TANEL LEOK
LEOK MARKS RETURN TO DUTCH CHAMPIONSHIPS WITH VICTORY

Being the champion in any form of racing is not easy. The crown never sits securely, and as soon as the new season starts, there are pretenders enough who want to snatch it away. For Tanel Leok, the defence of his Dutch motocross title was over before it began. An early season injury forced him to miss the first two rounds of the series, and the only thing that he could do upon his return was to do his best in each race, and climb as high as possible up the championship ladder.

The traditional 1st of May race at Rhenen marked Tanel' return to Dutch Championship racing. The Estonian Express' lime green Kawasaki proudly sported the number 1 plate, and from the first minute, he made it clear that he meant business, if for any reason the competition had any doubt just how lucky they are that he had been deprived of the opportunity of fully defending his title.

After scouting out the track for a few laps, it was down to the characteristic cocked-head, incredible-lean-angle, take-no-prisoners style, and after fast lap, he just glanced over to his pit crew with a knowing look, no questions having to be asked. He just knew it - pole position for number 1.

Tanel will probably miss the nomination as the all-time best starter in motocross, but on this occasion, the planets aligned, and he pretty much nosed ahead into the first corner. From that moment on, the race was run. After one lap , he had already pulled a sizeable lead, and from then on, he stretched it out until he was just a little green spot on the horizon. Holding the family flag high, cousin Aigar Leok was having it his own way in second position, with local favourite and celebrated sand guru Marc De Reuver rounding out the podium trio. Tanel held the plot upright, and cruised to easy victory.

The second start was a bit more problematic for the Estonian. He was in a good enough position in the first corner, but another rider was doing his best kamikaze impression, forcing him wide. This allowed De Reuver the opportunity to make his escape in the front, whilst Tanel was bogged down in 8th position. He started setting matters straight without further ado, and by lap 2 was sitting in third position behind De Reuver and cousin Aigar, and pulling out all the stops.

De Reuver does not often let an opportunity like this slip on a surface that is his strong suit, and Tanel's strategy therefore was to secure second position, which would reserve the biggest trophy for his mantelpiece. Lap by lap he shrunk the distance to second spot, and on lap 7, he overhauled Aigar which meant that nothing De Reuver could do would keep him from overall victory. From then on, he just maintained his position, and crossed the line in second position, to mark his return to the Dutch series with a victory.

Having ridden only one of the three championship races to date, Tanel shot up to 19th in the championship standings, and the odds are that he will still climb much higher up the ladder before the championship series is over. A consolation, perhaps, is that the series lead is currently being held by cousin Aigar.

Tanel will travel to Bulgaria next for the fourth GP of the 2008 series.


SHANNON TERREBLANCHE
TERREBLANCHE CLIMBS TO SEVENTH IN DUTCH STANDINGS

The Dutch motocross championships is a special racing series. The low-lying country has plentiful supply of sand, and consequently, the races are mostly held on deep sandy tracks that have the uncanny knack of knocking the stuffing out of the most accomplished riders. Perhaps in no other racing country do the locals enjoy such a racing advantage, due to their skills on local conditions honed over time. Many riders who aspire to international greatness, come and acquire the skills in the sand that they lacked before by challenging the Dutch specialists on their home turf.

Following in the footsteps of South African greats that have gone before him, Shannon Terreblanche has spent the last three years honing his general riding skills in the Dutch Championships. The likeable teenager has made steady progress, and the last Dutch Championship race in Oldebroek, moved into the top 10 in the Dutch standings for the first time in his career. This is no mean feat. Race after race the field is loaded with GP greats and some of the most accomplished sand riders in the world.

Shannon has now reached a stage in his career where big reputations alone do not faze him. He will fight for every position, and consequently his order of the day was to improve in his Dutch Championship standing at the third round of the series held at Rhenen. Shannon looked to be in his element on the, by Dutch standards, unusually hilly track, and he posted the 8th fastest qualifying time. He was 1.7 seconds adrift of team-mate Erik Eggens who slotted into pole position, and less than a second shy of his illustrious countryman Tyla Rattray.

