Suzuki World MX2 rider Bas Vaessen won the German ADAC MX Youngster Cup Championship and Suzuki World MXGP’s Kevin Strijbos the Belgian Motocross Championship at the weekend.
With heavy rain and difficult track conditions at Holzgerlingen, Vaessen had a small lead over Miro Sihoven coming into the final event so the Dutch teenager had to dig deep to secure his first ADAC Championship title.
Said Vaessen: “I actually messed-up a little in the first race. My start was not so good and I was not really finding my rhythm, took a little break and then Sihoven was in front of me.” Ten minutes into the race, the organisers decided to put-out the red flag because of the very bad weather conditions, which meant the title went down to the final race.
“There is not much to say about the second moto. I took the holeshot and just stayed up front the whole race, getting a good gap with the other riders. The track was so wet, you had to be careful and stay focused until the end. But we did it. I’m so happy after all those weekends of back-to-back racing. I want to thank Team Suzuki for their support this last season and especially Harry Everts, Stefan Everts, Thomas Hannecke and Luc Piccart. And of course Itto, my top mechanic. We had a great year together. Also my parents, my trainer Gert-Jan and Sylvain Geboers,” Vaessen added.
Vaessen will stay with Team Suzuki World MX2 for next season and after finishing third in the 2016 250 European Championship, he will move up to the MX2 World Championship.
Strijbos won the Belgian Championship at the final round in Kester-Gooik, Belgium. With four riders in the hunt for the title, the Belgian took victory in the first race and after staying ahead of nearest rival Brent Van Doninck in the final two races secured the title ahead of Suzuki’s former World Champion Steve Ramon, who is still supported by the team.
Said Strijbos: “It was a good weekend for me. It was unexpected to win the title. We were thinking of it before this weekend but it was never the plan because I missed the first round. But everything turned out very good. After the first moto, I was leading the championship with Brent and then after the second, I had a six-point lead. In the last race Brent crashed out so I was certain of the championship and only had to watch Steve.”
ADAC MX Youngster Cup Championship Final Standings: 1. Bas Vaessen (NED, Suzuki World MX2) 230 p, 2. Miro Sihvonen (FIN, KTM) 220 p, 3. Stefan Ekerold (GER, Husqvarna) 208 p, 4. Luca Nijenhuis (NED, Kawasaki) 147 p, 5. Cedric Grobben (BEL, KTM) 123,5 p
Belgian Championship Final Standings: 1. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki World MXGP) 191 p, 2. Steve Ramon (Bel, Suzuki) 178 p, 3. Brent Van Donick (BEL, Yamaha) 165 p.
