The end of the season for Joris Hendrickx
Hello MX and sidecar fans. Things looked good until the last column, but the end of our World Cup season has more or less ended in an anticlimax. If you have been in the running all year to extend your world title and you end up with nine points, it will be hard!
However, with two GPs to go after Russia, we were in a great starting position. So on August 15 we won the Russian GP in Penza. That was certainly a relief because it was a track that didn't suit us 100% last year. We won in the first series and came second in the second series. In this way we were able to move two points further ahead of Willemsen.
Considering the World Cup standings and our match in Penza, it was logical that we went to Denmark with confidence. That's actually where things went wrong from the start in the first heat. We had a good start at the gate, but we received a push from Willemsen at the start and came into contact with Bax-Van Den Bogaert. Such a push sometimes happens more often at the start of a sidecar race. Only this time we were unlucky because we damaged our radiator due to that contact with Bax! It was not the radiator itself but a radiator hose that had come loose. In the first lap we also got stuck in a traffic jam with Adriaenssen-Van Gaalen and Bax-Van Den Bogaert, which caused us to lose a lot of places. From about 15de place we are still down to 4de place, but just after half the race we really felt that we were losing power. Four laps before the end we even had to give up because we ran out of oil. Kaspars noticed something quite quickly, but I didn't know anything about the problem with our radiator. Looking back, you think: “just come into the pits, tighten that screw and you can continue.” Of course, those are all figs after Easter. Moreover, you don't know whether that will solve the problem. We had also received no signal from the mechanics on the side. Anyway, it was a tough moment in itself because you immediately realize that the title is suddenly far away. That weekend we also felt very good, especially because you know that in the two remaining GPs, four second places in the heats are enough to take the world title. Normally that is not a problem for us... If you get such a blow in the first series, it is not easy to process!
We finally saw it again for the second heat. I think I made a mistake at that moment by standing next to our biggest competitor, Willemsen. At the gate we again made a good start, Willemsen was slightly less. Halfway through the start we reached the same height, at which point my handlebars got caught behind 'the bar' of Willemsen's team. We got off and it stayed straight! Bad luck for the second time. Now we had to start from the last position. With the first series in mind, that was not easy. Yet we still gave everything and finished fourth. A super performance in itself, on the other hand, with a flawless start we could have taken points back from Willemsen. He had only arrived third in the second heat.
As has become a tradition in recent years, we headed to beautiful Rudersberg in Germany for the World Cup final (see video above). By then we had regained ourselves. We just had to go for it and we could draw confidence from the fact that Willemsen usually doesn't come out that strong in Rudersberg. Saturday went well and we also had a good feeling about Sunday. Unfortunately the start went wrong in the first series. It was probably a first, but I stalled the engine behind the starting gate. I think it was in gear a little too early, I was so concentrated that I thought the starting gate closed a little earlier. My reaction was a bit too quick, although the engine had not yet stalled, the speed was already slightly lower and with this engine you have to start at quite a high speed. Well, when I released the clutch the engine stalled! So we were the only ones standing behind the fence. We therefore had to set off again for a catch-up race. We finished sixth in the first series. Not bad in itself, but if we had been able to win that race it would have been a very different final series of the championship. Willemsen had finally finished 'only' fifth in the first round of Rudersberg. Yet that is of course also speculation: it remains to be seen how he would have driven if we had had a good start. In the last lap we joined Willemsen-Sabbe and we noticed that the driver was very tired, so there probably wasn't much left. It was painful to see at that moment because, provided we had a good start, we would have been among the first two anyway. Then we would have made up a lot of points and our chances of winning the world title would have remained intact until the very last round. Ultimately we came third. Of course we already knew that our chance had been lost. Bax-Van Den Bogaart won the last series and also the GP. Not only a deserved victory, but they also confirmed their status as the revelation of the season. We already fought some great duels with them this year and with this year's experience, they could be tough competitors for the title next season.
BK Sidecarcross 2010 – Rd6 Angreau from FG Photography on Vimeo.
For the Sidecar MX of Nations we traveled to Sverepec, in Slovakia. On Saturday the riding went well, the circuit was very nice - quite fast so you had to keep your head up - and the weather was nice. The next day, however, it became a completely different story. It had rained heavily from Saturday to Sunday. It was greasy from the start of training, then it actually continued to rain all day. It was virtually impossible to get around on such a circuit in those conditions. We didn't even finish the first series completely, I think the flag was flagged after fifteen minutes. A wise decision because at one point almost everyone stood still somewhere. We were about eighth or ninth when we did a 'Foxhill-Everts' on a slope and passed everyone to the front! Now it seems funny, but if you are among them it is quite dangerous.
Since we were still hungry in Sverepec, we were super motivated for the final of the Belgian Championship in Angreau. A worthy ending to the Belgian championship because it is a very beautiful circuit where there is always a lot of spectacle. A win would ensure us a third Belgian title in a row. Fortunately, we were able to end the season with a win in Angreau. Always nice to be able to go into winter with the feeling of victory! The weekend after Angreau we had our sidecar stop day in Hulshout. People could take their first steps in the sidecar on an improvised area behind the Transport Hendrickx hall. It turned out to be a very nice day again with lots of people and a good atmosphere. We also had an additional attraction with a stunt show by Bleuk. Steven Fransen is a good comrade and his stunts are always appreciated by the audience.
Since Angreau I have lost some of my training skills. I always take advantage of some rest during this period and then there is also time to take a step into the world. On a sporting level, we then have time for some pure fun; a match indoor football and soon also go BMXing. It's the first time for me, but I have a good teacher because Kaspars has quite a bit of experience with BMX. Normally this hasn't been forgotten yet! That leaves me with an extremely important service announcement, specifically our annual mega party for the benefit of the Hendrickx sidecar teams on Saturday, November 250. The meeting place is again in the hall at Indrustriepark 31 in Hulshout. The Factory Party is getting better and bigger and we also owe this to word-of-mouth advertising. Everyone enjoys themselves and would like to come back! We always do our utmost to make something special and that will be the case this year too. And with our super raffle you can also win a unique prize. Or do you know a party where you can win your own sidecar?! So if you can, definitely come! The theme this year is: Western.
After our Factory Party the good life is over, because then I start training seriously again. That's it for this time
Thank you for your interest and support. Kind regards,
The Joker
Credit photos: smxpics.be, Hendrickx-Liepins
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