Chillingly exciting ONK Sidecars in Lochem expects the entire world's top at the start!
It will not be a piece of cake for any sidecar crosser to take victory this Sunday during the first ONK Sidecar Masters. With the entire world's top at the start, we can speak of a true mini-GP at the Gaggeldijk circuit in Lochem! The foreign riders who would like to get in shape for the first 'sand' GP Sidecars in Oss on March 25 are probably in for a rude awakening. The current weather has created a concrete-hard track in Lochem, which means that this ONK sidecar cross will probably go 'un'-Dutch fast. The current weather forecast is that there will be a slight thaw on Sunday, but there will be no old-fashioned Dutch sand track this coming weekend.
It will tend more towards a surface that is often encountered on the top circuits in central and southern Europe. This unique weather situation now in the Netherlands, together with the fact that all sidecarcross toppers on this earth will be present, means that the enthusiast does not want to miss anything of the three-wheel violence that will be displayed this Sunday in Lochem!
Despite all the participants, most eyes will be focused on the Dutch teams of Bax and Willemsen. Last ONK season they fought a fierce battle that was only decided in the last heat when they literally met each other during the start and Daniël Willemsen crashed hard together with baking player Robbie Bax, after which the way was clear for team Bax/Musset to win the ONK title. to put on hold.
Etienne Bax and Nicolas Musset have stopped their collaboration, but Daniël Willemsen and Robbie Bax are again a couple this season and want nothing more than to take revenge in 2018!
However, preparation for 2018 got off to a bad start for Willemsen/Bax due to a serious crash during a training camp in Italy. Bakkenist Robbie Bax only escaped with a black and blue body, but Daniël Willemsen himself broke a number of ribs and a crack in the shoulder was also found. Almost immediately after the accident, Willemsen was positive that he would be ready for Lochem, but when the seriousness of the injuries became clear, there appeared to be some doubt. 'The cannibal', however, worked hard on his recovery to perform as best as possible in front of his home audience in Lochem this Sunday. Last Wednesday a training session started in cold Berghem to experience whether they would be ready for the very first ONK next Sunday.
We received the message that after this 'test' Daniel Willemsen is ready to fire up in front of his home audience together with his baking player Robbie Bax, who will undoubtedly now want to stick out the proverbial tongue at older brother Etienne Bax.
However, that could be a tough task. There is no problem at the moment for current World and Dutch Champion Etienne Bax. For 2018, Bax has enlisted the services of baking player Kaspars Stupelis from Latvia, with whom he already became World Champion in 2015. Both gentlemen have had excellent preparation, including a 'promo tour' through the US.
From a closer look, team Bax/Stupelis seems to be the team to beat this season on both a national and global level.
However, the ONK sidecar cross is not just about the two super teams of Bax and Willemsen, there is a knock on the door from the potential Dutch champions of the future!
The young Julian Veldman enters the ring again at full speed together with his new baking player Siebe van der Putten. Veldman was the surprise of last season with, among other things, a two-day podium at a GP sidecar cross. 'The Frog' from Kampen, together with his new buddy, has the ONK podium as a goal and if all goes well and the upward trend continues as in recent years, one should not be surprised if team Veldman/Van der Putten pins himself to the podium after every ONK match.
Team Veldman is not the only sidecar team that can and wants to achieve high results in 2018. What about Koen Hermans from Hengelo (GLD) who will compete this year together with the French World Champion Nicolas Musset. The number five of the last World Sidecar Cross Championships has already completed the necessary training sessions with his new French passenger, which went to everyone's satisfaction. It could be that Hermans/Musset have suddenly moved up a few steps in the general expectations of many. In addition, team Van Werven should certainly be taken into account for podium places. This year, the talented Belgian Jens Mans has joined rider Gert van Werven and together they will compete with the rest of the field on their beautiful white/ice blue TM sidecar.
Then the name Keuben. This one is indeed on the list twice. Cousins Mike and Justin Keuben started their sidecar cross career together, but since the end of 2015 we suddenly saw Justin Keuben as a sidecar driver, and it now appears to be not without merit. Together with Dion Rietman, the former driver of a left sidecar is slowly but surely emerging as a class driver on a right-side mounted sidecar, as evidenced by the 21e place in the final ranking of the 2017 Sidecar Cross World Championships.
