MAXXIS Europees Kampioenschap SuperMotard 2002

2 juni : Van Den Bosch overwinnaar in Venray

NB: hieronder volgt het Engelstalige persbericht; deze wordt binnen enkele dagen vervangen door de Nederlandse vertaling.

Thierry Van Den Bosch (KTM - 3) enjoyed a Double-Dutch delight, winning both races and setting both fastest laps during the second round of the 2002 Maxxis European Supermotard Championship at the Circuit De Peel in Venray. This superb performance was delivered to a large adoring crowd in brilliant sunshine and followed hot on the heels of a perfect qualifying session, in which he set the fastest time and won Polini Superpole.

Behind VDB's virtuoso performance, the action was fast and furious. In race 1, VDB produced another electric start to lead into the first corner. Reigning European Champion Eddy Seel (HVA - 1) was challenging for the lead ½ a lap later, but crashed on landing after one of Venray's notorious jumps and retired. Gérald Delepine (Vertemati - 7) muscled his way into 2nd place and pulled out a small gap from the chasing pack that included Eric Delannoy (HVA - 8), Frédéric Fiorentino (KTM - 14), Boris Chambon (HVA - 2), Massimo Manzo (HVA - 19) and VDB's team-mate Klaus Kinigardner (KTM - 6). These 5 riders swapped places all throughout the race with Manzo passing his team-mate Chambon on the last lap to steal the final podium position.

In race 2, VDB just beat fast starting Fiorentino to the first corner but in fending off the challenge, VDB unwittingly started a chain reaction that caused a pile up mid-corner. Delepine was the biggest loser together with Mettet veteran Thierry Godfroid (Kawasaki - 28), but they both re-mounted and battled back to finish in 5th and 6th place respectively. A truly outstanding feat of strength and skill demonstrated by both riders. Meanwhile at the front, VDB pulled away from his pursuers and Fiorentino's brief taste of fame disappeared, as he was overhauled first by Seel and then by a hard charging Jurgen Kunzel (KTM - 4). Later in the race, Fiorentino fought back and re-took 3rd place, which he kept to the finish as Kunzel retired shortly after with a puncture. Delannoy finished an impressive 4th place which following his strong outing in Fougéres, promoted him to 3rd place in the championship table.

The next round of the Maxxis European Supermotard Championship is at the fast and famous street circuit at Mettet in Belgium on June 8th & 9th. Eddy Seel wants to win his home event and stop VDB's title challenge dead in its tracks. Can he do it?

De uitslagen

Polini Superpole
1 Thierry Van Den Bosch - KTM
2 Eddy Seel - Husqvarna
3 Eric Delannoy - Husqvarna
4 Frédéric Fiorentino - KTM

Race 1
1 Thierry Van Den Bosch - KTM
2 Gérald Delepine - Vertemati
3 Massimo Manzo - Husqvarna
4 Boris Chambon - Husqvarna
5 Frédéric Fiorentino - KTM
6 Eric Delannoy - Husqvarna
7 Klaus Kinigardner - KTM
8 Jurgen Kunzel - KTM
9 William Rubio - Husqvarna
10 Christophe Bertrand - Husaberg
11 Emanuele Giovanelli - Husqvarna
12 Thierry Godfroid - Kawasaki
13 Achim Trinkner - Husqvarna
14 Michael Paul - Husqvarna
15 Rudy Versteeg - KTM

Fastest Lap
Thierry Van Den Bosch - 1.14.701 - 67.468 Km/h

Race 2
1 Thierry Van Den Bosch - KTM
2 Eddy Seel - Husqvarna
3 Frédéric Fiorentino - KTM
4 Eric Delannoy - Husqvarna
5 Gérald Delepine - Vertemati
6 Thierry Godfroid - Kawasaki
7 Emanuele Giovanelli - Yamaha
8 Christophe Bertrand - Husaberg
9 Bernd Hiemer - Husqvarna
10 Achim Trinkner - Husqvarna
11 Massimo Beltrami - Honda
12 Harald Ott - KTM
13 Michael Paul - Husqvarna
14 Petr Vorlicek - KTM
15 Marc Nemeth - KTM

Fastest Lap
Thierry Van Den Bosch - 1.14.410 - 67.732 Km/h

Maxxis EK Supermotard
Stand na ronde 2 - Venray

1 Thierry Van Den Bosch - KTM - 75
2 Boris Chambon - Husqvarna - 58
3 Eric Delannoy - Husqvarna - 50
4 Klaus Kinigardner - KTM - 45
5 Eddy Seel - Husqvarna - 43
6 Gérald Delapine - Vertemati - 41
7 Massimo Manzo - Husqvarna - 36
8 Frédéric Fiorentino - KTM - 29
9 Achim Trinkner - Husqvarna - 23
10 Ivan Lazzarini - Yamaha - 21
11 William Rubio - Husqvarna 17
12 Christophe Bertrand - Husaberg - 17
13 Jurgen Kunzel - KTM - 16
14 Thierry Godfroid - Kawasaki - 14
15 Emanuele Giovanelli - Yamaha - 14
16 Francois Vavasseur - Yamaha - 10
/17 Adrien Chareyre - Husqvarna - 7
/17 Bernd Hiemer - Husqvarna - 7
19 Alexendre Thiebault - Husqvarna - 7
20 Harold Ott - KTM - 6
/21 Stephane Blot - Husqvarna - 5
/21 Massimo Beltrami - Honda - 5
23 Michael Paul - Husqvarna - 5
24 Eric Lambert - Husqvarna - 4
25 Petr Vorlicek - KTM - 2
/26 Rudy Versteeg - KTM - 1
/26 Marc Nemeth - KTM - 1
/26 Stephane Duchene - KTM - 1

Meer EK- foto's en foto's van de KNMV-cup
staan op de KNMV-cup-pagina.