11th overall with 22 points.

Let’s all remember plaids and benches, and see you at the motocross!

Ar brothers Daniela and Bruno Lielbārži met on Madonna’s side: director Dace Kokle, journalist Harijs Beķeris, cameraman Armands Rudzītis, lighting designer Juris Lasinskis.