/ news / Jeremy Van Horebeek wins his first MX Grand Prix
Jeremy Van Horebeek wins his first MX Grand Prix
18/05/2009Belgian Motocross star, Jeremy Van Horebeek, has won his first ever MX2 Grand Prix with an incredible ride at the GP of Catalunya in Bellpuig.
Feeling physically strong after his the previous GP outing in Portugal a week earlier, ‘The Jerre’ felt confident with the updated settings on his KTM 250SXF and it was clear from the first practice on Saturday that the nineteen-year-old was going to be tough to beat as he posted the fastest lap time in the MX2 class. In the qualifying race, Van Horebeek got a reasonable start and pushed hard from the opening lap which he blasted round in 5th spot. Managing to pick off a couple more guys over the next 20 minutes Van Horebeek crossed the finish line in 3rd position, happy with this gate pick for Sunday’s two GP .
With 20.000 spectators lining the steep hills of the Bellpuig circuit, moto 1 got underway with Van Horebeek grabbing a great jump as he screamed his number 89 machine towards the first corner elbow to elbow with Rui Goncalves. As the pack hurtled through turn one, Van Horebeek was in 2nd position and pushing hard for the lead. Lap after lap he relentlessly hounded the back wheel of Goncalves. Managing to keep his pace right to the finish ‘The Jerre’ crossed the line in 2nd place, punching the air with delight.
Still on a high from moto1, Van Horebeek lined up for the second moto determined to get another great result. As the gate dropped his initial jump out the gate was not as good as the first race however Van Horebeek still positioned himself up in the top bunch as he battled for every position. Closing up the opening lap in 6th position the race was on to get back towards the front of the pack. The KTM Junior Team rider powered through the dust as he picked off the competition one by one. On the final lap Van Horebeek was up to 4th position, but he needed just one more position to secure the overall win for the day. With just a few corners to go in the almost 40 minute long race Van Horebeek slipped his KTM into 3rd position by passing Frenchman Nico Aubin. He crossed the finish line to take overall honours for the day and his first career MX2 GP overall victory.
“I am just so happy to get the win today.” explained an ecstatic Van Horebeek. “The KTM Factory Junior Team have done a great job and we made some changes to the engine on my bike which suits my riding style much better and now I feel really comfortable on the bike. I had a great start to the season with a podium in Faenza but then I had to miss the Turkish GP with a shoulder injury. I tried to make up for the lost time on the bike by increasing my physical training and my good base in the winter has helped me prove today that I have the speed and ability to win GP’s. I am just going to take each race one at a time and do my best to get back on the podium again.”
Jeremy Van Horebeek will take part in the 3rd round of the Dutch National Championship this coming Thursday before travelling to the UK for round 7 of the World Motocross Championships which take place on the 30th and 31st of May
Race results:
Mx2 Race 1
1 Goncalves, Rui POR KTM
2 van Horebeek, Jeremy BEL KTM
3 Boog, Xavier FRA Suzuki
4 Guarneri, Davide ITA Yamaha
5 Frossard, Steven FRA Kawasaki
6 Roczen, Ken GER Suzuki
7 Boissiere, Anthony FRA KTM
8 Monni, Manuel ITA Yamaha
9 Schiffer, Marcus GER KTM
10 Tonus, Arnaud SUI KTM
11 Aubin, Nicolas FRA Yamaha
12 Verbruggen, Dennis BEL Honda
13 Roelants, Joel BEL KTM
14 Musquin, Marvin FRA Honda
15 Larsen, Nikolai DEN Suzuki
Mx2 Race 2
1 Boissiere, Anthony FRA KTM
2 Roczen, Ken GER Suzuki
3 van Horebeek, Jeremy BEL KTM
4 Aubin, Nicolas FRA Yamaha
5 Goncalves, Rui POR KTM
6 Frossard, Steven FRA Kawasaki
7 Guarneri, Davide ITA Yamaha
8 Boog, Xavier FRA Suzuki
9 Musquin, Marvin FRA Honda
10 Schiffer, Marcus GER KTM
11 Vongsana, Khounsith FRA Honda
12 Sword, Stephen GBR KTM
13 Nicholls, Jake GBR KTM
14 Monni, Manuel ITA Yamaha
15 Klein Kromhof, Ceriel NED KTM
MX2 GP Overall
1 van Horebeek, Jeremy BEL KTM 42
2 Goncalves, Rui POR KTM 41
3 Boissiere, Anthony FRA KTM 39
4 Roczen, Ken GER Suzuki 37
5 Boog, Xavier FRA Suzuki 33
6 Guarneri, Davide ITA Yamaha 32
7 Frossard, Steven FRA Kawasaki 31
8 Aubin, Nicolas FRA Yamaha 28
9 Schiffer, Marcus GER KTM 23
10 Monni, Manuel ITA Yamaha 20
11 Musquin, Marvin FRA Honda 19
12 Nicholls, Jake GBR KTM 12
13 Tonus, Arnaud SUI KTM 11
14 Vongsana, Khounsith FRA Honda 10
15 Paulin, Gautier FRA Kawasaki 10
MX2 World championship standings:
1 Musquin, M. FRA 184
2 Paulin, G. FRA 181
3 Guarneri, D. ITA 179
4 Goncalves, Rui POR 166
5 Boog, Xavier FRA 141
6 Frossard, S. FRA 136
7 Aubin, Nicolas FRA 126
8 Osborne, Zach USA 100
9 Simpson, Shaun GBR 97
10 van Horebeek, J. BEL 89
11 Schiffer, M. GER 89
12 Monni, Manuel ITA 87
13 Tonus, Arnaud SUI 83
14 Larrieu, Loic FRA 70
15 Roelants, Joel BEL 69
go back