Sand, sand and more sand. After Zolder and Valkenswaard it will be the third time this season that the GP stars will have raced on this tough and special terrain. As there are no top Dutch riders at the moment in the MX1 class, this GP could be another all-Belgium affair as with most of the recent Dutch-based rounds. With nine wins from the last ten 500-650cc GPs, Joël Smets is the most successful rider in the Netherlands, and after strong performances last weekend in France and Belgium the ‘Flemish Lion’ is hoping for his second podium of the season after Valkenswaard. Joël will have to beat his fellow countrymen Cedric Melotte, Stefan Everts and Steve Ramon who earned heat wins in Zolder and Valkenswaard. Melotte once more impressed and defeated his rivals last weekend in Kester, as he dominated the Belgian series and took the overall win, followed by Everts and Ramon. The unfortunate Kevin Strijbos, who hasn’t collected the results his shown speed deserves due to some technical problems, is the fifth member of the Belgium squad, and it seems that only two riders are able to stop this domination: Honda men Joshua Coppins and Brian Jorgensen. With a good experience of sand riding, Josh (who has been based in Belgium for some time) and Brian (first double winner of the season two weeks ago in Teutschenthal) both have the pace to reach the podium here. Mickaël Pichon will not be fit enough to repeat his previous wins in the sand. Always suffering from shoulder troubles after his big crash in Germany, the French rider didn’t race last week and couldn’t practice as usual and is unfortunately not at his best level. Worse is the case of Kenneth Gundersen, injured during a crash in the second German heat; the Norwegian had surgery to his knee and will be back in action for the following GP (England on May 29th-30th).
Unfortunately Marc De Reuver, the top Dutch rider will miss his national MX2 Grand Prix after his injury at the start of the second race in Teutschenthal. The crash was not heavy, but the KTM rider suffered neck and back complications after this incident and had an operation earlier this week. As his countryman Eric Eggens is also out of action (Eric has an injured back and has just started again to practice), Ben Townley will be the leader of the Austrian set-up. Losing the red plate (championship leader) after his crash in the second German race, Ben dominated the Dutch championship in Oss and regained some confidence. Living in Belgium and racing the Dutch series for a couple of years, Townley will be the favourite in this class but after his first ever GP win in Germany, the new championship leader Britain’s Stephen Sword could again be strong. Other likely contenders in the sand will be Tyla Rattray and Andrew McFarlane, while Michaël Maschio, Jamie Dobb, Antonio Cairoli or Alessio Chiodi will try to secure good points before their home GPs (Britain, France and Italy, the following rounds of the series). Italian Andrea Bartolini, recovering from his crash during the first German race is sitting out this weekend’s action and will return at the Isle of Wight.
The action will start Saturday at 10am with the first free practice session, and qualifying will take place from 3 to 6pm. Sunday the MX2 races are scheduled at 12.05 and 15.05, and the MX1 at 13.05 and 16.05.
For more info and results check the official web site of the FIM Motocross World Championships: www.motocrossMX1.com
Passed winners in Lichtenvoorde:
Tortelli (GP 125-96), Liles (GP 500-92), Geboers (GP 500-86), Van Doorn (GP 250-85), Malherbe (GP 500-81), Carlqvist (GP 250-79), Ovchinikov (GP 250-76), Wolsink (GP 500-75), King (GP 500-70), Tibblin (GB 500-66 and 62)
