The weather was cloudy with showers on Friday leading up to the weekend as the teams arrived at the track. This was perhaps a good thing as the terrain was very dry from the recent hot spell. As usual, the organisation and facilities were all in place at the hillside venue, with the camping already filling up. Weather conditions for the two race days were set to be good, with the track now in perfect condition. In terms of the standings, there was something of a body-blow for Davy Sanders and Jens Vincent when the ruling on their fuel analysis from Gdansk was announced. Several top teams tested included red-plate holders Killian and Evan Prunier. Sadly, for them, Sanders and Vincent were found to have infringed the fuel regulations and were disqualified totally from the results, forfeiting thirty-five points and a third-placed podium in the process. This dropped them from fifth in the table to ninth, a position Davy seems unable to shake off. The pair are enjoying what is probably a career-best season, so this judgment is even more painful for them. They were not alone, as two Quadcross team members suffered the same fate, one of which was defending champion Harry Walker.
Saturday dawned bright and sunny with a high of twenty-six degrees predicted. This would be a comfortable environment and needed to be on this fast going. With a final count of thirty-six teams entered, it was a healthy entry, so there would be a need for the “Last Chance” system to kick in at the end of the day.
Free practice - Highlighted the speed of the top contenders although Marvin Vanluchene played his usual waiting game in group “A”, doing slow investigatory laps. Tim Prummer/Patrick Schneider on the other hand went for it from the word go. They were fastest until the very end with a 1.58.290, only to be topped by Vanluchene/van den Bogaart with a 1.56.891. The Lielbardis twins also edged ahead of Prummer’s time.
Group “B” saw the Prunier boys straight on the pace in the 1.56’s, with Brett Wilkinson/Joe Millard and Julian Veldman/Rodolphe Lebreton also flying. The little 500 would be good on the downhills. Into the closing stages and Prunier went even faster, going a clear second faster than Marvin’s time. It might only have been free practice, but the Frenchmen had a point to prove.
Pre-Qualifying Group “A” – I was no surprise the Leferink brothers topped the times early in the session. They were race winners here previously in scorching heat, so know what the track has to offer. The same is true of Marvin and Ben, and they showed strongly at the half-way stage.
The young Kaser brothers Remo and Luca were sub-two minutes, joining that elite bunch of seven teams. Tim Prummer still had more to offer with twenty minutes gone. As if by magic, he played his hand with a stunning 1.55.946 putting him in Prunier territory. The Lielbardis twins now sat second ahead of the Leferinks. This was going to be a close call.
Immediately, Marvin struck back with a 1.55.038 determined not to be beaten. The start here at Strassbessenbach is key, and he wanted a good one for the qualifying race. With one minute to go, the impossible happened as Tim and Sem Leferink broke into the 1.54’s. An incredible lap of 1.54.8 would be hard to beat, but Vanluchene did it with a last gasp 1.54.328.
Pre-Qualifying Group “B” – The former red plate holders were quick out of the traps in this session, so it was Killian and Evan Prunier topping the times ten minutes in, from two German teams Peter/Zimmermann and the Hoffmann duo Leon and Joel. These two teams clash regularly in the German series, so know each other, and the track, well. Ten minutes remaining, and Prunier turned the screw a touch, but was still two seconds shy of Vanluchene’s time.
He would need to find something special if he was to oust the red plate holder from pole position. Both Prunier and Vanluchene were very evenly matched last year, and the year before at this track, and it looked like a repeat performance was on the cards.
On lap seven, with five minutes left on the clock, Prunier was in the 1.55’s and looking composed. Koen Hermans/Dion Rietman were next, ahead of Brett Wilkinson/Joe Millard. Next time round, the Frenchmen were 1.55.080, so very close to going top. Close, but no cigar!
Qualifying Race “A” – Down went the gate with the right-hand side being the faster line to the top of the hill. Davy Sanders and Jens Vincent shot through to grab the hole shot with Vanluchene/van den Bogaart clipping the sidecar rail of Tim Prummer. This could have been nasty, but the red plate holders survived to set off after Sanders. Tim Prummer/Patrick Schneider enjoyed a good start along with the Leferink brothers and Daniel/Bruno Lielbardis. Also having a good start was the French Guennady Auvray and Jarno Steegmans outfit, duelling with young Swiss brothers Remo and Luca Kaser.
