VLM Hasselt: Martens confirms, Bielen surprised!
It was sweat and toil in Hasselt, but the organizing MC Santi, as usual, presented the riders with a well-organized circuit! Yentel Martens again achieved the double at the Inters 500. Guest rider Glenn Bielen (1-2) kept Greg Smets and Brent Aerden behind him.
No Mike Vanderstraeten, nor Steve Seronval at the Runksterkiezel. Audience favorite Ken De Dycker was at the roll call.
As was often the case this season, however, there was nothing wrong with Rockstar Energy Husqvarna rider Yentel Martens! In the morning the “Y-Mart” took pole and then recorded a convincing start-finish victory ahead of Jens Van Meer. The first heat did not go according to plan for both De Dycker and Salaets. Keeno finished the race after his fall and would arrive ninth. Ex-VLM Champion Kenny Janssens became 'best of the rest' after Martens and Van Meer.
The same Van Meer had a taste of the lead in the second heat, but then Martens put things in order. Van Meer came in second again, but Janssens also confirmed his good form. With son Milan in his arm, Kenny was able to take a seat on the final podium next to Martens and Van Meer. A regular Steven De Beuckelaer, twice fourth, claimed a logical fourth place in the daily rankings. De Dycker did not start again in the second series. Salaets, who had hurt his thumb in the opener when landing after a jump, would also not finish the match.
After his second place last week, Dieter Vromans continued his momentum. The Racing Center KTM pilot set a great time during the timed training in which he was no less than 2,1 seconds faster than Glenn Bielen.
Bielen, in excellent form during IMBA confrontations, beat back starter Brent Aerden in the opening series. However, the Stroeckxvrienden rider did not give up easily! Brent came on strong in the final phase, but Bielen narrowly retained the advantage. After a dramatic first heat in which his starting gate first refused and he then fell again when he returned to P4, Vromans had to settle for 11th place.
But life is not a pony camp, Dieter also knows. The pupil from David Cools MX School sat down and recorded a nice second series. Just like in the first heat, Vromans recorded the fastest lap in the race, and this time he remained clear. A start-finish victory was the reward. Starting around fifth place, Bielen took second place, which was good for the overall victory!
Brent Aerden just took the final podium from Vromans, although Aerden had to work hard for it. After all, he crashed in the first lap and almost had to start from last place. A consistent Greg Smets had two third places for P2 at the final settlement!
Kudos to MC Santi to the employees for a beautiful cross day!
Inters 500cc Race 1
1. Yentel Martens, 2. Jens Van Meer, 3. Kenny Janssens, 4. Steven De Beuckelaer, 5. Bram Valckx, 6. Bryan Engelen, 7. Karel Schepmans, 8. Kenzo Buys, 9. Ken De Dycker 10. Rob King's
Inters 500cc Race 2
1. Yentel Martens, 2. Jens Van Meer, 3. Kenny Janssens, 4. Steven De Beuckelaer, 5. Bryan Engelen, 6. Karel Schepmans, 7. Kenzo Buys, 8. Menno Aussems, 9. Jelle Smeeters, 10. Sven Wouters
Final score Inters 500cc
1. Yentel Martens 50, 2. Jens Van Meer 44, 3. Kenny Janssens 40, 4. Steven De Beuckelaer 36, 5. Bryan Engelen 31, 6. Karel Schepmans 29, 7. Kenzo Buys 27, 8. Menno Aussems 21, 9. Sven Wouters 21, 10. Rob Konings 20
Inters 250cc Race 1
1. Glenn Bielen, 2. Brent Aerden, 3. Greg Smets, 4. Nick Leerkes, 5. Bram Schoepen, 6. Kristof Scheynen, 7. Kevin Schellens, 8. Jimmy Vandeputte, 9. Arno Van Mieghem, 10. Bart Janssens
Inters 250cc Race 2
1. Dieter Vromans, 2. Glenn Bielen, 3. Greg Smets, 4. Enzo Aerden, 5. Jordi Van Mieghem, 6. Kevin Schellens, 7. Brent Aerden, 8. Nick Leerkes, 9. Bram Schoepen, 10. Kristof Scheynen ,
Final score Inters 250cc
1. Glenn Bielen 47, 2. Greg Smets 40, 3. Brent Aerden 36, 4. Dieter Vromans 35, 5. Nick Leerkes 31, 6. Kevin Schellens 29, 7. Bram Schoepen 28, 8. Kristof Scheynen 26, 9. Jordi Van Mieghem 23, 10. Arno Van Mieghem 22
Photos: Dieter Jans
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