Britain’s Shaun Simpson has taken over the lead in Belgian Motocross Championships.

With main rival Ken De Dycker sidelined with injury, Simpson was able to capitalise at the fifth round of the series at the weekend.

After an eventful day of racing at the legendary Keiheuvel sand track, which saw Dutch rider Jeffrey Herlings (KTM) dominating all three motos and Belgian Clément Desalle (Suzuki) crashing out in the first moto, Simpson scored an overall top five position. The 23-year-old Scotsman now holds a massive 63-point advantage over Italian Davide Guarneri (Kawasaki), now his closest rival for the title.

Close to 10,000 people had gathered in Balen near Mol for what is arguably one of the biggest international races in Europe. Simpson had placed fourth in qualifying for what was his first ever visit to ‘de Keiheuvel’. Unfortunately he also injured his clutch finger.

“I suspected it might be broken actually, because it really hurt a lot! But I hope it’s okay for Matterly Basin (the British GP this weekend),” said Simpson.

Still, the man they call ‘Braveheart’ gritted his teeth and performed consistently all day long.

Simpson managed to avoid the first-lap carnage between Desalle, Russian Evgeny Bobryshev (Honda) and German Max Nagl (KTM) to grab third in the holeshot. During the 20-minute plus 1 lap opening sprint Shaun slipped back one place to finish fourth behind Herlings, Kevin Strijbos (Suzuki) and Joel Roelants (KTM).

The former British MX2 champion went into the second race looking for a podium finish. This time Simpson had an even better start right behind Herlings.

Simpson managed to hold on to second for three laps, but was not able to keep Tanel Leok and Roelants at bay. The final and longest moto of the day was the most difficult for the LS Honda rider. Circulating in tenth on the opening lap Simpson managed to climb up to seventh after passing Belgian rider Nick Triest (KTM), Dutch rider Herjan Brakke (Yamaha) and Guarneri. With Bobryshev retiring, Simpson slotted in to sixth, his final position for the race.

“I didn’t have a good feeling today and because of the problem with my index finger it was hard to hold the bike,” said Simpson

“It was frustrating because the track looked cool and there was a big crowd. I had heard a lot about ‘de Keiheuvel’ before and I wanted to enjoy the experience. Even more so after riding well in the sand at the GP in Lommel.

“In the first moto I was lucky to avoid the trouble with Desalle and the other guys, but my second start was definitely the best. Leading the championship is nice, yet it feels awkward because I don’t want to win because everyone dropped. I want to win because I’m the fastest.”

First moto Inters Open

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 2. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), 3. Joel Roelants (BEL, KTM), 4. Shaun Simpson (GBR, Honda), 5. Petar Petrov (BUL, Yamaha), 6. Tanel Leok (Est, TM), 7. Yentel Martens (BEL, KTM), 8. Herjan Brakke (NED, Yamaha), 9. Jonathan Barragan (SPA, Kawasaki), 10. Marvin van Daele (BEL, Honda), 11. Manuel Priem (BEL, Yamaha), 12. Davide Guarneri (ITA, Kawasaki), 13. Erik Eggens (NED, Yamaha), 14. Roy Gysel (NED, Suzuki), 15. Jurgen van Nooten (BEL, KTM).

Second moto Inters Open

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 2. Tanel Leok (EST, TM), 3. Joel Roelants (BEL, KTM), 4. Shaun Simpson (GBR, Honda), 5. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), 6. Max Nagl (GER, KTM), 7. Davide Guarneri (ITA, Kawasaki), 8. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), 9. Jonathan Barragan (SPA, Kawasaki), 10. Yentel Martens (BEL, KTM), 11. Marvin van Daele (BEL, Honda), 12. Manuel Priem (BEL, Yamaha), 13. Petar Petrov (BUL, Yamaha), 14. Herjan Brakke (Ned, Yamaha), 15. Erik Eggens (NED, Yamaha).

Third moto Inters Open

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 2. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), 3. Max Nagl (GER, KTM), 4. Joel Roelants (BEL, KTM), 5. Tanel Leok (EST, TM), 6. Shaun Simpson (GBR, LS Honda Racing), 7. Davide Guarneri (ITA, Kawasaki), 8. Nick Triest (BEL, KTM), 9. Jonathan Barragan (SPA, Kawasaki), 10. Petar Petrov (BUL, Yamaha), 11. Kristof Salaets (BEL, Honda), 12. Yentel Martens (BEL, KTM), 13. Marvin van Daele (BEL, Honda), 14. Manuel Priem (BEL, Yamaha), 15. Erik Eggens (NED, Yamaha).

CLASSIFICATION KEIHEUVEL-BALEN

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 75p, 2. Joel Roelants (BEL, KTM), 58p, 3. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), 57p, 4. Tanel Leok (Est, TM), 53p, 5. Shaun Simpson (GBR, Honda), 51p, 6. Davide Guarneri (ITA, Kawasaki), 37p, 7. Jonathan Barragan (SPA, Kawasaki), 36p, 8. Max Nagl (DUI, KTM), 35p, 9. Petar Petrov (BUL, Yamaha), 35p, 10. Yentel Martens (BEL, KTM), 34p, 11. Marvin van Daele (BEL,Honda), 29p, 12. Manuel Priem (BEL, Yamaha), 26p, 13. Erik Eggens (NED, Yamaha), 20p, 14. Herjan Brakke (NED, Yamaha), 20p, 15. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), 16p.

Lotto Trophy/Belgian Championship standings after 5 rounds:

1. Shaun Simpson (GBR, Honda), 260p, 2. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Honda), 241p, 3. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), 216p, 4. Davide Guarneri (ITA, Kawasaki), 197p, 5. Steve Ramon (BEL, Suzuki), 184p, 6. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), 166p, 7. Marvin van Daele (BEL, Honda), 135p, 8. David Cools (BEL, Kawasaki), 131p, 9. Jeremy Delince (BEL, KTM), 106p, 10. Tanel Leok (EST, TM), 105p, 11. Kristof Salaets (BEL, Honda), 100p, 12. Nick Triest (BEL, KTM), 90p, 13. Herjan Brakke (NED, Yamaha), 86p, 14. Joel Roelants (BEL, KTM), 85p, 15. Eric Foguenne (BEL, Suzuki), 84p.

© Photo by Tom Jacobs, www.BikesportNZ.com

© Photo by CDS