Vanluchene fought for two laps before displacing Sanders at the front and looked like clearing off. Prummer was up to third and closing on Sanders, making his bid on an uphill climb just as Marvin missed a gear and found neutral. Unable to restart uphill, he wheeled round and had a fresh attempt from around eighth place. Prummer and the Lielbardis boys were now past Sanders who had almost clipped Marvin as he slowed, so the drama was high.
Once in front, Tim Prummer and Patrick Schneider could flex their muscles and they opened a gap, taking the Lielbardis twins with them. The Kaser brothers got the better of Auvray/Steegmans, and Marvin was back on the charge. He recovered well, gaining ground all the time with Prummer and Lielbardis well out in front. The red plate holders made short work of Auvray, Kaser, Leferink and Sanders in about three laps, and were then on the Lielbardis twins.
Into the final lap and Prummer had the race won, but Lielbardis was under real pressure. Vanluchene finally wore him down, an amazing recovery considering he had to fight through. That was the furthest he could go, because Prummer was a step too far.
Result – 1/Tim Prummer/Patrick Schneider, 2/Marvin Vanluchene/Ben van den Bogaart, 3/Daniels/Bruno Lielbardis, 4/Davy Sanders/Jens Vincent,
5/Tim/Sem Leferink, 6/Guennady Auvray/Jarno Steegmans, 7/Remo/Luca
Kaser, 8 Daniel Willemsen/Han van Hal, 9/Gwendal Carcreff/Mathis Hupon,
10/Frank Mulders/Marc van Deutekom.
Qualifying Race “B” – This was a hole shot the Prunier brothers simply had to get, and they did. Making no mistake, they flew up the right side chased by Marco Heinzer and Martin Betschart who were side by side with Koen Hermans/Dion Rietman. Knowing what Marvin did in the opener, the Frenchmen at the front knew they had at least to equal his performance. Hermans was fast, and for the first time recently, looked more like the Koen we know.
There was also a brilliant start by Patrick Hengster/Justin Blume, who have been improving by the week. Dan Foden/Noah Weinmann were back with a bang and made a good fist of it at the front in the early stages, but possible lack of action might account for a slightly less sparkling performance than we are used to. There was not much evidence the left-handed sidecars had any advantage on this track, and Foden seemed to be as handicapped as the rest. We know he and his German passenger have the speed, so let’s see what they can do again when they are fully race fit.
Those who suffered badly off the line included Brett Wilkinson/Joe Millard and young Koen Grondman/Ross Vincent. They both had a lot oof work to do but made a good job of it.
Heinzer was consistently fast, giving a good account of himself throughout. He gradually slipped back, but not before he had made life difficult for Wilkinson and a rapidly approaching Julian Veldman/Rodolphe Lebreton. They had changed the engine after practice, reverting to a larger capacity, but in the podium interview, said they would be going back to the 500cc version.
Out front, Prunier just kept consistent lap times, eking out one second or so each tour over Koen Hermans. At seven second advantage the pace slackened with Koen in a safe second. Brett Wilkinson passed one after another in his climb to third spot but had Veldman to contend with. There was a sense of inevitability as the ever-smiling Dutchman eventually claimed third place.
Result – 1/Killian/Evan Prunier, 2/Koen Hermans/Dion Rietman, 3/Julian Veldman/Rodolphe Lebreton, 4/Brett Wilkinson/Joe Millard, 5/Marco Heinzer/Martin Betschart, 6/Adrian Peter/Julian Zimmermann, 7/Patrick Hengster/Justin Blume, 8/Dan Foden/Noah Weinmann,
9/Koen Grondman/Ross Vincent, 10/Leon/Joel Hoffmann.
Last Chance – The remaining six places were fought out against the clock over fifteen minutes, with the result as shown.
Result -
1/Thom van de Lagemaat/Aivar van de Wiel,
2/Romaric/Josselyn Chanteloup,
3/Gregory Raymond/Viktorija Variekaite,
4/Jan Hoormann/Andy Schlinnertz,
5/Kim de Cock/Stijn de Wylder,
6/Stephane/Kyllian Gouin.
Two Grand Prix races take place tomorrow, with the Live stream available for both races and the awards ceremony. Hopefully, the weather will hold fair, and a large crowd graces the grassland.
The highlights show, with interviews, features and all the excitement will also be available shortly on FIM-MOTO.TV
All final standings and latest news items are available on www.fimsidecarcross.com along with all our social media outlets.
From Barry Nutley
