Successful dress rehearsal for Graulus and De Dycker
Just before the GP of Limburg in Lommel, 24MX Honda rider Damon Graulus rode in his own region during the International Motocross in Gooik. In the Belgian Championship final rankings, Graulus finished fifth, after a bad start he was able to achieve 8th place in the Championship of Flanders. Ken De Dycker found it difficult to get into his rhythm and had to settle for 6th place in the Belgian Championship day rankings and 9th place in the Flanders Championship.
The double poster BK Motocross and Flanders Championship attracted many spectators to the Wijnbosgaardstraat in Gooik. For all GP riders present, it was an excellent dress rehearsal for the Grand Prix in Lommel this weekend.
In the first heat, Graulus finished third, but in the driving rain he started the race a little too cautiously and eventually finished fifth, a few seconds behind Steve Ramon. Ken Dycker was held up at the start when some riders in front of him crashed. The lack of grip and the amount of dust also bothered Keeno. After his 11th place in the opener, De Dycker completed a solid second series. Despite a bad start, he finished sixth after teammate Graulus.
The 20 best MX1 and 20 best MX2 riders qualified for the final 'Championship of Flanders'. Damon Graulus had a good reaction at the gate but almost crashed in the first two corners, meaning he almost had to start from the last position. Graulus was able to come back well and approached a group in the second half of the match with Van Doninck, Dewulf and Ramon until he lost the connection due to a mistake. The former Belgian and Dutch MX2 champion had to settle for 8th place. Ken De Dycker finished 9th in the second heat.
Damon Graulus: “Because I lacked some competition rhythm and time on the bike, Gooik fell at an excellent time. I was quite satisfied with the driving itself. In the first two motos I lacked some aggressiveness at the beginning. The Superfinal for the Championship of Flanders was my best race of the day even though I had a very bad start. Still, I still came back well. A few more good training sessions this week and then I'll be ready for Lommel!”
Ken Dycker: “Gooik was a difficult day for me. Actually I couldn't find the right lines all day and the feeling was never great. The training intensity was very high last week and that made me appear less sharp. Even though the results were disappointing in preparation for Lommel, they were positive. They had also done a good job in Gooik in terms of layout. It was a nice, wide circuit that certainly has potential for the future. This week I'm taking it a bit easier in the run-up to the GP. In Lommel I will start with a new block and I am confident that I can go for a good result.”
INTERS MX1 RACE 1
1. Kevin Strijbos, 2. Jeremy Van Horebeek, 3. Jérémy Delincé, 4. Steve Ramon, 5. Damon Graulus, 6. Arminas Jasikonis, 7. Jeffrey Dewulf, 8. Cyril Genot, 9. Jens Getteman, 10. Erik Willems, 11. Ken De Dycker, 12. Jaimy Deleersnijder, 13. Greg Smets, 14. Nick Triest, 15. Dietger Damiaens, 16. Gordano Natale, 17. Roy Silliën, 18. Robin Bakens, 19. Tom Schepmans, 20. Kevin Vangenechten
Inters MX1 Race 2
1. Jeremy Van Horebeek, 2. Kevin Strijbos, 3. Arminas Jasikonis, 4. Jérémy Delincé, 5. Damon Graulus, 6. Ken De Dycker, 7. Nick Triest, 8. Dietger Damiaens, 9. Cyril Genot, 10. Jeffrey Dewulf, 11. Jens Getteman, 12. Erik Willems, 13. Jaimy Deleersnijder, 14. Gordano Natale, 15. Robin Bakens, 16. Steve Ramon, 17. Greg Smets, 18. Manolis Kritikos, 19. Bram Valckx, 20. Rene Ranniko
Final score Inters MX1
1. Jeremy Van Horebeek 47, 2. Kevin Strijbos 47, 3. Jéremy Delincé 38, 4. Arminas Jasikonis 35, 5. Damon Graulus 32, 6. Ken De Dycker 25, 7. Cyril Genot 25, 8. Jeffrey Dewulf 25, 9. Steve Ramon 23, 10. Jens Getteman 22, 11. Nick Triest 21, 12. Erik Willems 20, 13. Dietger Damiaens 19, 14. Jaimy Deleersnijder 17, 15. Gordano Natale 12, 16. Greg Smets 12, 17. Robin Bakens 9, 18. Roy Sillien 4, 19. Manolis Kritikos 3, 20 Bram Valckx 2
CHAMPIONSHIP OF FLANDERS
1. Jeremy Van Horebeek, 2. Kevin Strijbos, 3. Arminas Jasikonis, 4. Jérémy Delincé, 5. Steve Ramon, 6. Jeffrey Dewulf, 7. Brent Van Doninck, 8. Damon Graulus, 9. Ken De Dycker, 10. Jens Getteman
Photos: Eric Laurijssen
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