VLM Tongerlo: victories for Verheyen and Vromans!
With two unpublished winners, the VLM competition in Tongerlo became a first. Reigning Inters MX1 champion Wesley Verheyen took a double series victory! At the Inters MX2, Dieter Vromans was the most regular with two second places.
Kudos to the people of the CKP Racing team! On Saturday they had to deal with some heavy rain showers, so they were forced to cancel free practice after the JMS race to spare the circuit. No expense was spared to get the circuit into a drivable condition. It was tough in the morning, but as the day progressed it became increasingly drier. 37 inters had found their way to the circuit in Tongerlo. During time training, MX2 rider Jonathan Banken was easily the fastest. And he showed that in both heats. Yet he was not the overall winner!
In the first heat, Banken dives into the corner first, Vromans and Van Massenhoven come into contact with each other during the start and both crash. Banks is closely followed by Wesley Verheyen who increases the pressure and takes over the lead from Banken. With 7 minutes to go, Banken manages to turn the tables again and tackles Verheyen again... But Banken can't claim victory yet! With two laps to go, Banken runs out of gas and it's over and Verheyen wins the first heat. The CKP rider Jens Van Meer came second ahead of Kenny Janssens.
Who showed a remarkable match was Greg Smets, he came from outside the top 10 to a good 4th place. Kristof Salaets also had to get up to speed first and was rewarded with 5th place. David Cools showed that he was getting back on track and that he should certainly be taken into account with a 9th place, he was the best MX2 rider.
Jonathan Banks head and shoulders!
The second heat had fueled Banken sufficiently and showed that he was clearly the fastest in Tongerlo and was comfortably in the lead from start to finish. Kenny Janssens started in his wake. The winner of the first round Wesley Verheyen immediately made up some places and was quickly in second position. Janssens had to let Van Meer pass, who went looking for Verheyen. Banks took off and Verheyen and Van Meer played leapfrog. Verheyen made a mistake, crashed and had to look for Van Meer again. Two laps before the end they were involved in a duel again and Verheyen came out on top. Janssens finished fourth ahead of Van Massenhoven and Smets. So Verheyen was the great triumphant of the MX1.
Vromans came from far away and knew like 2de MX2 rider to finish and that gave him the overall victory in MX2.
Inters MX1 series 1
1. Wesley Verheyen, 2. Jens Van Meer, 3. Kenny Janssens, 4. Greg Smets, 5. Kristof Salaets, 6. Jonas Salaets, 7. Steven De Beuckelaer, 8. Kevin Van Geldrop, 9. Jasper van der Mieren, 10. Sven Wouters
Inters MX1 Series 2
1. Wesley Verheyen, 2. Jens Van Meer, 3. Kenny Janssens, 4. Wouter van Massenhoven, 5. Greg Smets, 6. Kevin Van Geldrop, 7. Kristof Salaets, 8. Steven De Beuckelaer, 9. Jasper van der Mieren , 10. Kenzo Buys
Inters MX1 final standings
1. Wesley Verheyen 50, 2. Jens Van Meer 44, 3. Kenny Janssens 40. 4. Greg Smets 34, 5. Kristof Salaets 30, 6. Kevin Van Geldrop 28, 7. Steven De Beuckelaer 27, 8. Wouter Van Massenhoven 26, 9. Jasper Van der Mieren 24, 10. Kenzo Buys 21
Inters MX2 series 1
1. David Cools, 2. Dieter Vromans, 3. Frederik Daenen, 4. Kevin Schellens, 5. Bram Schoepen, 6. Thallon Caspermans, 7. Kristof Scheynen, 8. Enzo Aerden, 9. Jonathan Banken, 10. Nick Peers
Inters MX2 series 1
1. Jonathan Banken, 2. Dieter Vromans, 3. Kevin Schellens, 4. David Cools, 5. Bram Schoepen, 6. Enzo Aerden, 7. Kristof Scheynen, 8. Frederik Daenen, 9. Thallon Caspermans, 10. Bart Janssens
Inters MX2 final standings
1. Dieter Vromans 44, 2. David Cools 43, 3. Kevin Schellens 38, 4. Jonathan Banken 37, 5. Frederik Daenen 33, 6. Bram Schoepen 32, 7. Enzo Aerden 28, 8. Kristof Scheynen 28, 9. Thallon Caspermans 27, 10. Bart Janssens 21
Text and photos: Karine Discart
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