Column: Geert Gelaude March 2019
The winter break is now completely behind us, and the spring competitions have made way for the first grand prix of the new season. Once again the riders have a long and grueling series of races under their wheels, during which many things can happen. We were able to keep it dry for a long time, but the sky gates have not remained closed much in the last few weeks. And many riders experienced this because training in the Low Countries is virtually impossible, so we have to move to other places, which is what many have done. Almost all Grand Prix riders were in Sardinia where, in addition to the increasingly highly regarded Italian championship, they could also prepare with better weather conditions. Although it was not always dry there, the same in Spain where we saw numerous images of it being quite wet and muddy on some tracks. The first cancellations of competitions have already been confirmed. The ONK that had planned its starting shot in Emmen literally falls into the water.
No winter period without a list of injured riders. But this year the list is not particularly long, but one name stands out and that is the unfortunate MXGP world champion Jeffrey Herlings who injured his foot on the Red Sand track and has already undergone surgery in Herentals, Belgium. Spring is gone for The Bullit, and it remains to be seen if he can be ready for the GP in Valkenswaard. Let alone write off Herlings completely! Or will he be given a safe conduct to the USA to take care of the outdoor season there? It is not because The Bullit could not take action during that first race of the year that it is already clear who will succeed him. I personally think that it can be a very open championship, with many strong riders, judging by the spring competitions, you notice that many have had a good winter period.
Who was not present for the first Grand Prix is brand new JWR Yamaha rider Kevin Strijbos who was preparing on American soil when his arm started to act up again. Romain Febvre also seems to have had a good winter and was perhaps the best positioned rider to give Cairoli the necessary fire. But a crash in the second series decided otherwise. The Monster Energy Yamaha Factory rider suffered a double ankle fracture and has already undergone surgery on his foot. Febvre awaits a rehabilitation of at least six weeks and will most likely try to start in Mantova. Also bad news from the Sarholz KTM camp where Max Nagl is also out for at least six weeks with a knee injury, he will also undergo surgery on the inner cruciate ligament. Even more injuries occurred in the BOS GP team, where Evegeny Bobryshev traveled to Patagonia despite the pain, but had to realize on Saturday that his wrist hurt too much to actually complete a qualifying session. It is almost certain that we should not expect Bobby behind the starting gate in Axel.
Those who seem ready for the opening round in Argentina are Cairoli, who usually performs strongly in his own country and has already added another Italian title to his list of achievements. 'The little general' had to deal with mechanical trouble during qualifying in Neuquen, but turned this into a double series victory on Sunday. In other words, Cairoli has been on schedule from the first strength meeting. As expected, the biggest resistance came from HRC leader Tim Gasjer. Gasjer seems reborn after his serious injury last year and danced with the necessary flexibility over the beautiful track. Yet he also made mistakes again and that too often cost him the regularity to really compete for victories. So we have to wait and see how Desalle, Paulin and co will play out the loss of Febvre. Who managed to outdo friend and foe alike was none other than Jeremy Van Horebeek, with a super performance he managed to climb onto the podium. The Jerre showed everyone that he has not been written off at all and will laugh knowing that there was no room left at Yamaha for this season. Other teams will also be thinking! Jeremy managed to put the 450 made available by Honda France to good use in a short time. I really hope that 'The Jerre' can continue this trend and we see a reborn Van Horebeek at the start this year.
We are looking forward to the first confrontation with the sidecars where the ONK is on the calendar this weekend. When writing the column, they in Lierop are still confident that the race will be able to be run without any problems. They know the tricks of the trade all too well with their years of experience. By Sunday evening we will already have an idea of who still has work to do and which sidecar duos are on schedule. Current world champion Marvin Vanluchene comes to the sand circuit in Lierop without too many expectations. The reason for this is the long training period on hard tracks in Spain and France, so there was not much driving in the sand last winter. But we all know that the first real race of the year provides the necessary adrenaline and it would not surprise me that Vanluchene - Van den Boogaert will be closed. But Bax – Stuplis and Hermans – Musset also remain loyal to each other and hunt for titles. The good news is that there is more attention for sidecars again and that can only benefit the sport. We are also looking forward to Ijen Kops, who will make the step to the world championship this year with a new co-driver at his side. Ijen has found the perfect passenger in Pim Lambrechts to assert himself next season. The name Kops rings a bell for many and if we know that father Gerton (ex Grand Prix rider) considered the Herselse woods one of his favorite courses, we can expect fireworks from this new combination.
By: Geert Gelaude
Photo: Loic Lassence
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