LS Honda Racing
De Dycker triumphs at Mons, Simpson third!

After vice Belgian titles in 2008 and 2009, Ken De Dycker has his eyes set on a first domestic crown in the highly-regarded Lotto Trophy/Belgian MX Championship. The tall Belgian started his national campaign in terrific form today in Mons. The 26-year-old took the overall win and claimed two dominant victories. Only in the last race of the day he was outgunned by home rider Clement Desalle. Team-mate Shaun Simpson enjoyed a consistent day (4-3-4) and was rewarded with his first ever podium finish in the Belgian Championship. De Dycker is of course the first leader in the Lotto Trophy standings, a seven-round series.

Compared with the last edition in 2007, the Bois Brulé track was updated in several places. However the core remained the same; a testing combination of deep sand and a winding technical layout in a forest. De Dycker grabbed the pole in qualifying ahead of Van Horebeek and Desalle. Simpson who had last ridden at the former GP track in 2006, posted the fourth fastest time.

Marc De Reuver took the holeshot in the first moto, but the LS Honda Racing duo Simpson and De Dycker was right behind him. Keeno didn’t waste his time and quickly grabbed the lead, never to relinquish his position at the front. The 5000 strong crowd saw De Dycker building up to an impressive 14 second advantage over Clément Desalle in the shortest, 20 minutes plus one lap, race of the day. De Reuver was third, Simpson tried his best to catch the Dutchman, but he stranded at less than 2 seconds, while the difference with Desalle was less than 6 seconds.

Belgian champion Ramon was the first to exit the spectacular first left-hander in the second moto. Jurgen Van Nooten was on his tail, but Simpson and De Dycker, respectively third and fourth in the start immediately charged on. Simpson held on to second behind leader Ramon in the opening stages. This time Ken showed a little more patience, albeit the emphasis is here on a little rather than patience! Because after a crash of Ramon, it was De Dycker who steered his CRF450R into the lead after only three rounds. Ken then pulled the pin and produced some extremely fast laps, allowing him to build a very healthy lead similar to the one he enjoyed in the opening moto. Behind the dominant LS Racing Honda rider Desalle had moved into second. Despite the increasingly demanding state of the track Simpson remained unfazed. The 23-year-old Briton rode his own pace, coming home in third, barely more than 2 seconds after vice world champion Desalle.

In the final race of 30 minutes plus two laps the holeshot honours went to Desalle. With Ramon in second De Dycker in third and Simpson in fourth, the two Honda mounted riders started to put the leaders under pressure. Just over half race distance Ken pushed on to take control of the race. With a bold overtaking move on the table top jump at the back of the start-finish K9 passed Desalle. The Dycker seemed on the way to a well-deserved hat trick, unfortunately back pain forced him to back off at the very end of the race. This allowed Desalle to recover, while De Dycker claimed second in front of Ramon, Simpson and the Italian Guarneri.

Ken De Dycker: "Mons is always physically demanding and this was certainly the case today. My victories and my speed were certainly a positive way for me to get my revenge after the disappointing start I had in the World Championship last week in Bulgaria! Because of my crash in the opening moto in Sevlievo I was pretty beat-up on the left side; I had hurt my hip, leg, back and groin... everything was painful! Last week I wasn’t able to train properly so given the circumstances it was no surprise to me that I didn’t have anything left for Desalle when he came back in the final moto."

Shaun Simpson: "I knew I was going to be in for a tough one here! But overall I am satisfied with my results. I feel strong at the moment but there is certainly still room for improvement because I haven’t been riding in the sand so much in recent weeks. Except for the last race I always had an excellent start, and my speed was okay. Only Ken (De Dycker), Clement (Desalle) and Steve (Ramon) were faster. With Ken winning and me third, its been a good day for LS Honda Racing at their home championship, which is great for the team and all their sponsors."


