VLM: Van Massenhoven provides fireworks in Lille!
It was also orange at the Breugelheide in Lille at the Inters 500! BeTeMo rider Wouter Van Massenhoven (1-3) gave his club a home victory ahead of teammate Jens Van Meer (5-2) and Cedric Grobben (2-4).
The Inters' third match for the championship was scheduled in Lille. In a field of 29 inters, Greg Smets drove to pole position in the morning ahead of Jens Van Meer, Cedric Grobben and Steven De Beuckelaer.
Championship leader Van Meer crashed in the first moto, but the number three in the standings Wouter Van Massenhoven let no grass grow under it! Wouter quickly became early leader Kenny Janssens and then finished a hell of a match. Van Massenhoven was the fastest man on the track which allowed him to pull away from the rest of the field. At the finish, Wouter had more than 30 seconds ahead of Grobben.
The strong Austrian 250 rider Michael Scratcher came third overall and won the quarter liter class. Despite a fall at the start and two crashes during the heat, Van Meer was still able to limit the damage. He arrived in 5th place in the wheel of Janssens. Veteran Sven Wouters managed to capitalize on his good start with a nice 9th place. Jelle Grade had an unlucky day. After a fall at the start, he came back strongly, but 'The Great' injured his knee in a crash after four laps. As a result, he would no longer start in the revival. The first indication was not positive, we will come back to Jelle's injury later when there is more news.
Head starter Greg Smets had the perfect opportunity to show his speed in the second heat. With a clear track, Smets was now the lone leader, he would lead from start to finish. Grobben had a long view of second place, but in the final phase the SHR Motorsports/Bagger Paul driver had to bow his head to BeTeMo duo Jens Van Meer and Wouter Van Massenhoven. Probably health issues (intestinal infection) played tricks on Cedric in the end. Despite his bad start, Van Meer still finished second! A regular Kevin Van Geldrop finished sixth for the second time.
Although Van Massenhoven did not start in optimal form after a week of illness, he still continued impressively in his typical style. On the difficult track he fought his way to third place after a bad start. Or as he put it himself: “Finally a CROSS where they don't turn it into a billiards court during the break. This is why I became a rider. #well suits" A rider after our own hearts, that Wouter Van Massenhoven!
All results here
Race 1 Inters open
1. Wouter Van Massenhoven, 2. Cedric Grobben, 3. Michael Kratzer, 4. Kenny Janssens, 5. Jens Van Meer, 6. Kevin Van Geldrop, 7. Jonathan Banken, 8. Kenzo Buys, 9. Sven Wouters, 10. Frederik Daenen
Race 2 Inters open
1. Greg Smets, 2. Jens Van Meer, 3. Wouter Van Massenhoven, 4. Cedric Grobben, 5. Michael Kratzer, 6. Kevin Van Geldrop, 7. Kenny Janssens, 8. Jonathan Banken, 9. Dieter Vromans, 10. Steven De Beuckelaer
Final score Lille inters 500
1. Wouter Van Massenhoven 45, 2. Jens Van Meer 40, 3. Cedric Grobben 40, 4. Kenny Janssens 35, 5. Kevin Van Geldrop 32, 6. Frederik Daenen 26, 7. Greg Smets 25, 8. Sven Wouters 25 , 9. Steven De Beuckelaer 24, 10. Dave Van Dun 24
Final score Lille Inters 250
1. Michael Kratzer 50, 2. Jonathan Banken 44, 3. Dieter Vromans 40, 4. Jelle Verbruggen 36, 5. Kristof Scheynen 31, 6. Rob Konings 27, 7. Bram Schoepen 27, 8. Arno Van Mieghem 26, 9 Brent Aerden 25, 10. Bart Janssens 23
Inters 500 championship standings after 3 rounds
1. Jens Van Meer 135, 2. Wouter Van Massenhoven 108, 3. Kenny Janssens 105, 4. Kevin Van Geldrop 92, 5. Cedric Grobben 87, 6. Frederik Daenen 78, 7. Steven De Beuckelaer 76, 8. Kenzo Buys 74, 9. Jelle Grade 57, 10. Sven Wouters 53
Inters 250 championship standings after 3 rounds
1. Jonathan Banken 145, 2. Jelle Verbruggen 115, 3. Dieter Vromans 114, 4. Kristof Scheynen 110, 5. Rob Konings 88, 6. Bram Schoepen 87, 7. Arno Van Mieghem 81, 8. Brent Aerden 77, 9 Kevin Schellens 59, 10. Bart Janssens 52
Photos: Dieter Jans
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