Van Horebeek shows determination in Sweden

After a serious crash put Jeremy Van Horebeek out of the Latvian GP a week ago, the tough CLS Kawasaki racer has bounced back at the 10^th round of the FIM MX World championships held in an overcast Uddevalla, Sweden.

When scans and X-rays confirmed earlier this week that Van Horebeek was safe to ride the Swedish MX GP, the ‘Jerre’ put aside his whiplash and pain and went out to win the qualifying heat on Saturday in front of a strong Scandinavian crowd. With pole position giving the Belgian a great starting position Van Horebeek grabbed a good start in moto 1 and emerged in third spot on the opening lap.   With fellow Kawasaki team-mate Steven Frossard making his way to the front of the pack, Van Horebeek picked up his pace and closed in on Herlings.  Disaster struck for Roczen when he was sidelined with a technical problem which moved Herlings and Van Horebeek into second and third place respectively.  At the end of the 35 min + 2 Lap race,  ‘The Jerre’ was happy to cross the finish line in a podium position.

A lesser start in Moto 2 left Van Horebeek boxed in going into the first turn. He charged through the pack trying not to take any risks on a slippery circuit. He progressed up the ladder into 6^th place behind championship leader Marvin Musquin.

“A week ago I was unsure whether I would even be able to ride this GP  but I was able to turn this around and get a podium in the first race. It was really tough for me but you have to make the best of the bad days and I achieved this.  We have three weeks to rest before my home GP in Lommel and of course I want to do well there.   The Belgian GP will be a big event and I am sure the Belgian fans want to see me on the podium so I will do my best to make it happen” said Van Horebeek.

Image: CDS

Race results:

MX2 Race 1
1 Frossard, Steven FRA Kawasaki
2 Herlings, Jeffrey NED KTM
3 van Horebeek, Jeremy BEL Kawasaki
4 Musquin, Marvin FRA KTM
5 Paulin, Gautier FRA Yamaha
6 Kullas, Harri FIN Yamaha
7 Osborne, Zach USA Yamaha
8 Roelants, Joel BEL KTM
9 Simpson, Shaun GBR KTM
10 Charlier, Christophe FRA Yamaha
11 Lupino, Alessandro ITA Yamaha
12 Teillet, Valentin FRA KTM
13 Leib, Michael USA Kawasaki
14 Tonus, Arnaud SUI Suzuki
15 Delince, Jeremy BEL KTM

MX2 Race 2
1 Roczen, Ken GER Suzuki
2 Frossard, Steven FRA Kawasaki
3 Paulin, Gautier FRA Yamaha
4 Herlings, Jeffrey NED KTM
5 Musquin, Marvin FRA KTM
6 van Horebeek, Jeremy BEL Kawasaki
7 Leib, Michael USA Kawasaki
8 Roelants, Joel BEL KTM
9 Osborne, Zach USA Yamaha
10 Karro, Matiss LAT Suzuki
11 Simpson, Shaun GBR KTM
12 Nicholls, Jake GBR KTM
13 Lupino, Alessandro ITA Yamaha
14 Charlier, Christophe FRA Yamaha
15 Kullas, Harri FIN Yamaha

MX2 GP Overall:
1 Frossard, Steven FRA Kawasaki 47
2 Herlings, Jeffrey NED KTM 40
3 Paulin, Gautier FRA Yamaha 36
4 van Horebeek, Jeremy BEL Kawasaki 35
5 Musquin, Marvin FRA KTM 34
6 Roelants, Joel BEL KTM 26
7 Osborne, Zach USA Yamaha 26
8 Roczen, Ken GER Suzuki 25
9 Leib, Michael USA Kawasaki 22
10 Simpson, Shaun GBR KTM 22
11 Kullas, Harri FIN Yamaha 21
12 Lupino, Alessandro ITA Yamaha 18
13 Charlier, Christophe FRA Yamaha 18
14 Nicholls, Jake GBR KTM 12
15 Karro, Matiss LAT Suzuki 11

MX2 World championship standings:
1 Musquin, M. FRA 438
2 Roczen, Ken GER 355
3 Frossard, S. FRA 355
4 Herlings, J. NED 326
5 Osborne, Zach USA 275
6 Simpson, Shaun GBR 268
7 van Horebeek, J. BEL 244
8 Tonus, Arnaud SUI 243
9 Roelants, Joel BEL 240
10 Kullas, Harri FIN 203
11 Nicholls, Jake GBR 189
12 Charlier, C. FRA 171
13 Paulin, G. FRA 168
14 Lupino, A. ITA 129
15 Verbruggen, D. BEL 127