Shannon Terreblanche
TERREBLANCHE MOVES INTO TOP 10 IN DUTCH MOTOCROSS STANDINGS

Motocrossers are a hardy lot, no argument necessary. Not only will they risk life and limb to race at breakneck speeds across the roughest terrain imaginable, they will subject their bodies to the most incredible punishment and battering in so doing. To top it all, the ambient conditions are more often than not irrelevant as these modern day knights ply their trade. Short of near cataclysmic conditions, they will go out, whether it be in blazing heat or bone-chilling cold. There was plenty of the latter in evidence at the second round of the Dutch Motocross championships in Oldebroek in the Northeast of Holland. The entire area was firmly in the grasp of a late winter surge, and a thick carpet of snow laid down overnight provided some underfoot crunchiness for the many spectators that filed through the gates to watch the action.

Shannon Terreblanche put the disappointment of a DNF in his previous Dutch Championship outing behind him and focused anew on the task at hand. A forced switch of bike early during the qualifying session meant that he had to set his fast time when most of the opposition had already got their best efforts on the clocks, but nevertheless he managed to qualify in sixth spot, underlining his growing reputation as one of the fastest riders in the Dutch series.

The snow started sifting down again as 40 of Europe's top sand riders lined up for the first race under gloomy skies. A fair spattering of GP talent took the trouble of getting in some much needed sand practice leading up to the first GP of the season, so the action would be hot even if the air wasn't. Shannon dove into the first corner in around 15th spot, but he was in no mood for taking prisoners on the cold battleground, and during the course of the first lap, he elbowed his way to all the way up to sixth position.

The South African held his spot in the front ranks for the major part of the race, despite losing some ground after a crash. He made his way forward again, and was about to make a double pass to move into fourth position, when Frenchman Valentin Teillet crashed in front of him, leaving him nowhere to go but down. Shannon remounted in 10th position, and with the race nearly run, there was precious little time to regain the lost positions. He did manage to re-pass Dutchman Rob van Vijfeiken, and crossed the line in ninth position, somewhat disappointing considering how highly he ranked for the better part of the race.

The start of the second race was altogether more inauspicious. Just as the gates fell, Scotsman Shaun Simpson leant onto Shannon, catching him off balance and completely ruining his start. By the time the South African got going, the pack was long gone. Shannon rode like a man possessed, and within one lap had already scythed through half of the field. The opposition does, of course, get tougher the nearer the front, but nevertheless he claimed prize scalps lap after lap, and as dusk began to fall in the icy forest, he made a late surge to gain the maximum possible points. A strong ride netted him 11th position, not a true reflection of his gutsy effort.

Although each race offered its share of setbacks, Shannon went home with a bagful of points. Whilst team-mate Erik Eggens could celebrate an emphatic overall victory, Shannon could also reflect with some satisfaction on the fact that, for the first time in his racing career, he was holding down a top 10 position in the prestigious Dutch series. The Beursfoon Suzuki squad was more than happy with an overall victory from their veteran star, coupled to a top 10 from the up-and-coming youngster.

The next race on the calendar is the first round of the Belgian Championships in Beervelde on 30 March.



Matiss Karro
KARRO IN THE POINTS AT DUTCH CHAMPIONSHIP EVENT

Towards the end of 2007, Matiss Karro was the talk of the motocross town. Coming seemingly from nowhere, the then 15-year-old Latvian qualified for 2 Grands Prix late in the season, and even scored a solitary world championship point. Subsequent to that, however, he had a lot to contend with. A heavy crash in his native Latvia left him with a serious back injury, which forced a protracted lay-off from racing.

Matiss, by now very much older and more experienced because of his sixteenth birthday clicking by, started riding in earnest again at the beginning of 2008. With no race rhythm to count on, he went to the first Dutch Championship event at Gemert on 16 March, and there he discovered yet again what a cruel sport motocross can be. The Dutch Championships only has a single training session for bike set-up and qualifying, and once qualifying got underway, the bike displayed a mysterious spluttering problem, which later turned out to be a carburettor glitch. Be that as it may, he did not make the qualifying cut, marking his first disappointment of the year.

The second round of the Dutch series provided a quick opportunity to set the record straight, however. Matiss undoubtedly has the speed to mix it up with the world's top sand riders in the Dutch series, and he was keen to make his point. After the week's worth of training in sunny Italy, he made the trek to Oldebroek in Holland. It was a stark contrast, from hard Italian underground to soft Dutch sand, blazing sunshine and tolerable heat to murky skies and snow-covered trees. Never matter, he was here to rac, and racee he would.

Matiss was nervous prior to the qualifying session. The misfortune at Gemert had shaken his confidence, and he was anxious to get the qualifying session behind him. Despite riding tense and developing arm pump, he qualified in 20th spot, finishing ahead of several top 10 Dutch Championship regulars. The tension was broken, and he cold look forward to a good day of racing on the challenging track.

