24MX Lucas Oil Honda: Race Report Orp-Le-Grand
After a strong performance at Keiheuvel last Monday, 24MX Lucas Oil Honda rider Damon Grualus continued his momentum. In Orp-Le-Grand, the third round of the Belgian Motocross Championship, Graulus finished fourth after Desalle, Paulin and Strijbos. Teammate Ken De Dycker rode to an excellent seventh place. It was his second match since returning from injury. With one match left in the BC, Damon now occupies second place in the standings. He is seven points behind Brent Van Doninck.
Speed and regularity, those were the motto of the day for Graulus on the 'old-school' circuit of the little Gete. In qualifying, the Flemish Brabander sent his Honda CRF450R to the fourth fastest time, 0,037 seconds behind Gautier Paulin and less than 0,9 seconds behind Kevin Strijbos. Although a time training normally only gives an indication of the balance of power, this time the picture was perfect. The fastest in the qualifying session, Clément Desalle, turned out to be too big for the competition in the races. No surprise then that the 19-time GP winner quickly rode to three series victories in front of his own audience. Graulus recorded three fourth places. Although Strijbos and Paulin were slightly faster, Damon always managed to challenge the tenors. Graulus also took the holeshot twice.
De Dycker qualified eighth. Due to two poor starts in the first two heats, Ken had to keep chasing. Yet he still managed to finish 9th in both races. After a better start, 'Keeno' fought his way to 20th place in the final sprint of 6 minutes plus one lap. The former MXoN winner was hot on the heels of two-time world champion Steve Ramon for almost the entire series. With a few weeks of intensive motorcycle training and two races, De Dycker heads to his first Grand Prix of the season with confidence. After Ken broke his femur in February, he will make his return to the World Cup next weekend in Assen, the Netherlands.
Damon Graulus: “It was an excellent day! Orp-Le-Grand is always special, but I like riding here. I had three strong starts and that definitely helped me. In the first heat I kept in touch with Paulin and Strijbos for quite a while. In the second series I even ended up on Strijbos' wheel at the finish line. However, overtaking was not that easy because of the dust... (smiles) And you don't just fool those experienced men either! Clément (Desalle) and Kevin (Strijbos) were a bit too fast for me in the final, but I was able to keep up with Paulin. In general I am very satisfied with my performance, the engine also ran excellently. Of course it is also nice to be second in the standings, we will see what is possible in the last race in Kester!”
Ken Dycker: “I needed some time to get used to the hard surface here. This was the first time on a hard track because I had only trained in the sand so far. The first series was difficult because a rider had fallen in front of me at the start and I didn't feel completely comfortable. In the second moto my speed was better, but my start was not as good. I did well in the last series. It was positive that I could go along with a higher rhythm. I could now finally ride my own lines instead of having to 'squeeze' in the suit! In terms of speed, things are certainly going in the right direction. I also have the feeling that it can certainly be done even faster.”
