Bad luck for De Waal, Weltin collects first points
After a strong turn during the first Dutch Masters of Motocross in Markelo, Micha Boy De Waal and the Jumbo No Fear Vamo Honda team were very much looking forward to the first European GP in Valkenswaard. Due to a dislocated collarbone during time training, the weekend turned out to be a disappointment for the popular rider from Veen. Marshal Weltin took his first World Cup points in the cold and wet sand of North Brabant. The young American finished 18th in the second heat and was 20th in the final score.
Valkenswaard was the first race where ex-EMX250 rider Weltin made his appearance for a second time. Home driver De Waal is of course more than familiar with the famous circuit. However, due to the extreme freezing cold, the Eurocircuit looked completely different than normal. With temperatures below 0°C, wind and snow, the riders faced a tough challenge.
Home rider De Waal recorded an excellent 16th time in the free practice and Micha started his Saturday full of enthusiasm. Unfortunately, he came into contact with another rider during time training. This caused 'MBDW' to land on his shoulder, followed by a dislocated collarbone. Unfortunately, it was no longer possible to drive further. Teammate Weltin had a hard time with the enduro-like surface and the extraordinary conditions. In the qualifying races, Marshal had to settle for a weak 26th place.
After the bitter cold of the opening day, conditions improved somewhat for race day. Thanks to adjustments to the hand protection, Weltin also felt a bit more comfortable on the motorcycle. In the first heat the Jumbo No Fear Vamo missed its starting complete. Although he came from very far back to 22nd place, he failed to score any points. The second heat did produce a result for the Marshal. Again he started weakly, but this time Weltin was able to persevere well. From 25th place in the opening round, he finished 18th behind Australian Jed Beaton.
The MX2 World Championship continues next weekend at the new Red Sand near Valencia in Spain for the third round of the GP cycle.
Marshal Weltin: “This is a race I will never forget with the snowstorm and the very unusual track conditions! For some reason it seems like my hands are more sensitive to the cold than others. On Saturday my hands cramped up completely and I couldn't do anything. I held the bike with a kind of four-finger twitch. That way it's hard to concentrate on driving. Overall I had the feeling that there could have been a bit more progress, although the second moto was a step forward. However, we have to work on my starts and qualifying. I also had a hard time qualifying last year. But once things started to go better, so did the results. Hopefully we can repeat that this year.”
Micha Boy De Waal: “I was doing well in timed training until I got together with another rider and fell. Fortunately, there was no fracture to my collarbone, but we have to see how best to proceed. It was an option to operate, but we opt for a natural healing. That would mean that I would have to be sidelined for about three to four weeks. It's a real shame because I felt really good and the bike ran fine, but that's also racing, right? In any case, thank you for the great support from the team, all sponsors and fans. We will come back stronger than ever!”
