This final day of the penultimate round brought with it a grey, damp and overcast sky. The weather forecast was not good for the entire day, but the sandy track would absorb anything the elements threw at it.
That was apparent in morning warm-up, with the wet conditions binding the sand together, giving more bite and drive. No team fared better than the series leaders, with Marvin and Ben almost four seconds fast than anyone else. The aggression and determination shown by Vanluchene was clear for all to see as he attacked every inch of the track. They had come here to do a job, and the mindset was exactly that.
Race One – The opening Quadcross World Championship race had already modified the track somewhat when the sidecars came to the line, but a sighting lap gave them some idea of what to expect. Thirty outfits sprinting fifty metres to the first turn was a tantalising spectacle not to be missed.
In addition, a holeshot prize of 100 euros for each race sponsored by “Auto Brusselers” was an added incentive.
A disastrous start to the day for the Prunier brothers saw them working on a clutch problem during a ten-minute delay, only getting to the line when everyone else had formed up. When the gate dropped, Wilkinson/Millard got the holeshot from Vanluchene/van den Bogaart, with the Leferinks, Koen Grondman/Ross Vincent, Davy Sanders and Veldman/Lebreton all jostling for position. Two bends later, Veldman was in front with Marvin chasing.
Several lower order teams went into the fence, but the leaders were away with it. The rain was falling heavily, making the track progressively worse as the race went on. Wilkinson battled with the Leferinks and Davy Sanders ahead of Stephan Wijers/Han van Hal and Grondman/Vincent.
Sanders was as consistent as ever, as indeed were the top three. Veldman’s skill on picking lines was impressive as outfit after outfit became stranded or beached. To keep going was itself a feat, but the leaders did it well.
At half-distance the Leferinks once again fell foul of the conditions and ended up getting stuck sideways. They did recover, but seventh place was the best they could do. There bad luck was good fortune for Wilkinson, who was in a safe third place.
Meanwhile the Prunier brothers had crept to nineteenth, only to fall back out of the points. This result placed them in jeopardy of losing second place in the standings to Tim Prummer/Patrick Schneider who managed eighth place and thirteen points. They were then just three behind the Frenchmen going into race two. Into the closing stages, Marvin Vanluchene and Ben van den Bogaart had the title won riding cautiously, even looking at the track marshals for guidance when approaching tricky areas. Their title victory had all the hallmarks of two calculating and vastly experienced campaigners.
Veldman became the seventh rider to win a GP race this season, with huge promise of more to come.
Result – 1/Veldman/Lebreton, 2/Vanluchene/van den Bogaart (Champions),
3/Wilkinson/Millard, 4/Sanders/Vincent, 5/Grondman/Vincent,
6/Wijers/van Hal, 7/Leferink/Leferink, 8/Prummer/Schneider, 9/Veldman/van den Berg. 10/Foden/Weinmann
Race Two – It was another storming holeshot for Wilkinson/Millard, but they ran a touch wide on the exit, allowing Marvin and Ben through on the tight inside. With them went the Leferinks, Veldman/Lebreton and Prummer/Schneider. Killian and Evan Prunier started on row two behind Vanluchene aware of the fact they had just a three-point margin over Tim Prummer. Even that start position did not benefit the hapless French Champions. It simply was not their day, and they around eighteenth place on lap one.
By contrast, Prummer gated well and was around fourth place first time around, well placed to serve defeat on his French rivals. Once Vanluchene hit the front, there was little Veldman could do to catch him. Those two outfits were line astern for half the race, with Wilkinson and the Leferinks giving chase, but not lapping at the leader’s pace. The scrap between these two teams was race-long until Brett dropped out of it. Tim and Sem Leferink had a safe, if lonely ride, to third place for the remainder of the race.
Track conditions were brutal, trapping team after team in the deep ruts, causing the leaders to do their best, but to prepare for the worst. Wilkinson’s moment came when Tony Milliar and Jon Hunt got stuck, taking Brett and Joe with them.
The British pair then began an impressive fight-back from a lowly position, passing the Prunier brothers in the process. They had made great progress through the field to eighth place until Wilkinson nailed them. On the last lap, Stephan Wijers passed Prummer, removing him from fourth as he did so. This effectively kept Prunier in second spot in the standings by one single point.
Meanwhile, Vanluchene had opened a twenty-second gap on Veldman to seal the overall win, stamping total authority on the weekend.
Result – 1/Vanluchene/van den Bogaart, 2/Veldman/Lebreton, 3/Wilkinson/Millard, 4/Wijers/van Hal, 5/Prummer/Schneider, 6/Wilkinson/Millard, 7/Prunier/Prunier, 8/Foden/Weinmann, 9/Sanders/Vincent, 10/Kops/Konst
Overall Result GP – 1/Vanluchene, 2/Veldman, 3/Wilkinson
The Grand Finale and Round Twelve comes from the traditional venue of Rudersberg over next weekend 19/20 September. The highlights show from Varsseveld, with interviews, features and all the other content 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.
From Barry Nutley