Making the best of his good gate, Shannon launched into the first race in 10th position. Within a lap, he advanced one spot, and latched onto the back of a battle that included Jeremy Van Horebeek, compatriot Wyatt Avis and Gert Krestinov. He held his own for a good few laps, and kept those in front of him honest, but a small mistake caused him to lose the connection, and he made his way home in ninth position.

A near perfect launch got the teenager into the first corner in fourth position as proceedings got underway for the second race. The bump and barge of the first lap dropped him down to seventh spot, but soon he was in sixth position again, and holding his own, with gaps ahead of - and behind him. The adrenaline rushed briefly when Dennis Verbruggen made a late race surge, but Shannon held matters in hand and fended off the Belgian rider's approach, finally crossing the line in sixth spot.

Shannon's efforts were good for sixth overall on the day, but, more importantly, he achieved his goal of a further improvement in his championship standings. With the series at its halfway mark, he is sitting pretty in seventh position, a situation that he would gladly have signed for going into the season.

Shannon boards a plane to Latvia early on Friday morning to participate in an international event to which he has been invited.


Matiss Karro
KARRO NARROWLY MISSES TOP 10 IN DUTCH CHAMPIONSHIP EVENT

Fresh from his victory in the junior European Championship event last weekend, Matiss Karro remained in the lowlands to participate in the third round of the Dutch Championships in Rhenen on 1 May. Having missed qualification in the first round at Gemert due to bike problems, the sixteen year old Latvian did well in the second round at Oldebroek to get himself established on the points ladder. He was still outside of the top 30, however, and he wanted nothing so much as a good result to move him higher in the championship rankings.

After qualifying strongly in 17th position, Matiss got down to the real business of the day, which was to make his presence felt amongst the top sand riders around. His start in the first race was not exactly the stuff of news headlines, and he got rolling just inside the top 20. He rapidly moved forward, and was involved in a number of pitched battles with experienced and recognised sand riders like Mike Kras and Rinus van der Ven. As the race wore on, Matiss eased off the pace somewhat, and came home in 14th position.

As the gates dropped for race 2, the heavens opened up, and a combination of massive rain drops and fine hail covered the track. Matiss had a much better start, and was sitting in tenth position, and holding the pace with some experienced GP level riders around him. He matched the pace of riders like Gert Krestinov, Rob van Vijfeiken and Dennis Verbruggen, all of them with good GP experience under their belts, and actually moved to eighth spot during the first quarter of the race. Matters took a turn for the worse when he made a mistake whilst in a battle with Verbruggen, and he went down hard.

By now, Matiss had already been forced to toss his goggles, and making headway with no eye protection in the gritty sand is not amongst life's easy chores. He maintained his position, and yet again crossed the line in fourteenth position.

Matiss finished 12th overall for the day, just a few points shy of a top 10 finish. He expressed his pleasure in his usual deadpan style when informed that his day's work had hoisted him to 19th position in the standings, a remarkable achievement for such a young rider in this star-studded series.

Matiss scarcely had time to hand in his transponder, before the camper headed out for another non-stop 2000km trip back to Latvia. He will be one of the star attractions at an international Latvian championship event on the weekend, and no doubt his thoughts on the road would be hovering on the thought of another podium result in front of his home fans.



Wyatt Avis
Strong first moto of Wyatt Avis in Dutch Open in Rhenen

The LS Motorsport Honda rider Wyatt Avis rode a strong first moto at the third round of the Dutch Open Championship Series in Rhenen last Thursday. Avis rode his Honda from ninth to fifth position in the first moto. In the second moto he crashed and due a damaged front fork he finished in 23rd position.

After his strong ride at the Grand Prix of Portugal Wyatt was motivated to do well in Rhenen. The day started out positive for the South African and after several fast laps he ended the session in twelfth position.

First moto:
The start of the first moto was good and Wyatt came trough the first corner inside of the top ten. Avis found his rhythm straight away and started to make up places. During the race Wyatt managed to pass several riders and finally crossed the finish line in fifth position.

