MAXXIS Europees Kampioenschap SuperMotard 2002

9 juni: Magnificent Mettet - Supermotard Is The Real Winner

Supermotard racing lived up to its reputation as a premier league spectator event with some fantastic, close racing at Mettet during the Polini Belgian Grand Prix - The third round of this year's 2002 Maxxis European Supermotard Championship. In a weekend packed with entertainment and drama, the enthusiastic crowd certainly got their money's worth. Current championship leader Thierry Van Den Bosch (KTM) and reigning champion Eddy Seel (HVA) claimed 1 win each during the meeting but behind these two, the action was just as thrilling.

To start his day off in the best possible way and much to the delight of the partisan local crowd, Seel topped the timesheets during the morning's qualifying session and then just edged out VDB in Polini Superpole to claim the all important number 1 grid position.

The start of race 1 was a breathtaking affair - literally. After the long run down to the first corner, Boris Chambon (HVA) hit the front from 3rd on the grid and the pack somehow scrabbled round behind him with no collisions. VDB found himself in an unusual 2nd place, which later slipped to 3rd when he encountered gearbox problems in the latter part of the race. Seel recovered from 4th on lap 1 to steal the lead from Chambon in the closing stages and finish just ½ a second ahead at the flag. Chambon's team-mate William Rubio (HVA) was 4th, Jurgen Künzel (KTM) 5th and the championship regulars filled all the other points positions.

In race 2, VDB made one of the worst starts of his career to exit the 1st corner in 8th. Just 3 laps later, it was obvious that he was determined to forget the mechanical problems he suffered in race 1 and he was 3rd, battling hard with Chambon who claimed 2nd after another brilliant start. 1 more lap and Seel was the only thing preventing VDB from another win. In a dramatic move that will surely be re-played in slow motion on many video recorders throughout Europe, VDB passed Seel as both men slid into the 1st corner. It was a truly inspirational piece of riding for which even the disappointed Belgian crowd showed their appreciation. VDB then proceeded to stamp his authority on the race whilst behind him, Seel fended off a hard charging Chambon and claimed the most points from the meeting, elevating himself to 3rd place in the championship in the process. Rubio claimed another 4th after a race long battle with practice star Klaus Kinigardner (KTM) who finished just behind him in 5th. Another Belgian; Gérald Delepine (Vertemati), finished 7th to claim the honour of being the only rider in the championship standings to score points in every race this year.

After such a breath taking weekend's action, the riders now have a summer break to recover and the fight for the title re-commences at the picturesque venue of Alpe d'Huez in France on 3rd/4th August. With racing this close, you can't afford to miss it!

De uitslagen

Polini Superpole
1 Eddy Seel - Husqvarna
2 Thierry Van Den Bosch - KTM
3 Boris Chambon - Husqvarna
4 Jurgen Künzel - KTM

Race 1
1 Eddy Seel - Husqvarna
2 Boris Chambon - Husqvarna
3 Thierry Van Den Bosch - KTM
4 William Rubio - Husqvarna
5 Jurgen Künzel - KTM
6 Klaus Kinigardner - KTM
7 Gérald Delepine - Vertemati
8 Massimo Manzo - Husqvarna
9 Dominique Poulain - KTM
10 Eric Delannoy - Husqvarna
11 Harald Ott - KTM
12 Achim Trinkner - Husqvarna
13 Michael Paul - Husqvarna
14 Ivan Lazzarini - Yamaha
15 Jean-Marc Gaillard - Honda

Fastest Lap
Eddy Seel - 1.12.233 - 76.602 Km/h

Race 2
1 Thierry Van Den Bosch - KTM
2 Eddy Seel - Husqvarna
3 Boris Chambon - Husqvarna
4 William Rubio - Husqvarna
5 Klaus Kinigardner - KTM
6 Massimo Manzo - Husqvarna
7 Gérald Delepine - Vertemati
8 Harald Ott - KTM
9 Ivan Lazzarini - Yamaha
10 Michael Paul - Husqvarna
11 Daniel Muller - Yamaha
12 Sebastien Le Grelle - Husaberg
13 Marc Nemeth - KTM
14 Enzo Ermondi - Yamaha
15 Fabien Rossi - Yamaha

Fastest Lap
Thierry Van Den Bosch - 1.11.461 - 77.430 Km/h

Maxxis EK Supermotard
Stand na ronde 3 - Mettet

1 Thierry Van Den Bosch - KTM - 116
2 Boris Chambon - Husqvarna - 94
3 Eddy Seel - Husqvarna - 88
4 Klaus Kinigardner - KTM - 66
5 Gérald Delapine - Vertemati - 59
6 Eric Delannoy - Husqvarna - 56
7 Massimo Manzo - Husqvarna - 54
8 William Rubio - Husqvarna - 43
9 Ivan Lazzarini - Yamaha - 30
10 Frédéric Fiorentino - KTM - 29
11 Jurgen Kunzel - KTM - 27
12 Achim Trinkner - Husqvarna - 27
13 Harold Ott - KTM - 19
14 Christophe Bertrand - Husaberg - 17
15 Emanuele Giovanelli - Yamaha - 14
16 Thierry Godfroid - Kawasaki - 14
17 Michael Paul - Husqvarna - 14
18 Francois Vavasseur - Yamaha - 10
19 Alexendre Thiebault - Husqvarna - 7
20 Dominique Poulain - KTM - 7
21 Bernd Hiemer - Husqvarna - 7
22 Adrien Chareyre - Husqvarna - 7
23 Stephane Blot - Husqvarna - 5
24 Massimo Beltrami - Honda - 5
25 Daniel Muller - Yamaha - 5
26 Sebastien Le Grelle - Husaberg - 4
27 Elric Lambert - Husqvarna - 4
28 Marc Nemeth - KTM - 4
29 Enzo Ermondi - Yamaha - 2
30 Petr Vorlicek - KTM - 2
31 Stephane Duchene - KTM - 1
32 Jean-Marc Gaillard - Honda - 1
33 Fabien Rossi - Yamaha - 1
34 Rudy Versteeg - KTM - 1