Great excitement surrounded everything happening on this opening day at a brand-new venue. In the lead up to the weekend, the organisers were frantically making the last-minute tuning in the specifications of the track in response to requests from the FIM and WSC officials.
No-one knew what lay ahead as the teams rolled in on Friday, but the facilities were good, the track well-prepared and the organisers, accustomed to running many national championship events here, were ready to go.
Free practice –
With a full programme including world championship quads, things got underway bright and early. Group “A” sidecars had Vanluchene/van den Bogaart strutting their stuff early on, holding top spot throughout with a 1.50.222. Given their recent speed, we were wondering if it would be more of the same here in Lithuania or could the Prunier brothers find an answer.
We were about to find out as group “B” began their session. The Lielbardis twins, with their huge local support started well, almost replicating Marvin’s time. The Prunier brothers were also in there at the top as we might have expected.
In both groups, the usual culprits were prominent, with the Leferinks, Prunier, Sanders, Wilkinson, Prummer, Foden and Grondman all threatening big things later.
Pre-Qualifying Group “A” –
Tim and Sem Leferink set the ball rolling with two quick opening laps, as Marvin Vanluchene did his usual trick of watching and waiting. Three laps in, and he was on the scoreboard banging in a good lap 1.50.892 to go top. Lefererink followed ahead of Dan Foden, still nursing injury, with Tim Prummer seemingly less than happy and looking off the pace in fourth. Once again, with exactly thirty crews cleared to race, there would be no need for Last Chance qualifying to mop up the tail-end.
Stephan Wijers/Han van Hal showed well, briefly moving fourth, but Prummer soon countered that, and reclaimed the place. Once again, it looked like the Leferinks were going to be fast, and it was hoped they could get more luck in the races with the actual finishing position.
Veteran multi-champion Daniel Willemsen, once again with Joel Hoffmann alongside, held a good position ahead of young pretenders Koen Grondman and Ross Vincent. Best of the Baltic teams were Estonians Robert Lihtsa and Oliver Sebastian Lamp eighth fastest with ten minutes to go.
Grondman found two more seconds, and Prummer went backwards again into the closing stages.
Pre-Qualifying Group “B” –
Group “B” was predictable but painted a good picture for the Latvian Lielbardis twins. They had a point to prove after their breakdown in Madona.
They were close to Marvin’s earlier time, recording a 1.51.159 with Davy Sanders looking a strong second fastest. This was altogether a quicker complete group, with only six seconds covering the entire field of fourteen teams. With ten minutes remaining, there was no evidence the Prunier brothers would find any more, with their best time more than three seconds off Lielbardis. Veldman/Lebreton and Wilkinson/Millard completed the top five.
Koen Hermans, with three minutes left, was down in sixth position. Best of the Baltic crews once again Markus Normak/Tomas Daniels Dukulis.
Qualifying Race “A” –
A typically clinical start took Marvin and Ben into an immediate lead, giving them the chance to ride their own race, explore new lines and stay out of trouble. The Leferink brothers grabbed second place and appeared to be matching Vanluchene’s speed. That was an illusion however, because Marvin eked out around one second a lap in the early stages, then settled a little towards the end. There was a great battle for third between original occupants Tim Prummer and Patrick Schneider, and the returning to form Dan Foden/Noah Weinmann. This was a see-saw fight with Foden passing Prummer twice, only to lose out and do it again. On the final lap he made it stick, and third place went to the British/German team.
Behind them, Stephan Wijers, who earlier had been in fourth round turn one, was scrapping with Koen Grondman and Ross Vincent. These youngsters are making a real impression on the series and have lots more to offer. Wijers was to get the better of them, putting them in their place behind him, as he took fifth.
Next came Lihtsa and Lamp, best of the local teams, but the real action was at the front, as Vanluchene sailed away into the sunset, leaving Leferink adrift in second spot, and Foden having his personal battle with Prummer.
Result –
1/Marvin Vanluchene/Ben van den Bogaart, 2/Tim Leferink/Sem Leferink, 3/Dan Foden/Noah Weinmann, 4/Tim Prummer/Patrick Schneider, 5/Stephan Wijers/Han van Hal, 6/Koen Grondman/Ross Vincent, 7/Robert Lihtsa/Oliver Sebastian Lamp, 8/Daniel Willemsen/Joel Hoffmann 9/Kim de Cock/Aivar van de Wiel, 10/Gregory Raymond/Viktorijia Vareikaite
Qualifying Race “B” –
This was an action-packed race with some early drama. From the gate, the Lielbardis twins grabbed a strong hole shot ahead of fast-starting Davy Sanders/Jens Vincent and Killian/Evan Prunier. The French champions needed every point they could muster in their attempts to stay in touch with Vanluchene at the head of the table. Brett Wilkinson and Joe Millard also had a good start and sat fifth early on. Within two bends, Julian Veldman and Rodolphe Lebreton were past them into third and chasing Sanders.
Koen Hermans/Dion Rietman had something wrong at the gate and crawled away dead last, never to complete the second lap. Their awful season just goes from bad to worse. We need to see the Koen of old, so let us all hope he musters a return next year to show us what he is really made of.
The first three laps were uneventful, and the track seemed to be improving, but then, as if to prove me wrong, the Lielbardis twins crashed and ended up facing the wrong way in a deep section. They had to ride back round the bend, turn, and start again rejoining in tenth place. Up front, there was now a great battle between the three teams following them, with Veldman now in the lead and Prunier trying everything to get by Sanders. Wilkinson and Millard finished a respectable fourth, as Prunier ran out of steam fighting through the backmarkers in pursuit of Sanders. This was an entertaining race, but frustrating for many.
Result –
1/Julian Veldman/Rodolphe Lebreton, 2/Davy Sanders/Jens Vincent, 3/Killian Prunier/Evan Prunier, 4/ Brett Wilkinson/Joe Millard, 5/Daniel Lielbardis/Bruno Lielbardis, 6/Markus Normak/Tomas Daniels Dukulis, 7/Ular Karing/Sten Niitsoo, 8/Jonas Pirtinas/Lotars Alexejevs, 9/Rihards Rupeiks/Kenny Vahter, 10/Nick Uhlig/Philip Oettel
The two main Grand Prix races take place tomorrow, along with both EMX Quadcross W/C races. The live stream is available for both races and the awards ceremony. The crowd for tomorrow will be huge, and there is much to play for, all adding to the atmosphere.
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
