MAXXIS Europees Kampioenschap SuperMotard 2002

27 oktober: Serres – The Greatest Show On Earth

Thierry Van Den Bosch (KTM) once again proved that he is worthy of the #1 plate, winning one race and obeying team orders, to surrender first place in the other to his team mate Klaus Kinigardner, in the Agio Greek Grand Prix, the seventh and final round of the Maxxis European Supermotard Championship in Serres, Greece. Perfect sunny weather and clear skies were a welcome change for the teams who left the wind and rain at home in Northern Europe and the capacity Greek crowd let everybody know that they appreciated every moment of the fantastic show presented by the riders.

Privateer Frédéric Fiorentino (KTM) was on the crest of a wave after his recent Superbiker win at Mettet and in the Polini Superpole shootout, he reproduced his practice form splitting the factory KTM riders at the front of the grid. If Fiorentino’s second place was impressive, Van Den Bosch’s Polini Superpole win was simply brilliant. His outlap (from a standing start!) was faster than most riders managed in qualifying and his winning time of 1:32.172 was the fastest lap of the weekend. The Greek crowd responded wildly to this brilliant display of talent and cheered until they were hoarse for local favourite and Greek National Champion John Boustas (Honda), who qualified a very impressive 8th place on his 450cc-engined bike.

Race 1 and this time, VDB had to battle hard for the race win. He led from the start, but an error on the off road section cost him dearly and he slipped to third after 2 laps. Kinigardner inherited the lead, but was unable to capitalize as he suffered mechanical problems and finished well down the running order. Künzel took up the battle with his team mate, but just couldn’t match his pace and settled for second place at the flag. Third was Fiorentino, who recovered from a poor start and entertained the crowd in a race-long duel with Delapine, eventually claiming the last podium place on the very last lap. Danny Muller made the long trip from Switzerland worthwhile with a great fifth just ahead of local hero John Boustas who finished an outstanding 6th in only his second ever championship race. The scene was set for the final race of this season and the crowd made the most of the popular autograph session in between races to take home a souvenir of the exciting weekend.

Race 2 and this time VDB made no mistakes. He left the grid like an Apollo rocket and simply never looked back. In fact, all 3 factory KTM’s were simply uncatchable on the long straights of Serres and they headed off into the distance and won as they pleased. As a concession to his time with KTM, VDB stopped short of the finishing line and entertained the crowd with a burn-out, leaving team mate Kinigardner to record the win. A very happy VDB threw his gloves and boots into the crowd whilst Kunzel claimed third place. Danny Muller was a thoroughly deserved fourth, Fiorentino was fifth using his spare bike and Ioannis Boustas recorded another fantastic sixth in front of his home fans.

The final race weekend of the championship was a true celebration of Supermotard. This pure adrenaline sport combines superb racing, technical expertise, off road ability, straight line speed and above all, showmanship. If you missed this year’s races, make sure that you join us throughout Europe next year, for the 2003 Maxxis European Supermotard Championship.

De uitslagen

Polini Superpole
1 Thierry Van Den Bosch KTM
2 Frédéric Fiorentino KTM
3 Jurgen Künzel KTM
4 Klaus Kinigardner KTM

Polini Superpole Lap Time
Van Den Bosch - 1:32.172 - 89.597 Km/h

Race 1
1 Thierry Van Den Bosch KTM
2 Jurgen Künzel KTM
3 Frédéric Fiorentino KTM
4 Gérald Delapine Vertemati
5 Daniel Muller Yamaha
6 Ioannis Boustas Honda
7 Jerome Roussaly KTM
8 Petr Vorlicek KTM
9 Klaus Kinigardner KTM
10 Michele Lavetti VOR
11 Athanasios Nakis KTM
12 Spiridon Kefalonitis Honda
13 Rolf Baumgartner Yamaha
14 Jerome Giraudo Vertemati
15 Pol Nikolaou Husaberg

Race 1 Fastest Lap
Thierry Van Den Bosch - 1:33.970 - 86.837 Km/h

Race 2
1 Klaus Kinigardner KTM
2 Thierry Van Den Bosch KTM
3 Jurgen Künzel KTM
4 Daniel Muller Yamaha
5 Frédéric Fiorentino KTM
6 Ioannis Boustas Honda
7 Jerome Giraudo Vertemati
8 Petr Vorlicek KTM
9 Dominique Poulain KTM
10 Athanasios Nakis KTM
11 Jarno Mori Yamaha
12 Michele Lavetti VOR
13 Spiridon Kefalonitis Honda
14 Rolf Baumgartner Yamaha
15 Pol Nikolaou Husaberg

Race 2 Fastest Lap
Thierry Van Den Bosch - 1:33.389 - 85.208 Km/h

1 Thierry Van Den Bosch KTM 306
2 Jurgen Kunzel KTM 155
3 Klaus Kinigardner KTM 145
4 Eddy Seel Husqvarna 143
5 Massimo Manzo Husqvarna 139
6 Boris Chambon Husqvarna 136
7 William Rubio Husqvarna 101
8 Gérald Delapine Vertemati 100
9 Eric Delannoy Husqvarna 81
10 Frédéric Fiorentino KTM 65
11 Achim Trinkner Husqvarna 57
12 Daniel Muller Yamaha 50
13 Ivan Lazzarini Yamaha 42
14 Christophe Bertrand Husaberg 38
15 Dominique Poulain KTM 35
16 Petr Vorlicek KTM 35
17 Harold Ott KTM 29
18 Jérome Giraudo Vertemati 29
19 Bernd Hiemer Husqvarna 24
20 Stephane Blot Husqvarna 22
21 Ioannis Boustas Honda 20
22 Emanuele Giovanelli Yamaha 17
23 Beat Gautschi Husqvarna 17
24 Marc Nemeth KTM 16
25 Laurent Gery Honda 15
26 Thierry Godfroid Kawasaki 14
27 Michael Paul Husqvarna 14
28 Jarno Mori Yamaha 11
29 Athanasios Nakis KTM 11
30 Francois Vavasseur Yamaha 10
31 Michele Lavetti VOR 10
32 Jerome Roussaly KTM 9
33 Adrien Chareyre Husqvarna 7
34 Alexendre Thiebault Husqvarna 7
35 Spiridon Kefalonitis Honda 7
36 Rolf Baumgartner Yamaha 6
37 Massimo Beltrami Honda 5
38 Sebastien Le Grelle Husaberg 4
39 Eric Lambert Husqvarna 4
40 Marcell Gotz KTM 4
41 Davide Gozzini Husqvarna 4
42 Enzo Ermondi Yamaha 3
43 Michael Hirschi KTM 2
44 Michele Gallina Yamaha 2
45 Pol Nikolaou Husaberg 2
46 Antonin Klatovsky Husqvarna 1
47 Fabrice Lecoanet Honda 1
48 Santi Tona Castells KTM 1
49 Fabien Rossi Yamaha 1
50 Jean-Marc Gaillard Honda 1
51 Rudy Versteeg KTM 1
52 Stephane Duchene KTM 1