Big cousin Mike remained faithful to the left-wing feeling and is now the only Dutch top rider who manages to score great results with a left-wing sidecar.
After two seasons with English baking players, Mike Keuben is now joining forces with the talented Lars de Laat. In preparation for the very first major competition of 2018, this combination apparently easily crossed the finish line winning in Belgium two weeks ago in the ranks of the VLM. Both Keuben teams are certainly sidecars to keep an eye on in Lochem. Yet another household name is Frank Mulders, the 2017 European IMBA champion, who will now try his luck together with nestor Henry van der Wiel.
Bjorn Roes is also on the ONK list together with the Belgian baking player Dagwin Sabbe. They were initially going to participate in the National Championship sidecar cross, but the KNMV decided a few days ago that this team is considered too strong for the National Championship class. Confused by this late decision, but with his head held high, Roes will compete with the ONK top players together with Dagwin 'the Fox' Sabbe. Jarno van der Boomen, who was to participate in the NK class together with Kenny van Gaalen, has also been placed in the ONK by the KNMV.
Normally the Dutch would expect the most resistance from abroad from the Belgians, but due to 'king winter' the circumstances are now suddenly completely different from what we are used to and that is grist to the mill for Giraud/Mucenieks.
The vice world champion of 2017 is coming from France to Lochem for the very first ONK of 2018!
Giraud is a good rider, but often not the best in the loose sand. But don't let that happen now because of the frost! It wouldn't surprise us if there is a spectacular match next Sunday with Giraud/Mucenieks at the forefront.
Another French team that will travel to the Netherlands in Giraud's wake is that of the talented Thomas brothers, who achieved a number of surprisingly good results last year and want to continue that upward trend this year to conquer a place within the top twenty. of the world.
Traditionally, many Belgian teams participate in the ONK sidecar cross and this season we will also see a true Belgian Armada that will travel to Lochem this Sunday.
We see, among others, Marvin Vanluchene and Ben van den Boogaart at the start. The young Vanluchene was already third in the World Cup standings until injuries threw a spanner in the works. Ben van den Boogaart knows the tricks of the trade like no other and is one of the best baking players in the world with several World Cup titles to his name. The team comes to Lochem well prepared after, among other things, a training internship in Spain where they made jumps in Belpuig that made many solo crossers pale! It could be that team Vanluchene/Van den Boogaart will become the most attractive team of 2018.
Another name to take into account is that of Davy Sanders. The sympathetic Flemish has found a replacement for the retired Eduard Soenens in the German Andres Haller and their real ambition is to definitively enter the top ten in the world.
Arne Dierckens is also coming to Lochem together with his French baking artist Luc Rostingt. This team can also provide a surprise from time to time. The young Arne Dierckens is known for shooting out of the starting blocks like a cannon. Last year they often had to give up a number of places to faster participants. However, Dierckens has grown again in his driving in 2017, although many bad luck incidents in the 2e No good results were achieved in the half of the season. And perhaps that is precisely why Dierckens/Rostingt are keen to get 2018 off to a good start!
Another infamous fast starter is nestor Kristof Santermans who, after suffering an injury last season, will be back at the start in Lochem together with the talented Kostas Beleckas from Lithuania.
We will also see a number of Belgian teams at the start, including the Janssens brothers and the German-speaking Andreas Closhe, who will compete together with Han van Hal from Lierop in 2018.
Han van Hal is not the only baking artist from Lierop because we see Nick Maas from the same Brabant town again on the lists, now next to the German Tobias Blank. 'The Dutch lion' Nick Maas was at the side of the German Silvio Senz last year and now hopes to be able to advance further within the ranks of sidecar cross with team Blank. Both Tobias Blank and Nick Maas both have the potential to grow and it is now up to them to show what they are really worth together.
In addition to Blank, a handful of German teams are coming to Lochem, including the Rheinmann brothers and the experienced Prokesch.