Following the advice given to him to a T, Matiss blasted out of the start and crossed the timing beam as first rider into the corner. Heading into the forest, he was still amongst the top 5 when the pack first cleared the fearsome, rutted out 30 meter table top. He was jockeying for position with some heavy hitters, and it was no shame on him that he had to yield some positions to some of his more experienced fellow competitors. He nevertheless kept himself in the top 10 for the major part of the race, and it was only near the end that Dutchman Rob Van Vijfeijken and Russian Evgeny Bobryshev displaced him, relegating him to a still very creditable 12th position. Significantly, he could match these riders for lap times, proving yet again that he has talent to spare.

The teenager certainly had his starts dialled in, for in the second heat he was again near the front off the line. Unfortunately, he slid out somewhat in the first corner and dropped way down. He made his way back up to 15th spot, and was looking good for a strong overall result, when his day turned sour. Changing lines to avoid a stricken rider, Matiss went down, and unfortunately for him, his Honda ended up upside down, flooding the carburettor. He spent an agonising five minutes kicking the bike over until it started, but by then he was already two laps down and out of the running for the big points. He finished his race to salvage what points he could, and ended the day in 21st position overall.

Missing the first round of the series has of course not aided his cause, but Matiss has leapfrogged up to 33rd in the Dutch Championship standings with a single heat result, with lots of room for further advancement. After the race he returned straight home to Latvia, where he will prepare for his next race.



Results courtesy of Steven van Kempen/KEMCO

MX1
1st Moto
1 Marvin van Daele B Suzuki
2 Sven Breugelmans B KTM
3 Bas Verhoeven NL Kawasaki
4 Aigar Leok Est Yamaha
5 Lauris Freibergs Let Yamaha
6 William Saris NL Yamaha
7 Danny Theybers B Suzuki
8 Jurgen Vannooten B KTM
9 Dennis Schroter B KTM
10 Anne Advokaat NL Honda

2nd moto:
1 Marvin van Daele B Suzuki
2 Aigar Leok Est Yamaha
3 Lauris Freibergs Let Yamaha
4 Bas Verhoeven NL Kawasaki
5 Patrick Roos NL KTM
6 Jurgen Vannooten B KTM
7 Dennis Schroter B KTM
8 Kasper Jensen DK Honda
9 Antti Pyrhonen SF Suzuki
10 Yentel Martens B KTM
DNF Sven Breugelmans B KTM

MX1 Podium:
1 Marvin van Daele B Suzuki 100
2 Aigar Leok Est Yamaha 83
3 Bas Verhoeven NL Kawasaki 79

Championship JUMBO ONK MX1 after 2 races:
1 Marvin van Daele B Suzuki 172
2 Aigar Leok Est Yamaha 149
3 Bas Verhoeven NL Kawasaki 145
4 Lauris Freibergs Let Yamaha 138
5 Dennis Schroter B KTM 131

MX2:
1st moto
1 Erik Eggens NL Suzuki
2 Jeremy Vanhorebeek B KTM
3 Shaun Simpson GB KTM
4 Rinus van de Ven NL KTM
5 Gert Krestinov Est KTM
6 Herjan Brakke NL Honda
7 Valentin Teillet F KTM
8 Josef Kulhavy SvK Suzuki
9 Shannon Terreblanche Z-A Suzuki
10 Rob van Vijfeijken NL Yamaha
2e manche
1 Erik Eggens NL Suzuki
2 Jeremy Vanhorebeek B KTM
3 Gert Krestinov Est KTM
4 Valentein Teillet F KTM
5 Rinus van de Ven NL KTM
6 Herjan Brakke NL Honda
7 Rob van Vijfeijken NL Yamaha
8 Shaun Simpson GB KTM
9 Evgeny Bobrishev Rus Yamaha
10 Pascal Brons NL KTM

MX2 Podium:
1 Erik Eggens NL Suzuki 100
2 Jeremy Vanhorebeek B KTM 90
3 Gert Krestinov Est KTM 77

Championship JUMBO ONK MX2 after 2 races:
1 Erik Eggens NL Suzuki 179
2 Jeremy Vanhorebeek B KTM 176
3 Shaun Simpson GB KTM 145
4 Rob van Vijfeijken NL Yamaha 133
5 Gert Krestinov Est KTM 131

85cc
1st moto:
1 Jeffrey Herlings NL Suzuki
2 Donny Bastemeijer NL Honda
3 Mike te Beest NL Suzuki
4 Luca Nijenhuis NL Yamaha
5 Lars van Berkel NL Honda

2nd moto:
1 Jeffrey Herlings NL Suzuki
2 Robert Justs Let Suzuki
3 Jens Getteman B Yamaha
4 Donny Bastemeijer NL Honda
5 Wietse Brackman B Honda

85cc Podium:
1 Jeffrey Herlings NL Suzuki 100
2 Donny Bastemeijer NL Honda 83
3 Jens Getteman B Yamaha 75

Championship JUMBO ONK 85cc after 2 races:
1 Jeffrey Herlings NL Suzuki 195
2 Donny Bastemeijer NL Honda 169
3 Jens Getteman B Yamaha 152
4 Lars van Berkel NL Honda 137
5 Dave Versluis NL KTM 132