Mscorching temperatures and two series of 30 minutes plus two laps made it a war of attrition in Tongeren-Berg today. Rockstar-Suzuki figurehead Clément Desalle (1-2) won, as expected. However, in the second series he had to acknowledge his superior in Steve Ramon (3-1) who came in second. Tanel Leok (2-3) made up points in the championship and stood on the final podium for the third time in a row. All results, including side series, you can find here.
Series 1: Desalle out of category
The holeshot in the first race was again for Tanel 'Estonian Express' Leok, just like in the qualifying race, but Clément Desalle put things in order after a few corners. Leok continued to hold onto second place and got Ramon and Guarneri in his wheel. With just over 10 minutes on the clock, Leok's deficit to Desalle had increased to more than nine seconds. Ramon pushed Leok, set the fastest lap of the race but couldn't pass. In the battle for fourth place, De Reuver smelled his chance after a steering error by Guarneri. A little later, however, Calimero himself crashed and Van Horebeek moved up to fifth place. Kawasaki factory rider Jonathan Barragan finished seventh in his return appearance. Desalle impressively took his first series victory in his first appearance in the MX Pro Series.
MX Pro Series Series 1
1. Clément Desalle (BEL-Suzuki), 2. Tanel Leok (EST-Honda), 3. Steve Ramon (BEL-Suzuki), 4. Davide Guarneri (ITA-Honda), 5. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL-Kawasaki) , 6. Kevin Strijbos (BEL-Suzuki), 7. Jonathan Barragan (SPA-Kawasaki), 8. Manuel Priem (BEL-Aprilia), 9.Yentel Martens, 10. Dennis Verbruggen, 11. Dennis Dierckx (BEL-Honda) , 12. David Cools (BEL-Kawasaki), 13. Jurgen Van Nooten (BEL-KTM), 14. Andy Truyts (BEL-Honda), 15. Jeff Cloots (BEL-Honda), 16. Sven Roelandt (BEL-KTM ), 17. Jeremy Renkens, 18. Maarten Govaert (BEL-Honda), 19. Didier Ghaye, 20. Wim Van Der Heyden (BEL-Husaberg)
Despite the heat, absolutely no presents were handed out. The pace was high thanks to these gentlemen!
Series 2: Steve Ramon wins prestige match against Clément Desalle
Marc De Reuver was the hole starter, this time Desalle struck even faster. The MX-Panda immediately attacked and drove away from the competition. After De Reuver crashed in the second lap, Ramon took over second place. Jeremy Van Horebeek also made an early mistake. Behind the duo Desalle-Ramon, Leok and Barragan fought for third place. While Strijbos showed off a great recovery from the 18de to the 5de place. Anyone who saw Desalle repeat his victory in the first series would have expected without Steve Ramon. The two-time world champion passed his teammate with three laps to go. Desalle did not simply give in, but had no answer to the killer tempo of 'The Bomb'. Leok finished third ahead of Barragan and Strijbos
MX Pro Series Series 2
1. Steve Ramon (BEL-Suzuki), 2. Clément Desalle (BEL-Suzuki), 3. Tanel Leok (EST-Honda), 4. Jonathan Barragan (SPA-Kawasaki), 5. Kevin Strijbos (BEL-Suzuki), 6. Davide Guarneri (ITA-Honda), 7. Manuel Priem (BEL-Aprilia), 8.Yentel Martens, 9. Jurgen Van Nooten (BEL-KTM), 10. Jeff Cloots, 11. Dennis Dierckx (BEL-Honda) , 12. David Cools (BEL-Kawasaki), 13. Sven Roelandt (BEL-KTM), 14. Maarten Govaert (BEL-Honda), 15. Wim Van Der Heyden (BEL-Husaberg), 16. Didier Ghaye, 17. Andy Truyts (BEL-Honda), 18. Jeremy Renkens, 19. Dennis Verbruggen, 20. Radomir Harbich
Final score MX Pro Series – Tongeren-Berg
1. Clément Desalle 47 pts, 2. Steve Ramon 45 p, 3. Tanel Leok 42 p, 4. Davide Guarneri 33 p, 5. Jonathan Barragan 32 p, 6. Kevin Strijbos 31 p, 7. Manuel Priem 27 p, 8 Yentel Martens 25 p, 9. Jurgen Van Nooten 20 p, 10. Dennis Dierckx 20 p, 11. David Cools 18 p, 12. Jeff Cloots 17 p, 13. Jeremy Van Horebeek 16 p, 14. Sven Roelandt 13 p, 15 Andy Truyts 11, 16. Dennis Verbruggen 11, 17. Maarten Govaert 10 p, 18. Wim Vanderheyden 7 p, 19. Didier Ghaye 7 p, 20. Jeremy Renkens 7 p
MX Pro Series standings after 3 races
1. Steve Ramon 142 points, 2. Davide Guarneri 118 p, 3. Tanel Leok 116 p, 4. Kevin Strijbos 92 p, 5. Jeremy Van Horebeek 76 p, 6. Sébastien Pourcel 61, 7. Ken De Dycker 52 p, 8. Marc De Reuver 52 p, 9. Clement Desalle 47 p, 10. Marvin Van Daele 43 p, 11. Jurgen Van Nooten 36 p, 12. Manuel Priem 35 p, 13. Joël Roelants 35 p, 14. Shaun Simpson 34 p, 15. Yentel Martens 34 p, 16. Jonathan Barragan 32 p, 17. Dennis Verbruggen 31 p, 18. Dennis Dierckx 25 p, 19. David Cools 25 p, 20. Bengt Laeremans 24 p
The qualifying race at the Inters Open was perfect for Tanel Leok. The Estonian took the lead from start to finish. Jeremy Van Horebeek finished second.
MX Pro Series Qualifying Race
- Tanel Leok, 2. Jeremy Van Horebeek, 3. Clément Desalle, 4. Kevin Strijbos, 5. Davide Guarneri, 6. Jonathan Barragan, 7. Marc De Reuver, 8. Steve Ramon, 9. Yentel Martens, 10. Jurgen Van Nooten
Photo credit: Ray Archer, CDS