MX2 Race 1
1. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 35:38.265; 2. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), +0:09.342; 3. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), +0:16.508; 4. Jago Geerts (BEL, Yamaha), +0:22.579; 5. Conrad Mewse (GBR, KTM), +0:25.932; 6. Hunter Lawrence (AUS, Honda), +0:42.179; 7. Thomas Covington (USA, Husqvarna), +0:49.290; 8. Jed Beaton (AUS, Kawasaki), +0:53.611; 9. Davy Pootjes (NED, KTM), +0:58.452; 10. Ben Watson (GBR, Yamaha), +1:00.167; 11. Brent Van Doninck (BEL, Husqvarna), +1:01.566; 12. Vsevolod Brylyakov (RUS, Yamaha), +1:07.493; 13. Henry Jacobi (GER, Husqvarna), +1:08.774; 14. Maxime Renaux (FRA, Yamaha), +1:13.609; 15. Calvin Vlaanderen (RSA, Honda), +1:24.471; 16. Adam Sterry (GBR, Kawasaki), +1:44.843; 17. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Kawasaki), +1:46.270; 18. Iker Larranaga Olano (ESP, Husqvarna), +1:46.530; 19. Alvin Östlund (SWE, Yamaha), +2:03.155; 20. Sander Agard-Michelsen (NOR, Yamaha), -1 lap(s); 21. Samuel Bernardini (ITA, TM), -1 lap(s); 22. Marshal Weltin (USA, Jumbo No Fear Vamo Honda), -1 lap(s); 23. Hardi Roosiorg (EST, KTM), -1 lap(s); 24. Richard Sikyna (SVK, KTM), -1 lap(s); 25. Tom Koch (GER, KTM), -1 lap(s); 26. Nicola Bertuzzi (ITA, KTM), -1 lap(s); 27. Alexis Verhaeghe (FRA, KTM), -1 lap(s); 28. Jorge Zaragoza (ESP, Yamaha), -1 lap(s); 29. David Herbreteau (FRA, KTM), -1 lap(s); 30. Enzo Toriani (FRA, Husqvarna), -1 lap(s); 31. Morgan Lesiardo (ITA, KTM), -2 lap(s); 32. Kim Savaste (END, Kawasaki), -2 lap(s); 33. Stephen Rubini (FRA, KTM), -2 lap(s); 34. Bas Vaessen (NED, Honda), -9 lap(s); 35. Darian Sanayei (USA, Kawasaki), -11 lap(s)
MX2 Race 2
1. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 35:35.397; 2. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), +0:00.381; 3. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, House), +0:37.477; 4. Conrad Mewse (GBR, KTM), +0:39.263; 5. Thomas Covington (USA, Husqvarna), +0:46.360; 6. Hunter Lawrence (AUS, Honda), +0:47.057; 7. Ben Watson (GBR, Yamaha), +0:51.600; 8. Adam Sterry (GBR, Kawasaki), +1:05.208; 9. Davy Pootjes (NED, KTM), +1:08.867; 10. Darian Sanayei (USA, Kawasaki), +1:10.665; 11. Calvin Vlaanderen (RSA, Honda), +1:17.524; 12. Vsevolod Brylyakov (RUS, Yamaha), +1:19.818; 13. Jago Geerts (BEL, Yamaha), +1:36.765; 14. Iker Larranaga Olano (ESP, Husqvarna), +1:50.898; 15. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Kawasaki), +1:58.989; 16. Maxime Renaux (FRA, Yamaha), -1 lap(s); 17. Jed Beaton (AUS, Kawasaki), -1 lap(s); 18. Marshal Weltin (USA, Jumbo No Fear Vamo Honda), -1 lap(s); 19. Stephen Rubini (FRA, KTM), -1 lap(s); 20. Samuel Bernardini (ITA, TM), -1 lap(s); 21. David Herbreteau (FRA, KTM), -1 lap(s); 22. Hardi Roosiorg (EST, KTM), -1 lap(s); 23. Kim Savaste (FIN, Kawasaki), -1 lap(s); 24. Sander Agard-Michelsen (NOR, Yamaha), -1 lap(s); 25. Tom Koch (GER, KTM), -1 lap(s); 26. Richard Sikyna (SVK, KTM), -1 lap(s); 27. Nicola Bertuzzi (ITA, KTM), -2 lap(s); 28. Alexis Verhaeghe (FRA, KTM), -2 lap(s); 29. Enzo Toriani (FRA, Husqvarna), -2 lap(s); 30. Alvin Östlund (SWE, Yamaha), -3 lap(s); 31. Morgan Lesiardo (ITA, KTM), -4 lap(s); 32. Henry Jacobi (GER, Husqvarna), -7 lap(s); 33. Jorge Zaragoza (ESP, Yamaha), -10 lap(s); 34. Brent Van doninck (BEL, Husqvarna), -14 lap(s)
