| 8th out
of 57 starters. Quali: 8th. ~1,000 spectators Not a good weekend... I crashed badly at the start of race one and hurt my shoulder badly. I still managed to get a decent result in the race from dead last to 13th and also the second race went amazingly well considering the pain and limitations in movement. So overall damage control and 8th overall! Luckily, it turned out that there was nothing major damaged in the shoulder, but it is expected to take many weeks to fully heal, so this of course affects the coming weeks. |
| Just one week since race one and I had this major noise problem. I
handed my pipes to another racer to stuff them newly in the hope to get
the noise level down. It was unclear how the KNMV will react and maybe
change the measurement system. Luckily, everything worked out. I got
the pipes and mounted them in time before the first practice. Another
concern is my leaking front brake cylinder, but here I couldn't find
anything yet. Regarding the noise, it did work and lowered the noise
level relative to the others, but everyone was still too loud, so no
penalties were carried out this round. Story to be continued. |
| Free practice and then qualifying felt ok, I also thought the
offroad was good. But somehow the speed was not all there. I also
didn't get a full clean lap really. When I didn't have traffic, I made
mistakes, so I felt there is room for improvement for at least one
second. My last lap was in the end the fastest, luckily, but just good
enough for 8th starting position. Not so good. Quali result: 8th |
| My plan was to be a bit more aggressive at the start and attack the
first corners to not lose contact to the front because I felt I could
follow them if riding directly behind. I got off the start well and I
moved between the two riders left and right of me into the first right
bend before the first corner. Unfortunately, things went wrong and Cees
Haan turned into the bend and I didn't seem him in time and obviously
he didn't see me to give me a bit more room. I tried to break but hit
him and we went off the track into a little hayball and crashed there.
I hit the ground hard with my shoulder and Cees and another rider went
also down. I have to take some blame here, I should have backed up a
little earlier... I felt quite a lot of pain in my shoulder, but
decided to pick up the bike, hop on and try from dead last... First
half lap, I checked the bike and checked what I could do. The shoulder
felt like there was something not right, but it was ok riding, so I
started to chase the pack. Out of lap one, I was in position 33... This
is how it went down then: Lap 2: 32nd Lap 3: 29th Lap 4: 27th Lap 5: 25th Lap 6: 24th Lap 7: 22nd Lap 8 & 9: 20th Lap 10 & 11: 19th Lap 12 & 13: 18th Lap 14 & 15: 15th Lap 16 and finish: 13th So I moved up steadily and ended in 13th position and I was quite happy with this considering the crash at the beginning of the race. Race 1 result: 13th |
| During the break, the pain increased and the question was if I
should try to race the second race. I decided to somehow get into the
leather suit and try it. If it doesn't work, I'd just pull over and
stop. Starting position was thirteen, the result of the first race. I
of course planned to stay out of any trouble and if possible on the
outside. As the race started and already in the first corner, I was
able to ride around some guys, gaining a few positions. Same in the
second corner. And the third one led into the offroad part of the track
and I went off the normal inside race line where people jammed and
there I gained more positions! All relatively relaxed to not stress the
shoulder. Amazingly, I came as 7th out of the first lap !! The shoulder
worked as long as I didn;t move too much and I compensated as much as
possible. In lap 4, I lost one position to Jules Thijssen, so back in
8th, but in lap 6, I passed him and Marco Jansen to move into 6th
position. My times were ok and I was able to move away from them
quickly, so I started to put as little pressure on my shoulder as
possible. I even managed a faster time than in qualifying. As I managed
the race, Johnny Nieboer came close towards the end, so I had to focus
again in order to not lose my 6th position and I did, finishing in 6th.
A very amazing result after the crash in race one !! It secured me a
top 10 finish, overall 8th position ! Race 2 result: 6th Overall: 8th |
| I needed some help to pack my stuff and it was a painful first
night. Lots of ice and pain killers and I decided to see a doctor the
following week. Boekel is only two weeks ahead and luckily x-ray and
examinations did not show any broken bones, although they were not 100%
sure. Nevertheless, all about healing and then seeing how it goes for
the next race. Of course, no practice or workout possible unfortunately. |