There was no-one to touch former multiple world champions Marvin Vanluchene and Ben van den Bogaart for speed in Lommel. Dominating every session they featured in, their mission had been clear from the start.
In total contrast to the previous round in Estonia, it was very hot and humid, still carrying the full force of the heatwave sweeping across Europe for the past week. Thankfully, a breeze had sprung up overnight, which might have eased the discomfort.
Warm-up was an indication of what was to come, with Marvin and Ben clocking a 1.39.8 time, well over a second faster than anyone else.
There was a large crowd for race day, expecting something special from the local heroes. They were not disappointed.
Race One –
From the gate, a terrific start by Daniel Willemsen saw him first to the turn with Marvin Vanluchene/Ben van den Bogaart sliding through underneath. Still the green shirt of Willemsen held the advantage down the back straight, but then Marvin was past and away. Into second place, from fourth into the turn, went the Lielbardis twins, with Tim Prummer/Patrick Schneider charging into third. Those three crews opened a gap on lap one from Koen Grondman/Ross Vincent and the chasing pack. Also in this bunch were Thom van de Lagemaat/Han van Hal. Grondman was to prove a hard nut to crack and maintained his speed throughout, to claim fifth place.
Killian/Evan Prunier were on the extreme right of the gate with Brett Wilkinson behind them, and they were sixth or seventh into the turn. This was going to be a tough race for them, but they needed to focus and keep the red plate in mind.
It became a three-horse race at the front, as very little split the top three for at least half-distance. Lielbardis looked like catching Marvin at one point, with Prummer/Schneider also closing in. Meanwhile, Davy Sanders/Jens Vincent were making good ground from a back row start, as were the Leferink brothers. They both caught and overhauled the Pruniers, but still the Frenchmen battled on. Also coming like a train were Julian Veldman and Rodolphe Lebreton who fought right through to within three seconds of third placed Prummer. A stunning ride by Brett Wilkinson and Joe Millard took them to seventh place from the back row.
The sand became so deep, the closing laps saw team after team stranded, but the important crews kept going and all got their just rewards. This was a track and a race not for the cautious. Knowledge and stamina were key.
Vanluchene had those in abundance and gave a masterclass of sand riding skill when it counted.
Result –
1/Marvin Vanluchene/Ben van den Bogaart, 2/Daniel/Bruno Lielbardis, 3/Tim Prummer/Patrick Schneider, 4/Julian Veldman/Rodolphe Lebreton, 5/Koen Grondman/Ross Vincent,
6/Tim Leferink/Sem Leferink, 7/Brett Wilkinson/Joe Millard, 8/Killian/Evan Prunier, 9/Stephan Wijers/Joel Hoffmann, 10/Thom van de Lagemaat/Han van Hal
Race Two –
It was a perfect start and a perfect finish for Marvin and Ben, who got the holeshot and never looked back. They pulled a sixteen second lead, chased again by Daniel and Bruno Lielbardis, who at one point looked like they could catch the leaders, but settled for a very solid runner-up spot. There were many stories in the race, not least of all the fact that Tim Prummer/Patrick Schneider, who looked like they had third place in the bag, were caught by Julian Veldman/Rodolphe Lebreton and Tim and Sem Leferink, thereby finishing in fifth at the flag. Hermans/Rietman had been second at the start, and ran strongly in the early laps, but went steadily backwards, to finish eleventh. Davy Sanders had another nightmare, battling up through in his usual style, only to capsize, taking a lifetime to recover.
Grondman/Vincent did themselves proud again, never being far off the battle at the front and making a good fist of sixth place ahead of a fighting Brett Wilkinson/Joe Millard. The British pair maintain their form at the top of the standings, with the former red plate holders Killian and Evan Prunier one place behind them in today’s second race.
The French Champions now sit twenty-five points (one race win) behind the jubilant Vanluchene/van den Bogaart, new custodians of the red plate!!
A last gasp attempt by the Leferinks to bag third from Veldman expired when their radiator boiled. It was time for tea – so they settled for fourth.
The overall podium went the way of Vanluchene, Lielbardis and Veldman.
Result – 1/Vanluchene/van den Bogaart, 2/Lielbardis/Lielbardis, 3/Veldman/Lebreton, 4/Leferink/Leferink, 5/Prummer/Schneider,
6/Grondman/Vincent, 7/Wilkinson/Millard, 8/Prunier/Prunier, 9/Wijers/Hoffman, 10/Van de Lagemaat/van Hal.
Overall Result GP – 1/Vanluchene, 2/Lielbardis, 3/Veldman
The highlights show, with interviews, features and all the other excitement will be available shortly on FIM-MOTO.TV.
Full standings, results, features and latest news items are available on www.fimsidecarcross.com along with all our social media outlets.
Round eight comes from the fast hillside venue that is Strassbessenbach, a track which could play to the strengths of the Prunier brothers. That is over the weekend of 18-19 July.
Join us there in person, or courtesy of Live Stream on FIM-MOTO.TV
From Barry Nutley