Race 1
1. Clément Desalle (BEL-Kawasaki) 2. Gautier Paulin (FRA-Honda), 3. Kevin Strijbos (BEL-Suzuki), 4. Damon Graulus (BEL- 24MX Lucas Oil Honda), 5. Steve Ramon (BEL-Suzuki) ), 6. Andy Truyts (BEL-KTM), 7. Brent Van Doninck (BEL-Yamaha), 8. Erik Willems (BEL-Yamaha), 9. Ken De Dycker (BEL- 24MX Lucas Oil Honda), 10. Thomas Covington (USA-Husqvarna), 11. Michael Ivanov (BUL-KTM), 12. Robin Bakens (BEL-Kawasaki), 13. Bryan Boulard (BEL-Honda), 14. Dietger Damiaens (BEL-KTM), 15. Kenny Vandueren (BEL-KTM), 16. Kim Oiva Jarva (NOR-Kawasaki), 17. Stefan Hage (NED-KTM), 19. Kristof Salaets (BEL-Kawasaki), 19. Maxime Renaux (FRA-Yamaha), 20. Roy Sillien (BEL-Suzuki)
Race 2
1. Clément Desalle (BEL-Kawasaki) 2. Gautier Paulin (FRA-Honda), 3. Kevin Strijbos (BEL-Suzuki), 4. Damon Graulus (BEL- 24MX Lucas Oil Honda), 5. Steve Ramon (BEL-Suzuki) ), 6. Thomas Covington (USA-Husqvarna), 7. Kenny Vandueren (BEL-KTM), 8. Andy Truyts (BEL-KTM), 9. Ken De Dycker (BEL-24MX Lucas Oil Honda), 10. Kevin Wouts (BEL-KTM), 11. Michael Ivanov (BUL-KTM), 12. Maxime Renaux (FRA-Yamaha), 13. Daymond Martens (BEL-Yamaha), 14. Kristof Salaets (BEL-Kawasaki), 15. Mark Boot (BEL-KTM), 16. Erik Willems (BEL-Yamaha), 17. Robin Bakens (BEL-Kawasaki), 18. Dietger Damiaens (BEL-KTM), 19. Stijn Verstrepen (BEL-Husqvarna), 20. Stefan Hage (NED-KTM)
Race 3
1. Clément Desalle (BEL-Kawasaki), 2. Kevin Strijbos (BEL-Suzuki), 3. Gautier Paulin (FRA-Honda), 4. Damon Graulus (BEL- 24MX Lucas Oil Honda), 5. Steve Ramon (BEL- Suzuki), 6. Ken De Dycker (BEL-24MX Lucas Oil Honda), 7. Brent Van Doninck (BEL-Yamaha), 8. Kevin Wouts (BEL-KTM), 9. Andy Truyts (BEL-KTM), 10. Michael Ivanov (BUL-KTM), 11. Kenny Vandueren (BEL-KTM), 12. Dietger Damiaens (BEL-KTM), 13. Erik Willems (BEL-Yamaha), 14. Kristof Salaets (BEL-Kawasaki), 15. Maxime Renaux (FRA-Yamaha), 16. Daymond Martens (BEL-Yamaha), 17. Robin Bakens (BEL-Kawasaki), 18. Thomas Covington (USA-Husqvarna), 19. Mark Boot (BEL-KTM), 20. Kim Oiva Jarva (NOR-Kawasaki)
Final score Orp-le-Grand
1. Clement Desalle (BEL-Kawasaki) 75 pts, 2. Gautier Paulin (FRA-Honda) 64. 3. Kevin Strijbos (BEL-Suzuki) 62. 4. Damon Graulus (BEL-24MX Lucas Oil Honda) 54. Steve Ramon (BEL-Suzuki) 5, 48. Andy Truyts (BEL-KTM) 6, 41. Ken De Dycker (BEL-7MX Lucas Oil Honda) 24, 39. Michael Ivanov (BUL-KTM) 8, 33. Kenny Vandueren (BEL-KTM) 9, 31. Thomas Covington (USA-Husqvarna) 10, 30. Erik Willems (BEL-Yamaha) 11, 29. Brent Van Doninck (BEL-Yamaha) 12, 28. Dietger Damiaens (BEL-KTM) 13, 22. Robin Bakens (BEL-Kawasaki), 14. Kristof Salaets (BEL-Kawasaki) 15, 19. Maxime Renaux (FRA-Yamaha) 16, 19. Daymond Martens (BEL-Yamaha) 17, 15. Kim Oiva Jarva (NOR-Kawasaki), 18. Stefan Hage (NED-KTM), 19. Bryan Boulard (BEL-Honda).
BC standings after 3 rounds
1. Brent Van Doninck (BEL-Yamaha) 136 pts, 2. Damon Graulus (BEL-24MX Lucas Oil Honda) 129, 3. Kevin Strijbos (BEL-Suzuki) 126, 4. Steve Ramon (BEL-Suzuki) 122, 5 Jeffrey Dewulf 90 (BEL-KTM), 6. Arminas Jasikonis 81 (LIT-Suzuki), 7. Clément Desalle (BEL-Kawasaki) 75, 8. Shaun Simpson (GBR-KTM) 75, 9. Jeffrey Herlings (NED- KTM) 75, 10. Max Nagl (GER-HUS) 66
Photos: Ivo Moeys, Eric Laurijssen, Gunther Smeys
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