No fewer than six combinations from across the sea will be at the start in Lochem. The most appealing English participants are Brett Wilkinson/Dan Chamberlain and Stuart Brown/Joe Millard. Wilkinson/Chamberlain, like team Willemsen, had a false start and went off hard during training in France. Wilkinson broke his collarbone, which also played tricks on him in 2017. However, Wilkinson and Chamberlain worked hard, who had severely strained his tires due to the crash. About five weeks after the accident, both men are back at the start in Lochem at full strength. For Brown, the number four at the last World Championship, Lochem will be the first opportunity to see how he manifests himself among the competition on his new machine with the AMS Husqvarna power source that has been chosen this season over the Zabel two-stroke machine. That Stuart Brown can perform well in the ONKs was already proven in 2016 when they led the ONK title dance until the last match. Unfortunately for Brown, the final of the ONK was held at the same time as a round for the British Championship, which forced him to give away the leading position. In addition to Stuart Brown, we also see his son Jake Brown on the list, who, together with Zac Snell, last year driver with Mike Keuben, will compete in the GPs this year and will experience the race in Lochem as a great first test of strength.
The combinations of the Swiss brothers Cuche and the Austrians Weiss/Schneider will be at the start from the Alpine countries. The combination of the ever spectacular Weiss/Schneider had a great season in 2017 until Weiss suddenly had to knock out during a number of matches. This turned out to be due to glandular fever, but now they are one hundred percent fit again and ready to take on the competition.
The three fastest teams from the eastern part of Europe will also be at the start in Lochem. The Czech brothers Cermak seem to get a little better every year, as evidenced by a number of podium places last year during the GP heats. The ambition for this year is a top five ranking within the World Cup Sidecar Cross and in Lochem they will kick off their campaign to achieve this realistic goal in 2018.
The Kunnas brothers from Finland will soon also be behind the starting gate for the first ONK and with their fourteenth place in the final standings of last GP season, they surprised friend and foe. They will also want to continue the upward trend in this new season.
Another combination that should be taken into account is that of the Estonian Gert Varik. Varik has had a number of mixed results in recent years, but can go fast when the conditions within his team are perfect. This season everything can finally fall into place for Varik, who will have none other than the experienced Latvian Lauris Daiders in the box in 2018. The Varik/Daiders combination could well provide quite a surprise.
It has often been said that the first ONK sidecars in Lochem resembled a mini-GP in previous years, but there were always a number of top ten World Cup riders missing.
The 2018 edition, however, includes all global cracks, so this will not seem like a mini-GP, but in fact it is just one! On the one-time hard surface of Lochem this Sunday you can see an advance on the upcoming GP sidecar cross season when the first two of the ten heats that comprise the ONK Sidecar masters this season will be fought!
The entrance fee for this spectacle day is 15 euros and children up to 12 years old can enter the site for free. The first training sessions start at half past eight and around 11 am the starting gate will fall for the first of the at least eight heats that can be seen in Lochem.
The 'Gaggeldijk' circuit of the MACSEV in Lochem is easy to reach by taking the Lochem exit on the A1 highway and then following the signs that lead you towards the circuit.
In addition to the ONK Sidecar Masters, the ONK Quad Masters is also on the program and you can also enjoy the battle of the quads and sidecars in the national class. All lists are packed with participants, so the competitions will be more than worth seeing and with the current track conditions, this ONK competition promises to become legendary in advance!
If you are unable to actually experience the action on site in Lochem, there is a great alternative. It has just been announced that a live stream will be broadcast from Lochem from 11 a.m. to 18 p.m. that can be viewed via the knmv site (www.knmv.nl) as well as via the site of the promoter of the ONK Sidecar/Quad Masters (www. .motocrossplanet.nl). A very nice alternative for those who are unable to physically visit the circuit!
Text: Emil Bilars
Photo: www.orangehat.nl
Also to read
Janis Reisulis out due to knee injury
Janis Martins Reišulis' season comes to an early end. The 16-year-old rider hurt his knee a week after Easter during training in Latvia. The Yamaha rider…Coldenhoff and Bogers about their MXGP Galicia
Last weekend the Fantic Factory Racing Team MXGP was at the start in Lugo. Glenn Coldenhoff and Brian Bogers came into action for the Brabant team during the sixth …Cooper Webb misses part of AMA Pro Motocross
After missing out on the Monster Energy AMA Supercross title, Cooper Webb has announced that he will have to undergo surgery. The Yamaha rider has a thumb injury and requires surgery...Manuel Lettenbichler wins Valleys Hard Enduro
The Valleys Hard Enduro, the first stop in the seven-round series, is a completely new event held over three days of competition. The action started on Friday with…
Your reactions