MX2 Valkenswaard final standings
1. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 50 points; 2. George Prado (ESP, KTM), 44 p.; 3. Thomas Kjer Olsen (THE, HOUSE), 40 p.; 4. Conrad Mewse (GBR, KTM), 34 p.; 5. Thomas Covington (USA, HUS), 30 p.; 6. Hunter Lawrence (AUS, HON), 30 p.; 7. Trade Geerts (BEL, YAM), 26 p.; 8. Ben Watson (GBR, YAM), 25 p.; 9. Davy Pootjes (NED, KTM), 24 p.; 10. Adam Sterry (GBR, CAW), 18 p.; 11. Vsevolod Brylyakov (RUS, YAM), 18 p.; 12. Jed Beaton (AUS, CAW), 17 p.; 13. Calvin Vlaanderen (RSA, HON), 16 p.; 14. Maximum Renals (FRA, YAM), 12 p.; 15. Darian Sanayei (USA, KAW), 11 p.; 16. Iker Larranaga Olano (ESP, HUS), 10 p.; 17. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, CAW), 10 p.; 18. Brent Van Doninck (BEL, HUS), 10 p.; 19. Henry Jacobi (GER, HUS), 8 p.; 20. Marshal Weltin (USA, Jumbo No Fear Vamo Honda), 3 p.; 21. Stephen Rubini (FRA, KTM), 2 p.; 22. Alvin Östlund (SWE, YAM), 2 p.; 23. Samuel Bernardini (ITA, TM), 1 p.; 24. Sander Agard-Michelsen (NOR, YAM), 1 p.; 25. David Herbreteau (FRA, KTM), 0 p.; 26. Hardy Roosiorg (EST, KTM), 0 p.; 27. Kim Savaste (FIN, COW), 0 p.; 28. Tom Koch (GER, KTM), 0 p.; 29. Richard Sikyna (SVK, KTM), 0 p.; 30. Nicola Bertuzzi (ITA, KTM), 0 p.; 31. Alexis Verhaeghe (FRA, KTM), 0 p.; 32. Enzo Toriani (FRA, HUS), 0 p.; 33. Morgan Lesiardo (ITA, KTM), 0 p.; 34. Jorge Zaragoza (ESP, YAM), 0 p.; 35. Low Vaessen (NED, HON),
MX2 Championship after 2 rounds
1. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM); 100. Thomas Kjer Olsen (THE, HOUSE), 2 p.; 82. Hunter Lawrence (AUS, HON), 3 p.; 67. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 4 p.; 63. Ben Watson (GBR, YAM), 5 p.; 61. Conrad Mewse (GBR, KTM), 6 p.; 51. Geerts Trade (BEL, YAM), 7 p.; 46. Thomas Covington (USA, HUS), 8 p.; 44. Jed Beaton (AUS, COW), 9 p.; 44. Vsevolod Brylyakov (RUS, YAM), 10 p.; 42. Calvin Vlaanderen (RSA, HON), 11 p.; 35. Davy Pootjes (NED, KTM), 12 p.; 33. Darian Sanayei (USA, KAW), 13 p.; 31. Henry Jacobi (GER, HUS), 14 p.; 29. Iker Larranaga Olano (ESP, HUS), 15 p.; 29. Adam Sterry (GBR, CAW), 16 p.; 26. Low Vaessen (NED, HON), 17 p.; 15. Michele Cervellin (ITA, HON), 18 p.; 13. Alvin Östlund (SWE, YAM), 19 p.; 12. Maxim Renault (FRA, YAM), 20 p.; 12. Stephen Rubini (FRA, KTM), 21 p.; 12. Brent Van Doninck (BEL, HUS), 22 p.; 11. Samuel Bernardini (ITA, TM), 23 p.; 11. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, CAW), 24 p.; 25. Marshal Weltin (USA, Jumbo No Fear Vamo Honda), 3 p.; 26. Sander Agard-Michelsen (NOR, YAM), 1 p.; 27. Morgan Lesiardo (ITA, KTM), 1 p
Photos: Father Swijgers
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