Whether the track was dry, wet or mixed this weekend in Sosnova, the result has always been the same for Thierry Van Den Bosch, the reigning champion: he leads the pack! Only second of the first two GP’s and second in the standings behind Gerald Delepine, VDB was unbeatable on the Czech asphalt and got the pole position, the superpole, the lap record and won both heats. A perfect weekend for him who got the lead in the first heat after ten laps and then dominates the second moto. He scored fifty points and got the red plate, as former World Championship leader Gerald Delepine didn’t finished the second heat. Second in the opening race, the Belgium rider was later in fourth position when his bike stopped in the off-road section! Twice third despite poor starts (he was respectively eighth and eleventh at the beginning of each race) his team-mate Ivan Lazzarini finished second overall, and recovered after his difficult weekend in Namur. He is now fourth in the standings behind German Bernd Hiemer who had some troubles in the first heat on the slippery track but then got a strong second place. Fourth and fifth, British Chris Iddon got his beats result this season aboard the factory Husaberg, and even leads the first heat during one lap.
With three different winners in three GP’s, the S2 class confirmed to be this year again really opened. After Belgians Eddy Seel (Castelletto) and Thierry Godfroid (Namur), Massimo Beltrami wins the Czech round on his Honda. Third in qualifications, third and second in the races, the Italian rider beats Frenchmen Boris Chambon and Jerome Giraudo and offered to his team Daverio Formula a first GP win. Seel dominates the first heat, while a group of four riders (Beltrami, Stephane Blot, Giraudo and Adrien Chareyre) battled for the second spot and finished in the same second! In pole position on Saturday Boris Chambon had a perfect start in the second heat and led the entire race; it was the first-ever heat win for the 450 KTM, and after two difficult GP’s “Lupo” smiles again. Once more a small group (Beltrami, Verderosa, Giraudo and Chareyre) battled for the second position, while Seel came back from twenty-sixth position to seventeenth after a crash in the second lap. It was not a good weekend for Husqvarna as Davide Gozzini struggled on this track and finished seventh and eighth, while the Aprilia riders got twice top six results; third overall, Jerome Giraudo got his first podium of the season.
All teams and riders will now have four weeks to prepare the GP of Austria, who will take place in Melk (all informations on www.oeamtc.at/motorsport)
Massimo Beltrami: “ I am very happy with this victory, both for me and Daverio Formula, my team that supply me with a perfect Honda. Today was very hard, because track conditions change very fast from a very slippery tarmac to an almost perfect grip.It is a dream to win this Grand Prix, as last year I had a very bad accident here in Sosnova”
Thierry Van den Bosch: “ Of course I am very happy of my perfect week-end. I’m now leading the Championship too, and I want to thanks my team, KTM and Michelin for their support”
Information and results on www.supermotoS1.com, the official website of the Supermoto World Championships.