Preview Supercross Dortmund
From 27th Dortmund Supercross has always been a bit special, because cross-loving Germany traditionally says goodbye to the indoor season in the Westfallenhalle. This year Dortmund is even more important because after a few years of absence there is an ADAC SX series again. And that series of four games (Stuttgart, Chemnitz, Munich, Dortmund) ends this weekend!
Jason Thomas-Cole Siebler matchup
In the SX1 the battle is between the Americans Jason Thomas and Cole Siebler. Thomas only has a minimal advantage of three points. Moreover, Siebler already showed during the SX of Malmö that he has fully recovered from injury. With the exception of the French Florent Richier and Cedric Soubeyras (on the KTM 250cc two-stroke), all riders in the top 10 are American!
Last year the title 'King of Dortmund' went to Heath Voss, ahead of Joaquim Rodrigues and Alexandre Rouis. Voss is also present this weekend, although he did not make the best impression in Munich. After a strong performance in the Malmö Monster Energy Supercross, we will have to wait and see whether Jurgen Wybo can continue that trend. Just like in Munich, Yentel Martens is also back in action for Kosak-KTM.
FMX program
As befits a classic, the side program is also of a high level. The FMX demos in Dortmund are therefore provided by stronger RIDERs. IFMX world champion Remi Bizouard is the eye-catcher, alongside local crowd favorite Fabian 'Fab' Bauersachs, South African Nick De Witt, vice world freestyle champion José Miralles and American Lance Coury.
SX2: The return of Rinus
Last year, Ken Roczen, 14 at the time, easily took the SX2 overall victory in Dortmund. Roczen is not there now, but it will certainly be exciting. 20-year-old Briton Jack Brunell (Sturm-Kawasaki) leads the standings. Kawasaki colleague Borris Maillard follows at just five points. In addition, Ashley Greedy, Filip Thuresson and Filip Neugebauer are also eligible for the title 'Prince of Dortmund'.
Two years ago, Rinus Van De Ven finished second in Dortmund after none other than Marvin Musquin. And in 2007, the popular rider from Vlissingen even became 'Prince' in Stuttgart and Chemnitz. Just to say that Rinus always feels comfortable with our eastern neighbors. The key question remains, of course, how much inconvenience he still experiences from the broken bone in his wrist suffered at the beginning of December. Van De Ven obviously wants to score high in Goes (22 & 23 January) and Zwolle (29, 30 and 31 January). Menno Aussems and Nick Kouwenberg are also heading to Germany this weekend to gain SX experience. The full list of participants can be found here.
Credit photos: Magnus Andersson & Leon Van Der Lee (Kemco PR)
Below are the standings in SX1 and SX2.
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