Jeremy Van Horebeek Wins His First MX Grand Prix

Belgian 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 frommoto1, 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. Hecrossed the finish line to take overall honoursfor 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.

www.thejerre.com

Image: CDS

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