Shift + K9: that must be Ken De Dycker!
Dear K9 supporters and future supporters, friends and enemies!
It's been a while since I've been able to delight you - that's a nice word, thank you Dikke Van Dale - with a new column. We haven't exactly been sitting still in recent weeks and it is always quite a task to squeeze out such a page. Lately I have never sat in front of the computer for long, and then immediately started working on it for such a long time essay I'll have to watch out for arm pump. Or press a special key on my computer Shift + K9 instead of F9 and then the column will be written automatically, hahaha! No seriously now, lots of time for that gimmick is not there: tomorrow by car to Germany for the GP in Teutschenthal and then the GPs of Latvia and Sweden are on the calendar. All right after each other, three in a row.
You know that I like to keep things light in my column, but that is quite difficult now. Of course I could pretend that there is no problem, but that is not my style. Things are not going the way I would like and I cannot hide that. This winter I have worked harder than ever and physically I also feel strong. I feel fitter and faster than last year. If the results are not forthcoming, you will eventually start to doubt yourself. Top sport is unrelenting and at this level everything has to be right. At the moment I am sixth, which is still reasonable all in all. But the feeling that there hasn't been one GP so far that I can really look back on with satisfaction is not nice.
Last Tuesday we tested intensively to tune the engine to my driving style and from Teutschenthal we should certainly see a difference. Hopefully this will also be felt in the starts. I was always forced to play catch-up, because I had never been in the first 10 at the start! To start at the beginning after the previous column, this time we have to return to Agueda and Bellpuig. Portugal now seems like an eternity ago. In the first heat I crashed and then someone hit me so I had to continue with a broken radiator and a broken front brake. Er… correction, that's not possible. Exit, over and out. In the second series I drove from fifth to third place, but with the many short bends I found it difficult - literally at least - to find my way around the circuit. Bellpuig was slightly better. In the second heat I was in the lead for a while, but it was difficult for me to get into my rhythm.
Glen Helen was next on the program, and as a warm-up I did the AMA National in Hangtown. That American double was really something I was looking forward to. I always enjoy visiting the States and we spent almost two weeks traveling there with the camper. Because I always dreamed of participating in an American outdoor event, this was the perfect opportunity. Once again there appeared to be a big difference between dreams and reality hahaha. Just kidding, no, Hangtown was a fun experience in itself, although it also took some getting used to the competition format. You have very little time to learn the circuit during a National. It was fast and, contrary to what I expected, the track was also quite narrow. In the final standings I came ninth with almost a standard engine.
The USGP in Glen Helen went quite smoothly actually. It's the match I'm most satisfied with. Although many riders complained about the heat, it didn't bother me and I was able to do my thing well. In the first series I rode from between tenth and fifteenth place at the start to fourth place. I was around fifteenth in the second moto and I was able to get to the front but I thought there was something wrong with my bike but I heard a strange noise. That's why I came into the pits and there turned out to be some play in my exhaust. No problem, so I was able to get back to it. My lap times were good and I was able to keep pushing until the end and make up a lot of places.
The last GP was that of France in Saint-Jean d'Angély. The mud made the course look very strange and I can't really say that the changes made for better racing! Unfortunately, they had removed the sand section from the top and that used to be one of the few places where you could make up for something. I didn't get away very well again and because there was only one line I could hardly overtake. Winning more than two or three places was not possible. Definitely a GP to forget as quickly as possible! I haven't had much luck in the MX Pro Series - it was still called the BK in the good old days - either. My speed was good in both Beervelde and Kester, but you can never completely rule out mechanical failure in motocross.
In the meantime, I hope I've had my share of bad luck and I feel like looking ahead again. It would be nice to make a new start in Teutschenthal. Not too much stress on Saturday so I can calmly approach the GP and finally achieve the performance I worked so hard for during the winter. In terms of entertainment, I went jet skiing again this week with Joël Roelants and Dennis Verbruggen. Very pleasant and friendly with a barbecue afterwards and such. I'm happy that summer is slowly coming again and I'm certainly not the only one!
Enjoy the weather and have fun riding or watching riders.
Bring it
PS Tip from MXM, Ken's birthday is late on Sunday here left a message in his guestbook.
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