SummaryRacePrepQualifyingRace1Race2NextRace - Pictures

RACE IN LELYSTAD, 12-August 2012
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Summary

9th out of 47 starters. Quali: 7th. ~400 spectators
Mixed day really, my qualifying was good with 7th position. Then I had a terrible start into the first race, ending up in 13th position after lap 1! Overtaking was really difficult on this layout and I was simply stuck – and maybe too cautious trying to pass. Finished 13th in the end. With a lot of anger, I managed a better start and finished 7th and with 9th overall at least Top 10 in the end.
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Race Prep

They changed the layout in Lelystad completely, luckily I went for practice the day before so I could get used to it. Main focus was the jump in the off road though. Last time I crashed there and missed the race. This time I made quite good progress and only the few that fully clear it will still have an advantage there. That’s luckily only a very few.
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Qualifying

Qualification went quite well, got a couple of good laps in and finished 7th, not far from position 5, so I hoped for a good start and then see what's possible in the race.
Quali result: 7th
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Race 1

My starting position was quite good, second row. The new layout has a very wide, fast left corner after the start finish line instead of the tight left turn. Following this, a short straight and tight infield – left, right and then left/right chicane. My plan was to stay inside for the first turn because I expected some jam outside. My start was great, I even moved up a little during the wide left turn and stayed inside as planned. Bad choice – two riders in front of me closed the corner and I had to go on the grass even and almost came to a full stand. Even worse, I was outside for the next right turn and one after the other slipped through inside before I could smash myself in again. Couldn’t believe what happened, suddenly I was stuck in the field! The front moved away quickly and I was just stuck behind some other riders. I went inside, outside – looked like parallel riding – but I just didn’t manage to go by without taking a risk. A crash and finally a successful move took me to 11th position and within a lap, I closed the gap to 10th position – just to be stuck again… and then out of nowhere I lost two positions in the last two laps. The championship point leader Kevin Schuurman was apparently also in a similar situation and he came up to me and pulled an action in the offroad, jumping by me and then at the same spot another one. 13th in the end, needless to say that I was super pissed…
Race 1 result: 13th...
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Race 2

New game plan, stay outside first turn! I started next to Johnny Stobbe, 6th in qualifying and 4th in the championship standings. I came off the line again very well, Johnny went wild though and crossed over, even hitting my back. Luckily I was already far enough and juts kept the gas open, so got away unharmed. This time, I moved to the outside right away to do the first left turn more in the middle to the outside and to be inside for the next right. Worked perfectly, I came as 6th out of the first lap! Unfortunately Kevin Schuurman was right behind me and he passed me in the offroad again. No way to defend him there unfortunately, so I was riding in 7th. I could follow the speed a few laps, but then fatigue kicked in and I settled for a slightly slower pace. In lap 10, a crash in front got me to position 6 again. Johnny Stobbe came up from the back, he was way back after the start, but managed to gain one position each lap in the offroad (something I should have risked more in the first race…). In lap 11, I made a small mistake before the offroad jump and he managed to jump by – damn it. I followed him afterwards, but couldn’t attack again. So I defended my position, had actually two more at my back wheel, but was able to finish 7th. A pleasant ending, making 9th overall on a rather mixed day…
Race 2 result: 7th
Overall: 9th
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Next race

Next race is already next week in Holten, a street course. Last year was full rain there and I had a rather good race, finishing 7th overall.
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Pictures
Pictures: Click here for pictures