Shaun Simpson is the lord and master of the Lommel sand!!!
Shaun Simpson took the final win at the Belgian Grand Prix with two series victories. The Hitachi Construction Machinery Revo KTM rider was clearly the best man on the tough sand track of Lommel in Limburg. This is the Scot's second Grand Prix victory of his career after Lierop (2013). Gautier Paulin and Romain Febvre were number two and three on the podium and from the Belgian side we had Kevin Strijbos in fifth and Jeremy Van Horebeek in sixth place in the final standings.
Shaun Simpson takes the first series…
It was Romain Febvre who took the holeshot ahead of Coldenhoff, Simpson and Ferris. But it was none other than Shaun Simpson who jumped over Febvre and immediately took the lead. Things went a little less well for Rockstar Suzuki rider Kevin Strijbos, who made a mistake just after the start and moved to the very last place. Van Horebeek was in a good position at the front and was in fifth place. At the front, Simpson, Febvre and Gautier Paulin immediately pulled away from the rest. The current World Cup leader wanted more and therefore attacked Simpson, but that was not without consequences because when he almost certainly came next to Simpson, he made a mistake. So Simpson got some rest again and Paulin moved up to second place. But Febvre did not give in and went looking for Paulin. The Frenchman closed the gap on his compatriot but then dived into the sand for the second time. At the front, Simpson kept everything under control and rode to victory ahead of Paulin and Febvre. Fourth place went to our compatriot Jeremy Van Horebeek, who held the Russian Bobryshev behind him. Glenn Coldenhoff took sixth place ahead of Kevin Strijbos, who had made a nice recovery and finished seventh. Mike Vanderstraeten took two more World Cup points from our other compatriots and Jeffrey Dewulf did not reach the finish.
MXGP – Race 1 – Classification
1. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 34:36.275; 2. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Honda), +0:04.580; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +0:30.238; 4. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:46.372; 5. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:53.607; 6. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Suzuki), +0:59.721; 7. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +1:15.111; 8. Todd Waters (AUS, Husqvarna), +1:26.047; 9. Gert Krestinov (EST, Honda), +1:36.244; 10. Filip Bengtsson (SWE, Honda), +1:39.797; 11. Nathan Watson (GBR, Husqvarna), +1:41.960; 12. Tyla Rattray (RSA, Kawasaki), +1:46.477; 13. Priit Ratsep (EST, Honda), +2:12.128; 14. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Honda), -1 lap(s); 15. Dean Ferris (AUS, Husqvarna), -1 lap(s); 16. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), -1 lap(s); 17. Angus Heidecke (GER, KTM), -1 lap(s); 18. Clamps Gercar (SLO, Husqvarna), -1 lap(s); 19. Mike Vanderstraeten (BEL, Yamaha), -2 lap(s); 20. Dennis Ullrich (GER, Suzuki), -2 lap(s); 21. Kei Yamamoto (JPN, Honda), -3 lap(s); 22. Tanel Leok (EST, Kawasaki), -6 lap(s); 23. Jeffrey Dewulf (BEL, Yamaha), -7 lap(s); 24. Davide Guarneri (ITA, TM), -8 lap(s); 25. Panagiotis Kouzis (GRE, Honda), -14 lap(s);
Simpson dominates and takes GP win
Also in the second series it was Romain Febvre who took the holeshot ahead of Paulin, Ferris, Simpson and Bobryshev. Our Belgians were in fifth place with Jeremy Van Horebeek and Kevin Strijbos in nine. Already in the first lap, both Paulin and Simpson passed leader Febvre. The leader in the standings therefore had to loosen the role somewhat in the initial phase. Meanwhile, Jeremy Van Horebeek had also made a mistake and lost four places. Against that, Strijbos made up a few places and was in fifth place. Paulin was allowed to hold the lead for about seven laps, but then Simpson thought it was time to take over. The Scot immediately increased the pace and Paulin also had to let go of the role and let Romain Febvre go first. Shaun Simpson seemed to be riding to series victory unthreatened until he dived into the sand himself in the last two laps. Paulin immediately noticed that Febvre was still in second place in the final laps, but he could no longer threaten winner Simpson. . Simpson's lead was reassuring and he achieved his very first double in his Grand Prix career. Bobbryshev took fourth place and at some distance Kevin Strijbos finished fifth. Jeremy Van Horebeek bit the dust again and would eventually be flagged ninth. Of our other compatriots, Mike Verderstraeten and Jeffrey Dewulf took the very last points. Our northern neighbor Glenn Coldenhoff did not get further than twelfth place in this second series.
