Green Flag: Construction leave
The Friday of the first week of July is known in Flanders as the last day before construction leave. For the Dutch among you: the construction leave is the annual three-week construction holiday.
A Friday that apparently dares to cause commotion. According to the police officers of the HANO zone (Hamont-Achel, Neerpelt, Overpelt), masons, carpenters, roofers and other Bob-the-builders on their last working day before the holidays, they sometimes look too deeply into the glass (or in this case perhaps the beer can) and that is why targeted alcohol checks were organized today.
In any case, the start of the construction leave also means that the annual summer holidays are starting for many motocross riders (or their parents). The time when everyone simply stayed at home to complete the competitions that were on their federation's calendar is long gone. However, that does not mean that everyone goes to Spain for three weeks. And there is still plenty to do for those who stay at home, although we unfortunately have to conclude that those beautiful summer evening cross-country races have now completely disappeared from the world.
For the GP riders, at least for some, a period of relative peace has now begun. The Belgians, at least those who are not in the doldrums, have another MX Pro Series race in Tongeren this weekend. Championship matches are also scheduled this weekend in France and Germany.
In Tongeren there has been no construction leave recently. On the contrary, the people of AMC Lauw had their hands full with the build-up for this Sunday's MX Pro Series race. After the circuit in the Tongeren district was known for years as a concrete-hard track with an almost Italian allure, that will undoubtedly change this weekend. The Haspengouw loam soil was attacked with cultivators and other agricultural implements, the names of which unfortunately we do not know. The aim of this work was clear: a circuit on which the dust can be kept under control and which allows multiple driving lines to create exciting races.
Unfortunately, Ken De Dycker, always one of the crowd favorites in Tongeren, has to sit out this match. 2010 is not exactly Keeno's season. But other riders have also been hit in recent weeks. The hardest hit team is without a doubt the Negaan JM Racing team of Jacky Martens. In Teutschenthal they lost Dennis Verbruggen when he fell during the start of the qualifying series on Saturday afternoon. A day later, Joël Roelants injured himself in what seemed like an innocent fall on TV. The worst hit was of course Axel Alletru who crashed in Kegums. Alletru's trainer, Frédéric Vialle, informed Moto Verte that the young Frenchman broke the L2 vertebra, after an initial operation in Latvia, the young Nordiste was operated on again last week in Lille. Currently, Alletru has sensation in both legs and can contract the muscles of the left leg. He still has a long recovery ahead of him, but there is certainly hope.
On Sunday evening we may know whether Steve Ramon is on his way to a fifth Belgian title at the Inters Open. Until now, the Teka Suzuki rider has been the great triumphant in the MX Pro Series. Of the four series held, Ramon won three, the only other series victory went to LS Motor Honda's Davide Guarnieri. Guarnieri is currently twelve points behind Ramon. Not too big a gap, but still no difference anymore. We may have to look for Ramon's biggest competitor in-house this weekend, at Rockstar Teka Suzuki. We cannot imagine that reigning Belgian champion Clément Desalle will come to Tongeren to feature.
Someone who pleasantly surprised us during the previous round in Kester is Jeremy Van Horebeek. From what we could read in his column in a motorcycle magazine, he was somewhat surprised about it. From what we heard in the corridors, “Jerre” will ride a 450 again on Sunday and we can already count him among the podium candidates. We also see Kevin Strijbos competing for the prizes at the front. Two boys who will make their return appearance in Tongeren are Marc de Reuver and Jonathan Barragan. Can they make up for anything in the final months of the season?
The battle in the BK MX2, where we had even put our last euro cent on Nick Triest in advance, also promises to be exciting. The reigning Belgian champion and his younger compatriot, Jens Getteman, are now separated by only a small point. Despite a hard blow during the second series of the Swedish GP, Triest seems to be able to fully defend his chances on Sunday. It will be interesting to see whether Getteman will settle for second place or whether Motorsport Future will go all out for series victories. Another person to keep an eye on on Sunday is Jerky Janvier. The Brabander rode a strong race in the European 125cc European Championship in Sweden and narrowly missed his first podium. We have rarely seen anyone who can ride a two-stroke faster than the TM rider and so he is our 'secret tip' for the Radson Trophy podium.
We are already looking forward to the first Limburg BC round in three years. Hopefully we will see you along the circuit too!
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