YAMAHA VAN BEERS
Good results for the Yamaha van Beers riders in Mons

The Yamaha van Beers riders did well today at the first round of the Belgian Championship Series at Mons. Marc de Reuver finished in 3rd and 4th position in the first two motos but crashed out of the final race. Herjan Brakke finished sixth overall with a 6-8-6 moto score and Petar Petrov finished in 12th and 10th position in the second and third moto.

Marc de Reuver started the day with the 8th fastest time in time practice. He had some arm pump but he felt good on the track and was ready to go. In the first moto he took the holeshot and was leading the field when they entered the first turn. Despite the fact that he was riding well he lost two positions and dropped back to third position. Again he had some problems with arm pump but he kept pushing and finished the race in third position. In the second moto he got a poor start but his riding went well again and he passed one rider after another to finish the race in fourth position. In the third and final moto he took a really good start again and went into the first corner in third position. Unfortunately he collided with another rider and crashed. By the crash his handlebars got bent so he had to retire from the race. Despite his 0 score in the final moto he still finished ninth overall.

Herjan Brakke started the day with the tenth fastest time in practice. In the first moto he couldn’t find his rhythm but he gave everything he had and worked his way back up to sixth position. In the second moto he crashed in the start and had to come back from last position. With consistent lap times he came back trough the field and finally he crossed the finish line in eight position. In the third moto he was riding in fifth position for a long time. In the middle of the race he started to close down the gap on the fourth place rider. Unfortunately he made a small crash and lost fifth position to finish the race in sixth. Herjan finished sixth overall in Mons.

Petar Petrov started the day aboard a Yamaha 450F. In practice he set the 11th fastest time just behind his team-mate Herjan Brakke. In the first moto he had bad luck because after two laps he had to go back to the paddock with a small mechanical problem. In the second and third moto he went out on his Yamaha 250F again. In both motos he had to come back from outside of the top twenty. In the second moto he came back to 12th position and in the third moto he finished the race in 10th position. Overall he finished in 15th position.


STEVE RAMON
Ramon fourth at opening round

2010 Belgian Champion, Steve Ramon, has come away from round one of the domestic series in 4th position, after a small fall in moto two spoiled his chance of a podium finish.

In the opening moto Ramon was boxed on the opening lap and had to fight back through from 9th position in the short race. With a good pace Ramon moved his way up to 5th place at the finish.

Moto 2 would see a great jump out the gate for Ramon as he ripped a holeshot and powered his Suzuki around the rough Belgian circuit up front. Coming under early pressure from a fast De Dycker, Ramon was only able to hold his lead for the opening 3 laps before De Dycker got past.  Now it was De Dycker leading with Ramon and Desalle chasing in 2nd and 3rd place respectively. The 5000 strong crowd loved the racing, but with just 3 laps remaining a mistake took Ramon down. Remounting without any injury Ramon crossed the line in 6th position.

Moto 3 was another good start for the Belgian Champ, as this time he was tucked in behind team-mate Desalle in a solid 2nd position. By the mid way point the Suzuki duo came under pressure once again from De Dycker, with the strong Belgian soon thereafter working his way into the lead, relegating Desalle and Ramon to 2nd and 3rd. As the race entered it’s closing stages Desalle managed to over power De Dycker, and it was Desalle, De Dycker and Ramon at the finish.

Unfortunately the fall in moto 2 kept Ramon from the podium, but the strategic racer still came away with a decent point score with another 6 rounds remaining in the series.

Steve Ramon: “Last weekend I was feeling terrible with flu, and actually have not even trained on the bike this week, all I did was some suspension testing on Friday, so I didn’t come into the race today expecting to win, bit more just looking to score as many points as I could. Actually I felt good though considering, and I feel positive heading to the second GP this coming weekend in Valkenswaard.”


ROCKSTAR ENERGY SUZUKI
DESALLE 2ND AT MONS BELGIAN MX

The deep and rough sandy terrain at Mons was the site of the opening round of the 2011 Belgian Motocross Championship and Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1 were out in force with recent Grand Prix of Bulgaria winner Clement Desalle leaving the meeting with second position overall.

