Green Flag: Hinge Point
Summer is just around the corner, although that doesn't seem to be the case when I look outside. The exams are coming to an end and World Cup fever is raging in the rest of Europe. Here in Flanders, however, there is little evidence of this. No kids with football shirts or Vuvuzelas. But I did see three boys wheeling their BMX home from school. So there is still hope...
This weekend the boys and girls of the Motocross World Championship will start the Nordic Tour, which takes them to Germany, Latvia en Sweden will carry. First stop: the circuit of the basin in Teutschenthal, home of the German Motocross GP. The German GP is the eighth of fifteen meetings on the World Cup calendar and therefore actually the pivotal point. Let's just say that the three Northern GPs actually form the middle part of the World Cup. Whoever gets through this well will already have a good starting position for the three remaining GPs.
Riders who have made little or no progress this year already know what to do over the next three weekends. Teutschenthal is a circuit that has produced spectacular races in the past. Just think of the extremely exciting MX1 GP of 2007 David Philippaerts brought his first GP victory in MX1. Unfortunately, Teutschenthal is also one of those circuits that has a nasty side. Over the years, the disused quarry was often the scene of serious crashes. Just think of the hit that one Joel Smets made there in 2002 during the qualifications.
In Teutschenthal, the home fans are mainly looking forward to it Ken Roczen en Maxl. The Thuringian and the Bavarian, together with Steffi Laier, are the standard bearers of German motocross. Despite the fact that Roczen and Nagl are indeed world-class top riders, things don't seem to be going so well for the rest of German (men's) motocross. Last year, Olaf Noack, the team manager of the German National MX teams, had to appeal Daniel Siegl. Siegl may be a top German player, but he is also someone who has little or no international experience. If you take into account that Germany is the largest country in Europe with 82 million inhabitants, compared to France or even Belgium it is poor in the motocross field. That does not alter the fact that there are a number of strong national championships in Germany. The best known of these are of course the ADAC MX Masters and its winter counterpart the ADAC SX Cup. But there are also the DM 125 and the DM Open. If you're wondering what DM stands for: German championship. Both are series of five matches that can be combined with each other and the ADAC Masters. All together you have a calendar of 18 competitions at a strong level, add 1 or 2 international competitions (such as the Wintercross in Frankenbach) and as a German sub-topper you have a great outdoor program for which you (almost) never cross national borders. must.
Or in Teutschenthal three times that National Anthem will resonate remains to be seen. Although we dare to say with great certainty that this will be the case in the women's class. With no fewer than three German girls in the top 5 of the World Cup standings, we can safely say that Germany is just about the strongest nation in women's motocross.
Starts in the MX2 class Ken Roczen of course as one of the favorites. Last year he won in Teutschenthal Marvin Musquin to win his first GP. The question, however, is whether he can repeat that this year because Roczen does not seem to have luck on his side in 2010. We are also a bit curious about the wild card's achievements. Angus Heidecke. This 20 year old rider from the Kawasaki Pfeil team, which owes its first name to the namesake AC/DC guitarist, currently leads in the DM 125.
In the MX1 class, the home crowd has to make do with a battered Max Nagl. Nagl will get back on his SX-F 450 tomorrow, two weeks after he broke his collarbone in training for the French GP. Whether the Bavarian can actually play a role in his home GP on Sunday is difficult to estimate. We ourselves are more likely to expect a victory Clément Desalle.
Or can we expect a surprise from the young wolves in the 125cc European Championship? In Saint-Jean-d'Angély Jerky January already seeing great things in that European Championship. In a video interview He already hinted with our French-speaking sister site that he would like to compete in the MX2 GPs next year.
Anyone who wants to watch off-road motorsport closer to home on Sunday should go to Florennes, where the 2e round of it BK Supermoto driven. In Belgium, like almost everywhere else in the world, the sport has been in the receiving end for some time now. Despite a financially disappointing edition in 2009, we wanted to... Joel Robert still an 8e organize times on the F16 base at Florennes. The six-time motocross world champion suggested during an interview with our French-language sister site a few ideas to get the BK Supermoto back into more favorable waters. One of these was a collaboration with the ONK Supermoto. The fact that a number of tests of that ONK are held close to the Belgian border seemed particularly interesting to Robert.
Meanwhile Marc Fraikin, after the first round of the Belgian Championship in Chimay, the leader in the Belgian Championship Prestige (the Interclass of Supermoto, so to speak). The Liège native leads ahead of veterans Eric Delannoy and Jean-Marc Gaillard. The limited Flemish contribution is striking in the Belgian Supermoto Championship and certainly in the Prestige class. After the Belgian Masters Next weekend's Belgian Championships in Bilstain are already ¾ over. Hopefully the BMB (and especially the clubs) will work on a slightly more structured calendar next year.
A number of spectacular races are on the program this weekend in the amateur cross. And everywhere in the premier class there is a battle for championship points. In Koningshooikt you can already watch the BK Oldtimercross on Saturday. On Sunday the VMCFdrivers enter this part of the Antwerp fortification belt. No matter how you look at it, even in 2010 the Fort remains one of those legendary circuits that helped make Belgian motocross great.
Motocross – Fort Koningshooikt from Matthias Van Eeckhoven on Vimeo.
Also the VBM will start on a spectacular circuit this weekend. In Paal there is racing on the circuit Marnicq Bervoets. Although we suspect that Marnicq himself will be in Teutschenthal to coach LS Motors drivers Tanel Leok and Davide Guarneri.VLM pitches its tents at the Horenbergsdam in Genk. MCLB is also looking for a permanent circuit with the Finland circuit in Westdorpe.
Finally, I would like to say that Herentals will be all about the coming week FIM Rally will stand. The FIM Rally is the biggest mototourism event of the season and visits a different country every year. With trial demonstrations, a motocross initiation and the René Baeten Memorial exhibition, the 2010 edition of the FIM Rally is quite off-road. But how could it be otherwise in the Kempen? Just let you know that the trial demonstrations are provided by none other than Iris Kramer, women's world champion in 2007.
From Tuesday 22 June to Sunday 27 June you can go to the Schaliken, which is the Cultural Center of Herentals, for the René Baet Memorial. An exhibition completely dedicated to the sports career of the most famous member of KAMC Herentals. Even though it has been half a century since Baeten's fatal accident on Pentecost Sunday 1960, his club still keeps his memory alive. Ironically, the only one affiliated with KAMC Herentals became a motocross rider, Bengt Laeremans, the victim of a serious crash in Kester last Sunday. We therefore hope that Bengt and Bart Goelen recover completely. We wish a speedy recovery to all others who were hit in Kester!
Photo Credits: Suzuki Racing/Ray Archer, MXMag/Olivier Evrard, KAMC Herentals
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