Brown/Millard surprisingly win the first ONK Sidecar Masters 2018!
Stuart Brown and Joe Millard surprisingly managed to win the ONK sidecar cross in Lochem today. The team won in both heats. Willemsen/Bax finished second at the end of the day, followed by Hermans/Musset, who finished third on the day's podium. For Bax/Stupelis and Giraud/Mucenieks, together with Willemsen/Bax the combinations that are on paper the best three in the world, the ONK Lochem became one to quickly forget.
Brown/Millard were helped in their triumph by the 'un' Dutch hard track. The circuit was hard due to the frost in the ground and this turned out to be slightly different from a hard track abroad. Already in the first fast lap, the other English top team, Wilkinson/Chamberlain, choked on the slippery sheet of ice directly under the sand and as they exited the bend they hit the embankment, causing the first crash of the day. This was a prelude to the spectacular training in which the Frenchman Giraud ultimately claimed first place by more than two seconds faster than the Belgian Davy Sanders. Brown came third, Dierckens fourth, team Bax/Stupelis came fifth. Willemsen/Bax only scored twelfth place and would have to sit on the outside of the starting gate in the heats.
First heat:
Around two o'clock the starting gate collapsed for the very first time and the more than 30 international sidecars raced away for their heat. Except for one! A rare expensive mistake by Etienne Bax who actually stalled the engine when the gate fell! Fortunately, Bax got the machine up and running quickly and was able to join the field again within half a lap, albeit at the very back of course!
At the front, the fast starter Giraud had already flown with Hermans, Brown, Sanders and Dierckens on the rope. Unfortunately for Sanders/Haller, the race came to an end during the second round when they had to retire visibly disappointed with machine trouble. This left Hermans, Brown and Dierckens for second place. Brown had left his other two attackers in the third round and went hunting for Giraud/Mucenieks. As the heat progressed, the gap between these two front combinations continued to fluctuate between a few seconds as they both pulled away from the competition.
About five seconds behind this, Veldman/Van der Putten were in the clinch with the British Wilkinson and the Belgian Santermans and just behind this Mike Keuben/Lars de Laat were battling with Varik/Daiders and the Swiss Brothers Cuche. After about ten minutes a sidecar arrived and started to get involved with this group, what a name! Willemsen/Bax started the match due to their mediocre starting position in midfield, but they started their advance like a hot knife through butter, which was certainly made more difficult by the circumstances in which almost everyone simply drove very hard on the flat, frozen track. However, Willemsen did this just a little faster and above all better than the rest. Soon Keuben/De Laat, Varik/Daiders and Cuche/Cuche had fallen and Daniël quickly headed for the next group.
Up until that point, Giraud/Mucenieks continued to lead the now slightly melting ice dance in a grandiose manner and this seemed to remain the case until the finish despite Brown closing within a second... However, in the last ten minutes of the race Giraud was suddenly 'away'. The machine suddenly started to smoke heavily and a few bends further it came to a standstill. Disillusioned, at that moment team Giraud seemed supreme, they left the match in Lochem..
When the second heat started, team Giraud was probably disappointed about the unfortunate failure even on the way back to France.
At the front, Brown of course took the lead eagerly and deservedly and crossed the finish line almost half a minute ahead of second man Hermans. Dierckens was suddenly in third place, but in the very last lap he was hit by the panting Willemsen/Bax on his neck and it was precisely that combination that was in a great 'flow'. On top of the rubbish dump they had managed to find the connection and literally a few meters before the finish Willemsen/Bax managed to find the gap in the very last corner and sent Dierckens/Rostingt to fourth place. Veldman should have been fifth, if it were not for the fact that this team, overwhelmed by the slippery conditions, made a mistake on the last lap, which meant that the British Wilkinson, Cuche/Cuche and Varik/Daiders passed with Veldman/Van der. Putte who finished eighth. Van Werven/Mans finished ninth and tenth was ultimately Bax/Stupelis who just excluded Keuben/De Laat from the top ten.
Second heat:
Around half past five the second and decisive heat started in which Sanders/Haller were the first to fly away, followed by Brown, Hermans, Van Werven, Santermans and Dierckens.
Brown/Millard simply turned out to be the best on the winter track in Lochem because they overtook Sanders in the first few minutes and showed a pace that no one had an answer to. They initially rode the competition to 15 seconds, after which they were assured of the final victory in this ONK with two very nice 1e place in the heats.
Bax/Stupelis now had a better start and had already reached the group behind the later winner Brown in the third round. Shortly afterwards, Willemsen/Bax also joined here. After about twenty minutes of bickering, the situation was such that Bax/Stupelis were in second place and the chasing Willemsen/Bax in third place was visibly approaching them. Shortly afterwards, Willemsen's team put heavy pressure on Bax's team in the battle for second place. It didn't take long before Willemsen/Bax were able to pass the sidecar of Bax/Stupelis after a nice battle that ended when Bax pushed a little too much in a corner and the 'cannibal' Willemsen abruptly put him next to it in front of his home crowd. What followed were some very special laps to the finish. Both sidecars outpaced the pursuers by fifteen seconds within fifteen minutes. However, it was also clear that Brown drove quickly and carefully in the first place. It could also be seen that Willemsen/Bax were faster than Bax/Stupelis who were unable to mount a single counter-attack on Willemsen during the course of the heat.
The first three eventually crossed the finish line, meaning that Brown deservedly turned out to be the very best in Lochem and Willemsen was also able to claim that position in the daily rankings with his second place.
Fourth in the 2nd heat, Sanders/Haller, who now saw their super start, were rewarded with a nice finish and fifth was Hermans/Musset, who had collected enough points to take third place on the day's podium. On six we saw Dierckens, on seven Van Werven/Mans and on eight Wilkinson/Chamberlain. Santermans eventually finished ninth and the surprisingly good French Thomas brothers now finished tenth after dropping out in the first heat.
This is how the first verdict for the ONK Sidecar Masters was settled in 2018.
Despite joking and looking for Easter eggs, the battle for the Open Dutch Sidecar Cross Championship continues in earnest on Easter Sunday, April 1, in Valkenswaard.
Daily results and standings ONK Sidecarmasters 2018
Text: Emil Bilars
Photo: Orangehat
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