De Wolf wins the dress rehearsal again
A week before the first Grand Prix of the season, MAC Lierop organized the Dutch MX Opener. The second edition was also won convincingly by Kay de Wolf, the Husqvarna rider managed to win both heats by a wide margin. Under a very good public interest, Cas Valk managed to finish second ahead of Hakon Fredriksen, who is back after a lot of injuries. The weather conditions were perfect and the circuit was in perfect condition thanks to the hard work of the many volunteers. Without a doubt, founder Wim Smits would have looked on with great satisfaction at 'Circuit De Herselse Bossen' from his cloud high in the sky.
1st heat:
No fewer than 67 riders had registered for this class at the 'Welcome Office', which meant training and qualifying had to take place in two groups. Sacha Coenen was the fastest in the first group, his time was better than De Wolf's time in the second group. The Belgian was allowed to start from pole position and he did an excellent job. The KTM rider takes the best start ahead of De Wolf, Sander Agard-Michelsen and Lucas Coenen. Behind Maximillian Werner, Valk flew over the large table mountain in sixth place. De Wolf quickly takes the lead and not much later teammate Lucas Coenen also passes the brother. The 16-year-old Belgian from Kay Hennekens' team tries to follow the leader, but it doesn't go smoothly. After a big crash he has to make a pit stop. Sacha is also introduced to the heavy Lierop sand. De Wolf already has a good distance and he wins with a 28 second lead over Valk. Third place is Fredriksen who did not have the best start but managed to fight back very well. Nico Greutmann, this season in the colors of Cat Moto-Bauerschmidt-Husqvarna, briefly held third place, but the Swiss had to bow to the fast Norwegian in the final phase. Nicolai Skovbjerg completes the top five, a great achievement in his first 250F race. With Hakon Osterhagen (6th) and Agard-Michelsen (7th) we see three Norwegians in the top seven! Lucas Coenen crosses the finish line in eighth place ahead of Frenchman Quintin Marc Prugnieres and Bradley Mesters, who is in German service this year.
2st heat:
Once again it goes shoulder to shoulder during the sprint to the first corner. De Wolf takes the lead ahead of Sasha Coenen, Agard-Michelsen, Mesters, Lucas Coenen and Sem de Lange. In the woods, Lucas Coenen comes into second place and he seems to be making the jump to teammate De Wolf. However, that does not work and Lucas Coenen has to settle for second place ahead of Sacha Coenen. Valk took fourth place from Mesters in the second round, but that is where the advance of the rider from Nijverdal stops. Later in the race, Mesters sees Fredriksen pass, putting the WZ Racing driver third in the daily rankings. Mesters, who went from injury to injury last year, managed to achieve a nice sixth place. Skovbjerg is now seventh ahead of Prugnieres, Greutmann and Brabander Jens Walvoort completes the top ten.
Next week the KNMV Dutch Nationals start at the Oss circuit.
Results Dutch MX Opener 250cc; Lierop, NL:
1e some
1. Kay de Wolf NL Husqvarna
2. Cas Valk NL KTM
3. Hakon Fredriksen Nor KTM
4. Nico Greutmann CH Husqvarna
5. Nicolai Skovbjerg DK Yamaha
6. Hakon Osterhagen Nor Honda
7. Sander Agard-Michelsen Nor Yamaha
8. Lucas Coenen B Husqvarna
9. Quintin Marc Prugnieres F Kawasaki
10. Bradley Masters NL KTM
2e some
1. Kay de Wolf NL Husqvarna
2. Lucas Coenen B Husqvarna
3. Sacha Coenen B KTM
4. Cas Valk NL KTM
5. Hakon Fredriksen Nor KTM
6. Bradley Masters NL KTM
7. Nicolai Skovbjerg DK Yamaha
8. Quintin Marc Prugnieres F Kawasaki
9. Nico Greutmann CH Husqvarna
10. Jens Walvoort NL KTM
Daily ranking 250cc:
1. Kay de Wolf NL Husqvarna 1-1
2. Cas Valk NL KTM 2-4
3. Hakon Fredriksen Nor KTM 3-5
4. Lucas Coenen B Husqvarna 8-2
5. Nicolai Skovbjerg DK Yamaha 5-7
All results are HERE to find.
By: Steven van Kempen/KEMCO
Gallery: #NiekFotografie
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