Season start: BMB for dummies.
The 2010 BMB Motocross Championship starts on Sunday at the Horensbergdam in Genk. All national classes, quads and sidecars will compete for BC points for the first time this season. The Inters of the BMB will not be presented with their first BC test until May 1 in Beervelde. The ideal time to take a closer look at the national motor sports association.
Location:
Founded in 1912 Belgian Motorcyclists' Union (BMB) is the oldest motorsport association in... Belgium. In motocross circles it is also sometimes said “the big league” referred to the BMB. The BMB is the Belgian representative of the International Motorsport Federations FIM (World) and UEM (Europe). In 1934, the BMB was the first association in the world to use the word “motocross”. The very first competition was held in March 1934 in Oud-Heverlee near Leuven. The contemporary form of motocross and the first BK Motocross were only introduced in 1939.
After World War II and certainly in the 50s, motocross boomed in Belgium. After the first Belgian world title of Rene Baeten many more would follow in 1959. The BMB's boom lasted until the early 80s. After that, the amateur federations started to gain in importance. From the 1988 season onwards, many organizers started to give up. As a result, the BMB calendar showed serious gaps, with no competitions taking place for weeks. Creating a cheaper competition formula, the Joel Robert Trophy, met with only mixed success. At the end of last year, the national competitions were given the hipper name Belgian Nationals.
The emphasis was, in contrast to e.g. The Netherlands is always in the heavier classes at the BMB. Until the end of the 90s, the Inters 500cc was considered the most prestigious class. From 1997, however, the 250cc and 500cc were merged into the BK Inters open. The community reforms that Belgium underwent also had an influence on the BMB. In 2000, both the VMBB (Flemish wing) and FMWB (Walloon wing) were founded. Both leagues had big plans, but were only partially able to realize them. The FMWB has had a Walloon championship for about five seasons (in collaboration with the Walloon youth association FPCNA). It never came to a separate Flemish championship organized by VMBB. In practice, the spectator along the ribbon noticed little of the federalization of the BMB. The riders and organizers even more so. For example, Flemish riders under the age of 18 are subject to much stricter regulations than their Walloon peers. The same also applies to the insurance conditions for Flemish organizers.
Ironically, while the BMB was one of the smallest unions in terms of the number of license holders at the end of the 90s, this situation was more than rectified in the following decade. A growth that BMB owes to the increasing success of the Motorcross Championships. However, it is not clear whether this trend can also be continued in 2010. The promoter for the BK motocross withdrew at the beginning of March, less than two months before the first BK competition, leaving the BMB and the organizing clubs in ruins. However, the number of matches is growing again. Moreover, Wallonia, which lagged behind Flanders for a number of years, is catching up again. Sidecar cross has also made a successful comeback at the BMB in recent years. The recent successes of Belgian drivers and bakers certainly have something to do with this.
Geographical distribution:
Slowly but surely, the BMB motocross competitions are once again covering the entire Belgian territory. With the exception of the province of Liège, at least one race is held in every other Belgian province. Given the lack of viable circuits in East and West Flanders, the circuits of Axel and Westdorpe are also visited in the Dutch province of Zeeuws-Vlaanderen. In addition, this region is also a recruitment area for licensees. On the other hand, the BMB is losing ground in the province of Antwerp, which has traditionally been a BMB motocross stronghold.
General info:
Registered office: Belgian Motorcyclists' Union, Brusselsesteenweg 550 b7, 1030 Brussels
Chairman: Robert Gysembergh Secretary-General: Stijn Rentmeesters, E-mail: info@fmb-bmb.be, phone: 02/736.53.97
Chairman of Sports Committee: André Vandermaesen, E-mail:andre.vandermaesen@pandora.be
Motocross working group coordinator: Octaaf Goeman, E-mail: tanja.goeman@skynet.be
Calendar
The BMB motocross calendar you can find here.
Series classification Belgian National:
– Youth 85cc
– Promises (MX2)
– Juniors MX2 + Juniors MX1/MX3
– Seniors Open
– Nationals MX2
– Nationals MX1/MX3
– Inters Open
– Quads
– BK Sidecars
The BMB circuit top 3: MXM gives its top three of the best BMB circuits
1) Mont Saint Guibert: The circuit in the sand quarry of Mont-Saint-Guibert is relatively new (2008) and has been the setting for the Final of the Belgian Championship for the past two years. It is a spectacular, modern circuit that breaks with Belgian tradition old-school circuits. With table mountains, curves, whoops and many height differences, this circuit really has everything to delight the public. The ocher-colored flanks also look very photogenic.
2) Keiheuvel-Balen: What Overijse is for cyclo-cross, Keiheuvel in Balen is for motocross. In addition to the fact that it is the oldest race on the BMB calendar, the Keiheuvel is perhaps also the biggest crowd puller of the year (apart from the GP of Limburg). In the deep sand of the Keiheuvel, only the very best can hold their own at the front. In contrast to the VLM competition, the BMB riders receive the Full Works presented with a terrifying starting strip and two monster tables at the back part of the circuit.
3) Angri: There were many candidates for third place, but in the end it was Angreau. Why? Firstly, because this circuit is the annual battleground of the “Coupe de l'Avenir”, the exciting mini version of the MX of Nations. But the circuit is also the successful combination of a naturally flowing circuit and an artificial technical section.
Photo credits: MXMag.be/Olivier Evrard/CDS /Fred Moisse
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