Second moto:
In the second moto Wyatt started again inside of the top ten. In the beginning of the race Wyatt worked himself up to sixth position. His charge trough the field ended due a crash. By the crash his front fork damaged and this made things difficult for Wyatt. The South African was determined to make it to the finish and he finally he crossed the line in 23rd position.

Wyatt finished in 13th position overall. After three rounds Wyatt sits in 35th position in the Dutch Open Championship Series. Today Wyatt will participate in an international race in Tongeren, Belgium.


Results by Steven van Kempen/KEMCO

MX1
1st Moto
1 Leok Est Kawasaki
2 Aigar Leok Est Yamaha
3 Marc de Reuver NL Honda
4 Danny Theybers B Suzuki
5 William Saris NL Yamaha
6 Jan van Hastenberg NL Honda
7 Patrick Roos NL KTM
8 Anne Advokaat NL Honda
9 Tom de Belder B Honda
10 Tom van Loon B Yamaha

2nd moto:
1 Marc de Reuver NL Honda
2 Tanel Leok Est Kawasaki
3 Aigar Leok Est Yamaha
4 Kristof Salaets B Honda
5 Patrick Roos NL KTM
6 Lauris Freibergs Let Yamaha
7 Danny Theybers B Suzuki
8 William Saris NL Yamaha
9 Jurgen van Nooten B KTM
10 Tom van Loon B Yamaha

MX1 Podium:
1 Tanel Leok Est Kawasaki 95
2 Marc de Reuver NL Honda 91
3 Aigar Leok Est Yamaha 86

Championship JUMBO ONK MX1 after 3 races:
1 Aigar Leok Est Yamaha 235
2 Lauris Freibergs Let Yamaha 201
3 Patrick Roos NL KTM 194
4 William Saris NL Yamaha 189
5 Jurgen van Nooten B KTM 181

MX2:
1st moto
1 Tyla Rattray Z-A KTM
2 Joel Roelants B KTM
3 Erik Eggens NL Suzuki
4 Jeremy Vanhorebeek B KTM
5 Wyatt Avis Z-A Honda
6 Gert Krestinov Est KTM
7 Rui Goncalves Por KTM
8 Evgeny Bobrishev Rus Yamaha
9 Shannon Terreblanche Z-A Suzuki
10 Rob van Vijfeijken NL Yamaha

2nd moto
1 Tyla Rattray Z-A KTM
2 Erik Eggens NL Suzuki
3 Rui Goncalves Por KTM
4 Jeremy Vanhorebeek B KTM
5 Joel Roelants B KTM
6 Shannon Terreblanche Z-A Suzuki
7 Dennis Verbruggen NL Yamaha
8 Jordi Paez NL Honda
9 Gert Krestinov Est KTM
10 Rob van Vijfeijken NL Yamaha

MX2 Podium:
1 Tyla Rattray Z-A KTM 100
2 Erik Eggens NL Suzuki 86
3 Joel Roelants B KTM 81

Championship JUMBO ONK MX2 after 3 races:
1 Erik Eggens NL Suzuki 265
2 Jeremy Vanhorebeek B KTM 252
3 Gert Krestinov Est KTM 198
4 Rob van Vijfeijken NL Yamaha 195
5 Tyla Rattray Z-A KTM 195

85cc
1st moto:
1 Max Anstie GB KTM
2 Jeffrey Herlings NL Suzuki
3 Donny Bastemeijer NL Honda
4 Jens Gettenman B Yamaha
5 Robert Justs Let Suzuki

2nd moto:
1 Max Anstie GB KTM
2 Donny Bastemeijer NL Honda
3 Jeffrey Herlings NL Suzuki
4 Jens Gettenman B Yamaha
5 Robert Justs Let Suzuki

85cc Podium:
1 Max Anstie GB KTM 100
2 Donny Bastemeijer NL Honda 86
3 Jeffrey Herlings NL Suzuki 86

Championship JUMBO ONK 85cc after 3 races:
1 Jeffrey Herlings NL Suzuki 281
2 Donny Bastemeijer NL Honda 255
3 Jens Getteman B Yamaha 228
4 Lars van Berkel NL Honda 207
5 Micha-Boy de Waal NL Suzuki 188