MXGP – Race 2 – Classification
1. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 35:02.032; 2. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Honda), +0:06.005; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +0:24.685; 4. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:54.696; 5. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +1:22.952; 6. Todd Waters (AUS, Husqvarna), +1:27.898; 7. Tyla Rattray (RSA, Kawasaki), +1:53.573; 8. Dean Ferris (AUS, Husqvarna), +1:58.778; 9. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +2:01.731; 10. Gert Krestinov (EST, Honda), +2:03.900; 11. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Honda), +3:12.669; 12. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Suzuki), -1 lap(s); 13. Priit Ratsep (EST, Honda), -1 lap(s); 14. Angus Heidecke (GER, KTM), -1 lap(s); 15. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), -1 lap(s); 16. Filip Bengtsson (SWE, Honda), -1 lap(s); 17. Davide Guarneri (ITA, TM), -1 lap(s); 18. Clamps Gercar (SLO, Husqvarna), -2 lap(s); 19. Mike Vanderstraeten (BEL, Yamaha), -2 lap(s); 20. Jeffrey Dewulf (BEL, Yamaha), -2 lap(s); 21. Kei Yamamoto (JPN, Honda), -3 lap(s); 22. Tanel Leok (EST, Kawasaki), -6 lap(s);
MXGP – Overall Classification
1. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 50 points; 2. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HON), 44 p.; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 40 p.; 4. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 34 p.; 5. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, SUZ), 30 p.; 6. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 30 p.; 7. Todd Waters (AUS, HUS), 28 p.; 8. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, SUZ), 24 p.; 9. Tyla Rattray (RSA, CAW), 23 p.; 10. Gert Kristinov (EST, HON), 23 p.; 11. Dean Ferris (AUS, HUS), 19 p.; 12. Christopher Charlier (FRA, HON), 17 p.; 13. Prith Ratsep (EST, HON), 16 p.; 14. Philip Bengtsson (SWE, HON), 16 p.; 15. Angus Heidecke (GER, KTM), 11 p.; 16. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 11 p.; 17. Nathan Watson (GBR, HUS), 10 p.; 18. Clemen Gercar (SLO, HUS), 6 p.; 19. David Guarneri (ITA, TM), 4 p.; 20. Mike Vanderstraeten (BEL, YAM), 4 p.; 21. Jeffrey DeWolf (BELL, YAM), 1 p.; 22. Dennis Ullrich (GER, SUZ), 1 p.;
MXGP – Championship Classification
1. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 547 points; 2. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HON), 463 p.; 3. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 423 p.; 4. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 416 p.; 5. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 360 p.; 6. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 356 p.; 7. Clement Desalle (BEL, SUZ), 331 p.; 8. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 324 p.; 9. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, SUZ), 290 p.; 10. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, SUZ), 287 p.; 11. Todd Waters (AUS, HUS), 278 p.; 12. Dean Ferris (AUS, HUS), 208 p.; 13. Tyla Rattray (RSA, KAW), 204 p.; 14. David Philippaerts (ITA, YAM), 185 p.; 15. Christophe Charlier (FRA, HON), 164 p.; 16. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), 155 p.; 17. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 155 p.; 18. Steven Frossard (FRA, KAW), 128 p.; 19. Ryan Villopoto (USA, KAW), 124 p.; 20. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, HON), 97 p.; 21. Davide Guarneri (ITA, TM), 93 p.; 22. Filip Bengtsson (SWE, HON), 78 p.; 23. Tommy Searle (GBR, KTM), 74 p.; 24. Nathan Watson (GBR, HUS), 70 p.; 25. Xavier Boog (FRA, KAW), 40 p.; 26. Angus Heidecke (GER, KTM), 36 p.; 27. Rui Goncalves (POR, HUS), 33 p.; 28. Gregory Aranda (FRA, KAW), 32 p.; 29. Kei Yamamoto (JPN, HON), 24 p.; 30. Gert Krestinov (EST, HON), 23 p.; 31. Dennis Ullrich (GER, SUZ), 23 p.; 32. Klemen Gercar (SLO, HUS), 17 p.; 33. Priit Ratsep (EST, HON), 16 p.; 34. Tanel Leok (EST, KAW), 15 p.; 35. Cedric Soubeyras (FRA, YAM), 15 p.; 36. Mike Alessi (USA, SUZ), 12 p.; 37. Lukas Neurauter (AUT, KTM), 12 p.; 38. Nicolas Aubin (FRA, SUZ), 11 p.; 39. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), 11 p.; 40. Davis Ivanovs (LAT, KAW), 11 p.; 41. Matevz Irt (SLO, YAM), 9 p.; 42. Paul Coates (GBR, YAM), 7 p.; 43. Pier Filippo Bertuzzo (ITA, YAM), 6 p.; 44. Jesper Jönsson (SWE, HUS), 4 p.; 45. Jeffrey Dewulf (BEL, YAM), 4 p.; 46. Maxim Nazarov (RUS, KTM), 4 p.; 47. Mike Vanderstraeten (BEL, YAM), 4 p.; 48. Fabien Izoird (FRA, HON), 3 p.; 49. Yutaka Hoshino (JPN, KTM), 2 p.; 50. Graeme Irwin (GBR, SUZ), 2 p.; 51. Jeremy Delince (BEL, HON), 2 p.;
Text: @Kris…
Photo: CDS
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