Sstrict but fair. Belgian national coach Yves 'Holeshot' Devlaminck continues with his end-of-year report. In this episode, Holeshot sheds light on Damon Graulus, Cédric Grobben, Yannick Heylen and Stijn Hofman.
Damon Graulus: versatile
The opinion of Holeshot: “At the moment, Damon is one of the few pilots in Europe who can prove himself on different types of courses, in different championships (ADAC in Germany, Cadet in France and ONK in the Netherlands). Every time I saw him perform, he made an impression. Not just technically, because I already knew that longer than today, mainly because of his experience and insight.
In Valkenswaard he controlled his match very well, across the board. Also during free practice, qualifications and warm-up. Even if he wasn't able to finish in the race, it still shows experience and professionalism! This also applied to the internship he completed in Lommel in the week of his comeback from injury. Damon did exactly what he had to do: he played with the track and his bike, without taking excessive risks on an exceptionally tough track. An example of control…
For next season he shouldn't rush into the 125. Just keep playing with the bike, try things in riding-technical training that others don't do. In addition, he must also gradually pay more attention to his fitness, and more intensive training is certainly part of that.”
Damon Graulus switches to the 2010cc in 125
Cédric Grobben: positive end of the season
The opinion of Holeshot: “Cédric had been working hard over the winter when a nasty injury struck at the worst possible time! He had to start from scratch again and that took all his patience. Returning was difficult both sportingly and mentally. Fortunately, he did not relapse and to this day he is on an upward trend. He must maintain that good feeling for next season. Cédric has a good position on the bike. He must continue to work as he has done so far and, above all, continue to improve his technique.”
Yannick Heylen has potential
The opinion of Holeshot: “Yannick is a phenomenon! He's the youngest of the gang, but he's always the first to pull a prank. He always finds something to make everyone laugh... Be careful, he also knows when serious work needs to be done. His progress was remarkable. At the beginning of the season he had to fight to qualify, while at the end he regularly took points. This summer he crashed regularly, but that is actually inevitable when you are busy pushing your limits.
Partly due to his small stature, he still has to improve technically and to save his strength he has to learn to play more with the circuit. Moreover, I recommend a slightly less powerful engine. I know it sounds strange, but it makes him work harder to maintain his speed and learn to forget his rear brake in the corners! Anyway, Yannick is still very young and if he continues like this, he will certainly make himself heard in about two or three years…”
Motorsport Future, the MX youth project of Topsport Vlaanderen, selected Yannick Heylen for next season
Stijn Hofman on character
The opinion of Holeshot: “Stijn is really a biter, giving up is not in his dictionary! Unfortunately, he puts a lot of pressure on himself before important games. As a result, he performs below his true level. He has certainly learned more technically, now he still has to work on his cornering speed and technical jumps. He himself is talking about a switch to 2010cc for 125, although I personally think that an additional year of 85cc is a better choice. On an 85cc he often hangs over his front wheel and it is still advisable to work on his posture on a smaller motorcycle.”
In part 3: Julien Lieber, Daymond Martens, Mathias Piessers and Jonas Salaets
Photos credit: Olivier & CDS
