MAXXIS Europees Kampioenschap SuperMotard 2002
3 augustus: Alpe D'Huez - The Real Kings Of The Mountain
Factory riders Thierry Van Den Bosch (KTM) and Massimo Manzo (HVA) claimed
a race victory apiece at the action packed AMV Trophy meeting in Alpe
D'Huez, the fourth round of the 2002 Maxxis European Supermotard Championship.
With free entry for spectators, the scene was set for a very memorable
weekend. Even dramatic thunderstorms on Saturday night, which shook the
high Alpine resort to its foundations, couldn't compete with the furious
on-track action witnessed on race-day.
Van Den Bosch, Manzo, Eddy Seel (HVA), Boris Chambon (HVA), Stéphane
Blot (HVA) and Klaus Kinigardner (KTM) all set great times during the
qualifying sessions and the competition for Polini Superpole lived up
to its usual very high standard. Following his double win here last year
and making the most of the home crowd support, VDB set a fantastic lap
time of 1:09:795 but was beaten into second place on the grid by just
one tenth of a second. Eddy Seel claimed his second Polini Superpole in
a row and the crowd waited in anticipation for the racing to commence.
The lights changed to green at the start of race one and VDB left the
grid like a bullet from a gun to claim the lead into the first corner.
Several riders touched and reigning champion Seel was the biggest loser,
running wide and dropping several places in the process. Seel's loss was
everybody else's gain and Kinigardner, Jürgen Kunzel (KTM) and Chambon
immediately took up the fight behind. Seel proved once again that he doesn't
give up easy and harried the riders in front of him on every single lap.
His persistence paid off and he inched his way back up the leader board
to record a brilliant second place behind VDB at the flag. Kunzel was
third with Chambon and Manzo following closely behind in fourth and fifth
places.
Race 2 and this time Manzo made the lightning start squeezing through
on the grass at the first corner. The resulting chaos behind him saw VDB
and Seel both drop dramatically down to mid-field positions and Manzo
himself drop to third place as Kunzel and Kinigardner stole the lead.
Two laps later and Manzo attacked, claiming the lead and focusing on winning.
VDB meantime was recovering from his poor start and scything through the
pack picking off a rider on every lap with the crowd baying for victory.
Staging a superb recovery, VDB was up to second with Manzo in his sights,
but the tough Italian withstood immense pressure from VDB and held his
nerve to the chequered flag, claiming a historic, first ever European
Supermotard Championship victory for an Italian rider. Kunzel recorded
his second podium of the day and team-mate Kinigardner made up for his
mechanical problems in race one to record a fine fourth place just ahead
of the stylish Gérald Delepine (Vertemati) in fifth.
Once again, the Maxxis European Supermotard Championship delivered its
promise of fantastic and accessible racing with several new exciting developments
at each round. The AMV Trophy at Alpe D'Huez saw an oversubscribed entry
with riders from sixteen different countries as far away as Greece and
Slovenia. Can it get any better than this? Come to the Sosnova Autodrome
in the Czech Republic on the 7th and 8th of September to find out for
yourself……………
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