The 21-year-old approached the event having felt 'under the weather' towards the end of the week but still wanted to open his account in the domestic series where he is chasing a second crown after winning the competition in 2009. Desalle - like team-mate Steve Ramon, and several other world championship peers also wanted to take advantage of the demands of the surface with a view to the second round of the Grand Prix contest in the sand of Valkenswaard on Easter Monday.

The 2010 MX1 World Championship runner-up took 2nd, 2nd and 1st in the new three moto format that saw the race time increase from 20 to 25 and then to 30 minutes. He earned the second step behind Ken De Dycker. "I started to feel a bit sick on Thursday and although I was OK to race I needed to take some medicine as I wasn't 100%," Desalle said. "It was a good enough day and for sure good practice for Valkenswaard because tracks do not come much rougher than Mons! The circuit is not far from my home so it was a nice to get out there and see the fans, also to get some race time on the sand before the Grand Prix next week."

Ramon - also suffering from sickness - was fourth overall, posting results of 5th, 6th and 3rd. The reigning Champion used the motos to experiment with suspension settings and was pleased with the configuration found for the final sprint; the veteran was restricted by fatigue in his effort to rise higher than third and make the overall podium.


SHAUN SIMPSON
Simpson on the podium

Shaun Simpson LS Racing Honda put the disappointment of last weekend's Bulgarian GP firmly behind him as he finished third overall at the opening round of the Belgian championship against World class opposition. The twenty-three year old Scot who is based in Belgium, went 4-3-4 over the new three moto format to claim the last podium place, in a series he will contest in its entirety this season. Adding a new dimension to the championship, the motos increased in length by five minutes each time, with the duration ranging from twenty minutes in the first race to thirty in the final encounter.

Simpson who had last ridden at the testing Mons circuit back in 2006, soon got to grips with the deep sand track that winds its way through the trees in a similar nature to the GP venue at Lierop. With conditions at their best Shaun's qualifying time, which was fourth best, was still well over two minutes with lap times increasing by almost fifteen seconds as the day progressed and as the track became rougher and rougher. Simpson's LS Racing Honda team mate Ken De Dycker was quickest throughout the day in conditions that were very much to the tall Begian's liking, with him taking the overall win with a 1-1-2 showing.

In the first and shortest of the three motos Simpson made a good start and initially slotted in behind De Reuver, who grabbed the opening holeshot of the day. Early in the race Shaun soon gave way to both De Dycker and Desalle, who would eventually go clear of the pack, before he set about the task of chasing down third placed De Reuver. With the long lap times and only twenty minutes plus one lap to work with, Simpson eventually had to settle for a battling fourth spot to open his account for the day.

It was Ramon who took the holeshot in the second moto, but he was soon passed by the hard charging duo of De Dycker and Desalle, who again stretched their advantage at the head of the field. Shaun once again settled into his own pace and was promoted to third position, as early race leader Ramon crashed out in the worsening conditions. Simpson rode his own speed for the remainder of the moto and came home in third spot, at the end of twenty five minutes plus one lap.

The third and final moto was a real test of survival with lap times now nearer to three minutes rather than two. So whilst this time the race was run over thirty minutes plus one lap, it made little real difference to the lap count with the lap times being much slower. An average start by Shaun in the last encounter of the day meant he had work to do, Simpson looked comfortable as he eased the LS Racing Honda CRF450R around the rough circuit for the final time and his push towards the end of the moto brought him close to snatching third place from Ramon.

Shaun's 4-3-4 showing was enough for him to net a morale boosting third position overall, a point he was happy to acknowledge.

"After being disappointed last weekend, it has been good to come here against good opposition and to get a good result. To be on the podium at the end of the day in these conditions is definitely good for my confidence. As always there were things I could have done better, but all things considered I am happy with how things have gone."

"By the third moto it was pretty tough out there and it was great training for next weekend's GP in Valkenswaard. We have got a couple of small things to test on the bike this week, so hopefully I can continue on from today and be up there and amongst the front guys in just over a week's time. With Ken winning and me third, its been a good day for the team at their home championship, which is great for the team and all their sponsors," ended Simpson.