Junker (roller coaster)
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Junker is a
steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
roller coaster A roller coaster, or rollercoaster, is a type of amusement ride that employs a form of elevated railroad track designed with tight turns, steep slopes, and sometimes inversions. Passengers ride along the track in open cars, and the rides are o ...
located at
PowerPark PowerPark is a large scale karting and amusement park in Alahärmä, Finland. It is located along Highway 19, north of Seinäjoki and east of Vaasa. The main karting track already resembles an F1 circuit and has previously hosted the Karting W ...
in
Alahärmä Alahärmä is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated, together with Kortesjärvi and Ylihärmä, to Kauhava on 1 January 2009. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Southern Ostrobothnia region. The ...
, Western
Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
. When opened in 2015 it was
Gerstlauer Gerstlauer Amusement Rides GmbH is a German manufacturer of stationary and transportable amusement rides and roller coasters, located in Münsterhausen, Germany. History In 1982, Hubert Gerstlauer, a former employee of the Anton Schwarzkopf-o ...
's third
Infinity Coaster The Infinity Coaster is a roller coaster design by Gerstlauer. A variant of the popular Euro-Fighter model, the Infinity Coaster allows for higher capacity through longer trains. The coaster also features a magnetic rollback system on rides with l ...
installation after
The Smiler The Smiler is a steel roller coaster located at Alton Towers in Staffordshire, United Kingdom. Manufactured by Gerstlauer, it opened in 2013 as the world's first Gerstlauer Infinity Coaster. It is located in the X-Sector area of the park. W ...
at
Alton Towers Alton Towers Resort ( ) (often referred to as Alton Towers) is a theme park and resort complex in Staffordshire, England, near the village of Alton. The park is operated by Merlin Entertainments Group and incorporates a theme park, water park, ...
and Karacho at Tripsdrill.


History

In early 2015 Powerpark announced via a press release that it would be opening "the most thrilling coaster in Northern Europe" which would also feature an underwater tunnel. The coaster was confirmed to have been designed by the German manufacturer
Gerstlauer Gerstlauer Amusement Rides GmbH is a German manufacturer of stationary and transportable amusement rides and roller coasters, located in Münsterhausen, Germany. History In 1982, Hubert Gerstlauer, a former employee of the Anton Schwarzkopf-o ...
and would feature 3 inversions as well as an
LSM In molecular biology, LSm proteins are a family of RNA-binding proteins found in virtually every cellular organism. LSm is a contraction of 'like Sm', because the first identified members of the LSm protein family were the Sm proteins. LSm pr ...
launch. Construction was completed in April 2015, and testing was underway in early May.


Ride experience

After dispatching from the station, the train navigates a short left-hand turn before rolling into the first and only
LSM In molecular biology, LSm proteins are a family of RNA-binding proteins found in virtually every cellular organism. LSm is a contraction of 'like Sm', because the first identified members of the LSm protein family were the Sm proteins. LSm pr ...
launch, accelerating riders to a top speed of . The train ascends a top hat, before pulling up into a large airtime hill followed by the Junker's signature Finnish loop. A mid-course brake run follows, after which a series of left and right-handed bends lead into the second inversion, a dive loop. The coaster then dips into an underground trench before rising back up into the last inversion, a
corkscrew A corkscrew is a tool for drawing corks from wine bottles and other household bottles that may be sealed with corks. In its traditional form, a corkscrew simply consists of a pointed metallic helix (often called the "worm") attached to a hand ...
. A right turn subsequently takes the train into the
brake run A brake run on a roller coaster is any section of track meant to slow or stop a roller coaster train. Brake runs may be located anywhere along the circuit of a coaster and may be designed to bring the train to a complete halt or to simply adjust ...
, and back to the station.


References


External links


Ride page on PowerPark's official website (in English)
{{PowerPark Coasters Amusement parks in Finland Kauhava Buildings and structures in South Ostrobothnia Tourist attractions in South Ostrobothnia Roller coasters in Finland Roller coasters introduced in 2015 Launched roller coasters Steel roller coasters