Thomas Covington triumphs in Balen
The fact that Thomas Covington (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) was the best in the MX2 at the Keiheuvel today is remarkable for several reasons. The American, who is accompanied by Joël Roelants, received the Joël Roelants Trophy for the best MX2 rider at the Keiheuvel! Brent Van Doninck came second twice.
The fact that Covington has developed over the past 18 months into an all-rounder who is also world top in the sand can certainly be called a credit to the duo Joël Roelants-Jacky Martens. Benoit Paturel's cancellation was understandable given the circumstances, but this turned the MX2 into a battle between Covington and Van Doninck in advance. Given the poor form and physical ailments of the Kemea-Yamaha rider, Brent can still draw confidence from today's excellent performance. The Herentals resident put his head to it twice. Van Doninck gave his all, kept pushing, threatened, but ultimately had to bow to Covington every time. And it must be said, overtaking was not exactly easy.
In the first heat, both fighting cocks crossed the line with just a second difference! The audience in particular was the big winner of the intense battle. There was always a large gap behind the two leaders. Lars Van Berkel (Diga Procross Husqvarna) initially performed well in series one. But Lars was not allowed to do so because after a few laps his gearbox gave up the ghost. Don't worry for the Dutch MX fans present because Eric Lijtens took third place just ahead of Roy Van Heugten.
Due to the absence of the injured Jago Geerts, we had to look forward to the performance of the local teams! Although he is not a sand specialist, KTM Diga Junior rider Tomas Kohut was rewarded with a nice third place in the final standings. Kohut finished seventh and third respectively in the heats. His better second round was the deciding factor as Creymert Racing rider Karka Dovydas also had 34 points to his name. Yannick Heylen had his best race of the day and finished sixth. Marc Herremans' pupil was also joined in the top 10 by 'ADAC colleague Thomas Vermijl, who finished 10th. Both Yannick and Thomas also reached the top 10 final rankings, finishing 8th and 10th respectively.
All results here
Inters MX2 Race 1
- Thomas Covington
- Brent Van Doninck
- Eric Leijtens
- Roy Van Heugten
- Karka Davydas
- Hardi Roosiorg
- Tom Kohut
- Sander Agard-Michelsen
- Michel Schoenmakers
10.Mike Bolink
Inters MX2 Race 2
1.Thomas Covington
2. Brent Van Doninck
3. Tom Kohut
4. Karka Davydas
5. Hardi Roosiorg
6. Yannick Heylen
7. Roy Van Heugten
8. Sander-Agard Michelsen
9. Mike Bolink
10. Thomas Vermijl
Final score Inters MX2
1. Thomas Covginton 50
2. Brent Van Doninck 44
3. Tom Kohut 34
4. Karka Dovydas 34
5. Roy Van Heugten 32
6. Hardi Roosiorg 31
7. Sander-Agard Michelsen 26
8. Yannick Heylen 23
9. Mike Bolink 23
10. Thomas Vermijl 21
Photos: Dieter Jans
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