European Youth Championships in Waechtersbach-Aufenau + comments
Good or bad weather, tomorrow's champions were at the start in Germany for the second race of the European 65 and 85cc championship. In the 85cc class our Belgian talent Jago Geerts was in the lead and in the youngest class it was the Dane Rasmus Pedersen who led the ranks.
65 tsp
We'll start with the 65cc. No one in this class was born in 1998 yet, but they will undoubtedly know the motocross of the nations in Foxhill! If they don't know it, these young riders have at least already experienced what it's like to drive around in such a mud puddle.
In the qualifying series it was Rasmus Pedersen who won ahead of German Paul Bloy and Russian Nikita Kucherov. Kay Karssemakers was the only Dutchman in the top 10 with a 9th place. On Sunday the real heats started, albeit on a shortened circuit. Once again it was Pedersen who was the best mud devil, this time ahead of the two Swedes Max Palsson and Noel Nilsson. Dutchmen Scott Smulders and Dave Kooiker also placed themselves in the top 10 and finished 5th and 6th. In the second heat, who oh who, again Rasmus Pedersen who takes the victory. German Ben Hess and Dane Magnus Smith took places two and three. Kay Karssemakers, Ryan de Beer and Eloy van Rijkevoorsel uphold the Dutch honor by finishing in places 4, 6 and 9.
In the daily results, Rasmus Pedersen is in the lead with a perfect score, ahead of Nikita Kucherov and Noel Nilsson.
85 tsp
This time we had five Belgians at the start in the 85cc class. Jarni Kooij, Tallon Verhelst, Emilio Vannieuwenhuizen, Wesley Smolders and Jago Geerts went to uphold our national honor in muddy Germany. However, that was easier said than done. Only 4 brave riders were ready to dive into the track from minute one during the first free practice, including newcomers to the European Championship Vannieuwenhuizen and Smolders. In extremely difficult circumstances, Jago Geerts had a hard time in the qualifying series, but he still managed to take 3rd place. A sick and injured Tallon Verhelst rode above expectations and finished 13th. Wesley Smolders and Emilio Van Nieuwenhuizen did great in their very first European Championship race, finishing in places 23 and 28. Jarni Kooij did not start this series. Spaniard Jorge Prado Garcia took pole position.
In the first series it was the Netherlands on top, Roan van de Moosdijk, known from the film 'Living For The Weekend', preceded Jorge Prado Garcia. The Swede Adam Einarsson finished third. Geerts had a difficult race with two falls and finished ninth, Tallon Verhelst finished 13th, Emilio Van Nieuwenhuizen finished 22nd and Wesley Smolders 31st. In the second series it was Prado Garcia who put the finishing touches and won with a 47 second lead ahead of Roan van de Moosdijk. The Italian Gianluca Facchetti came third, Jago Geerts came 6th, Tallon Verhelst again 13th, Van Nieuwenhuizen immediately took home 2 points in his European Championship debut with his 19th place and Wesley Smolders finished 29th.
In the day's results it was Jorge Prado Garcia ahead of Roan van de Moosdijk and Adam Einarsson. Geerts concedes 20 points to Prado Garcia and finishes 5th and Tallon Verhelst just misses the top 10 and ends up in 11th place. The Belgian newcomers duo Vannieuwenhuizen, Smolders can be proud of their performance, because they finished 24th and 31st in these extremely difficult circumstances.
Comments
Tallon Verhelst: “It was a mudfest there in Germany, but I didn't mind. I even enjoy splashing around in the mud. In the qualifying series I had a poorer start and drove from place 20 to place 10, unfortunately I fell in the last corner and crossed the finish line in 13th. On Sunday it was still slogging in the mud, albeit on a shortened circuit. In the first series I had a bad start, but I was able to move up well again. This way I could still claim 13th place. The same story in the second series, a bad start and back to 13th place. So just practice a little more on those starts and everything will be fine!”
Iago Geerts: “It went well on Saturday with a third place in the qualifying series. On Sunday it was still raining and the circuit was still very muddy, but unfortunately things went a lot less well then. I had a bad start in the first heat and then rode to 10th place. In the end I fell two more times and fought my way back to 9th place. I also had a hard time in the second series, I fell twice, but I was still able to finish sixth. Hopefully the weather will be a little better in the coming months, because I prefer to drive on a normal dry track. In any case, I will stay in the top 10 and we can go full throttle in Finland!”
Spring Kooi: “I have been suffering from a painful elbow for a while, but the pain keeps going up and down. One day I can't do anything with my arm and the next day it seems to be healed. When I got sharp pains last week, I went to the doctor, who told me that I have tennis elbow and gave me some injections. When I went to train in Genk last week, the pain wasn't too bad, but two days before the European Championships it became unbearable. I then took painkillers and tried to do the training, but this didn't work. The pain was too severe and it was impossible to compete with it, so we decided to return home. I won't be there during the ONK in Harfsen either, I'm going to have my elbow treated and make sure that I'm ready for the next European Championship (the week after)!”
Best wishes to Jarni Kooij! Below are some atmospheric images ;-).
Tallon Verhelst quite enjoyed the mud.
Jago Geerts goes all out for qualifying and then passes in Finland.
Van Nieuwenhuizen #432 and Smolders #421 are one of the few to prepare for the first training.
The Smolders family knows how to clean again!
Text & article photo: Frederik 'VePix' Van Eeckhoven
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