First Stoppelcross of the season: Handel, NL. By BdJ

Nov 08, 2011

Written by Bart de Jong

Read 7666 times

We waited 11 months for the Stoppelcross season to arrive. The first one just took place last weekend in Handel, NL. It was time to dust off the machine and get things done. The benchtalking had gone through the roof leading towards the first race so it was time to back it up by showing the results. The Stoppelcross season is about the hobby riders but of course plenty of sandbaggers show up to grab the cups. Lame, but it will always be that way I guess.

The day kicked off early at 06:15am. It wasn't just myself getting ready, my son Philip decided to enter the race too. His first ever motocross race on his OSET electric bike. We had no clue how he would do in the mini class on that thing but we would soon find out. At 07:00hr sharp Pieter Does got in the van, Rob Karsmakers had pulled up and we met Eric Mulders and Paul de Jong on the way there. That way we could set up our pit area so we could continue to talk shit to eachother.

The track had about 6 jumps and was just roped off in a field. In practice Philip managed to do his laps around the track, but that's when everything was still rather flat. During the MX2 Hobby practice ti was still sweet to ride around. Not too many speed bumps and ruts yet. Eric Mulders didn't see much of practice as he was busy pumping up his right leg. Starting that 4-stroke ain't easy when it's hot! We all survived practice and loads of people started to show up. Good to see that. Most BMX-ers

entered the MX2 class (Wilco Groenendaal, Pieter Does, Paul de Jong, Eric Mulders, Glenn van de Wetering, Koen Smulders, Patrick Claessens, friends Tom Kuiper, Karin van Dijk, Rob Karsmakers and more) but first up was Philip on his electric bike. His gate-pick was 49 (out of 50) and he as nervous as hell. After a restart and only one lap, the bike's juice was gone. What normally lasts over an hour, only lasted 25 minutes in Handel. Big disappointment but the bike got charged up quickly for his second moto.

With pretty much everyone in the first MX2 Hobby heat (even numbers) it was time for action. I believe I had gate pick 23 and ended up on the outside on the gate. The first turn went to the left and I managed to make it out of turn one in the top 12. I saw Pieter and Rob Kars in front of me, and Eric Mulders was up there too. When we passed the finish area for the first time the race was flagged off. Apparently people were still in the waiting zone when the gate dropped.

Damn. Anyway, false start number two of the day (Philip had one earlier). For the second start I managed to find a spot on the inside, next to holeshot master Eric Mulders. If he was going to be quick out of the gate, it would give me some space. Plus Eric was my main target of the whole race so I could keep an eye on him.

I believe everyone got out of the gate okay. The top 20 of the 50 riders would transfer to the A-final. Everyone else would have to ride the B-final. I'm not sure how long the race was in total but I expected to see the

1-lap sign 2 rounds before I finally saw it. Making it to the A-final in the even number group were Pieter Does (5th), Rob Karsmakers (9th), myself (15th) and Karin van Dijk (20th). Missing out on the A-final was a.o. Eric Mulders, making this my personal victory already. Eric got 22nd, Tom Kuiper got 32nd after a crash and Paul got 36th. The uneven group saw Wilco Groenendaal, Koen Smulders and Glenn van de Wetering transfer to the A-final.

Other BMX riders present did their thing in various classes. Jeffrey van der Biezen (brother of Raymon) got some great starts on his pitbike. Frank "Lippe" Weckert came all the way from Germany by himself to enter the Stoppelcross. He made it to the B-final in the MX1 hobby class. A finals in the MX1 hobby class for Harm van Brussel and also Jurgen Meyer. Koen Nouwen got 31st on his Puch and I'm sure I'm missing out on more BMX riders who entered the race. You get the feeling that once the BMX season is over, people get together for these stoppelcross races.

Philip's second moto went much better. He finished the race which gave him a great feeling. The battery was charged just enough to complete the full race this time. Tom Kuiper took care of business in the B-final of the MX-2 Hobby class. After a great start Eric Mulders dropped back to 10th place. Paul rode his best race ever and finished 24th. A good start sure helps.

I wasn't sure where to line up. I got 29th gate pick which meant all the spots on the starting gate were gone. I chose the inside for the A-final and parked the KTM behind Pieter Does' Honda. Pieter never fails in anything so I considered this a good spot. Pieter's gate was dece

nt and I managed to make a quick 90 degree left turn to get out of the first turn around 20th position. My most important competition was already over so I wanted to finish the race without too much trouble. When the checkered flag fell, I crossed the finish line in 25th. Karin van Dijk got 29th and former BMX World Champion Wilco Groenendaal got 38th. Beating Wilco always feels good. Rob Kars got 22nd, Glenn van de Wetering 17th, Koen Smulders took his 125KX to 14th place and Pieter Does finished highest up there in 9t

h position. But most importantly, we all survived and the bikes were still running.

To see how everyone else did, check the results. Next race up is coming up on Sunday in Boekel. Let's hope the weather stays like this for a few more days as normally the race in Boekel is a mud race. We'll see. Thanks to everyone for showing up. More Stoppelcross races to come.

BdJ

Check for results HERE.