Shaun Simpson poised for Belgian MX title‏

Lier
–
The
Belgian LS Honda Racing outfit is ready to finish the 2011 motocross
season in style at Mont-Saint Guibert where the final round of the
Lotto Trophy will take place. Shaun Simpson stands on the threshold
of the title in the highly regarded Belgian Open Motocross
Championship. He currently leads the series with a 53-point lead over
the Italian Davide Guarneri. Ken De Dycker, who makes his comeback in
Mont-Saint Guibert after sustaining a neck injury at the GP of
Limburg in Lommel, is third trailing his team mate by 63 points. With
75 points up for grabs Shaun needs to score 23 points to be crowned
champion.
It would be Simpson’s first accolade in the MX1
class, the popular British rider already claimed the British MX2
title in 2008.

The
Mont-Saint Guibert track,
based in a huge sand quarry is arguably one of the finest in Belgium.
Ken De Dycker had the opportunity to sample the course on Wednesday,
Big Ken was beaming with enthusiasm afterwards. “It feels great to
be back on the bike! I was happy to find out I had no discomfort at
all, not even stiffness in my neck. I’m really looking forward to
race again this weekend. The track is awesome to race as well. Last
year was a bit of a bummer because we had to ride a shortened layout.
Now I had a similar feel to when I discovered the track a couple of
years ago. It’s big, wide, fun to ride and there are some cool
jumps.”

For
LS Honda Racing the title with Shaun Simpson would mean a third
consecutive national title after Davide Guarneri’s Italian MX1
Championship in 2010 and Clément Desalle’s domestic success in
2009. While ‘Braveheart’ feels at home in the Low Countries,
where he has lived during the season since 2007, we wanted to know
how much Belgian there is in the fast Scott!

You
are living in Overpelt now, but you also lived in Holland one year.
Do you notice the difference
between Dutch people and Belgian people?
Shaun Simpson: “Obviously
the language is a little bit different, especially with the accent
and also with how people behave. (smiles) Dutch people are definitely
louder and more direct! I can’t say I prefer one more than the
other, but I had fun in Belgium as well as in Holland and made
friends everywhere.”

Ok,
let’s test you knowledge about Belgium. What’s the capital city?

Simpson:
“Brussels.”

Correct!
How many official official languages are being used in
Belgium?
Simpson:
“There’s two for sure, Dutch and French. Do they speak German in
some parts? Is Flemish a separate language, or is it a
dialect?

There’s
three languages: Dutch, French and German. Flemish is just a dialect,
like Scottish in Great-Britain I guess. When was Belgium
founded?
Simpson: “I
have no clue, I am not good at history. (laughing) Don’t ask me
about the first king, I don’t even know who was the first British
king was!”

What
other sports besides motocross is Belgium famous for?
Simpson:
“For sure cycling, road cycling and cyclocross. Other than that, is
ice hockey big? I know Ken (De Dycker) likes that. I’m really a
two-wheel guy myself.”

Tennis,
judo, athletics and billiard are also pretty strong. Can you name
five Belgian bands or music acts?

Simpson:
“I’m
not good with music I am afraid. I know that Werchter is a big
festival, and I went there a few times but I can’t remember any
bands, sorry! I hardly know British bands. Man this is hard work
your quiz!”

Okay,
something easy. Who’s your favourite Belgian babe?
Simpson:
“Belgian
babe? (rolls his eyes) I don’t watch a lot of TV so I’m not
familiar with the names, but for sure you have some nice girls in
Belgium!”

What’s
your
favourite Belgian dish?
Simpson:
“I like witloof, I’m not even sure we have that back home! Fries
are also nice and frikandel special.”

Can
you name two Belgian comic book characters?
Simpson:
“Beats me, I’m not into comics even not the American ones. I
have to admit I’m pretty boring!

The
smurfs are Belgian and you will definitely find out about Tintin when
the Steven Spielberg film is launched at the end of the year. Do
Scottish people and Flemish people have something in common?
Simpson:
“A
few of the dialect words are actually similar! That’s strange when
you hear it, I can’t find examples from the top of my head. In 2009
I was working with Hugo America, a physical trainer from Limburg. He
often said some words that I had heard before in Scottish. Apart from
that, the landscape is very different. In Scottland we have hills,
here it is very flat. The weather is about the same, it’s shit in
Scottland and it’s shit here! But the people are quite laidback
both in Belgium and in Scotland.”

In
Belgium you have very strong regional identities with the Dutch and
French-speaking identities.
Every once in a while politics are bound to show up in sports as
well. Scottland seems to have some of the strongest riders in the UK,
is this an issue with the selection of the British Motocross of
Nations team. I’m not saying this was the reason why you were not
picked for Saint-Jean d’Angély, I just want your thoughts on
this.

Simpson: “I
don’t know, if you’re British and you’re eligible that’s all
that matters. The best three guys should be picked. If they’re all
Scottish, only one, two or no Scottish doesn’t matter! It would be
nice to have a Scottish team though, and I think we should be doing
really well. Maybe we would beat the British or the English team!
Most of the top British riders of the last seasons were Scottish
anyway; Stephen Sword, Billy Mackenzie, me, Dean Wilson… But I
don’t
think it’s ever going to happen.”