History written on the Citadelle in Namen
7/31/2006
MX GP - Round 12 - Namen, Belgium — While Stefan Everts wrapped up his 10th world title on the flanks of the infamous Citadelle circuit in Namen, THOR riders Marc De Reuver and Gareth Swanepoel both had tough outings on the historic site.
Both De Reuver and Swanepoel had to make do with mediocre starts in the first MX2 moto with the technical and treacherous Namur circuit not making it easier to get through the pack. De Reuver executed a commendable charge back to 5th spot followed closely by Swanepoel however the South Africans machine gave up all life, 5 laps from the checkered flag while placed in 8th.
A first turn pile-up in moto 2 ruined any chances of a podium finish for De Reuver. The plucky Dutchman remounted and fought his way back to 13th which was enough to notch up 7th overall for the event. 'Swanie' was looking to regain some of the points lost in the first moto and set a steady race pace which handed the 21-year-old a respectable 6th place finish.
THOR star, Sebastien Tortelli, was also present at Namur to watch Everts re-write the history books. It was the first ever visit to the spectacular arena for Tortelli and the ever-smiling Frenchman took time to sign autographs and take pictures with his many loyal and international fans.
De Reuver: "Yesterday I rode terribly and today was 100% better. The starts made life difficult for me but I came back well in the first moto. I was a little bit tired at the end. In the second start I went for the berm on the first corner and got caught up with a lot of people, some crashing. I rode my own race from there and I did not want to make any mistakes on this track because it is very difficult; one small mistake could mean that you go into the trees. I have a 450 race coming up soon and that should be fun and in the last GPs I will try to do my best."
Swanepoel: The first moto was a tough one for the team because the mechanics have put in so much hard work this year and it was an unfortunate DNF when we were in a good position to score points. But that's racing and I managed to turn it around in the second moto. Namen is such a special circuit - it's so rough and demands so much respect so I was really pleased with my result in the second moto. The next few GP tracks really suit me - I look forward to posting some good results"
MX2 Race 1
- Cairoli, Antonio ITA Yamaha
- Philippaerts, David ITA KTM
- Pourcel, Christophe FRA Kawasaki
- Pourcel, Sebastien FRA Kawasaki
- de Reuver, Marc NED KTM (THOR)
- Nagl, Maximilian GER KTM
- Mackenzie, Billy GBR Yamaha
- Goncalves, Rui POR KTM
- Monni, Manuel ITA KTM
- Seistola, Matti FIN Honda
- Nunn, Carl GBR KTM
- Caps, Patrick BEL Honda
- Renet, Pierre A. FRA Honda
- Leok, Aigar EST Yamaha
- Simpson, Shaun GBR Honda
MX2 Race 2
- Cairoli, Antonio ITA Yamaha
- Pourcel, Christophe FRA Kawasaki
- Nunn, Carl GBR KTM
- Rattray, Tyla RSA KTM
- Pourcel, Sebastien FRA Kawasaki
- Swanepoel, Garreth RSA Kawasaki (THOR)
- Goncalves, Rui POR KTM
- Leok, Aigar EST Yamaha
- Monni, Manuel ITA KTM
- Renet, Pierre A. FRA Honda
- Campano, Carlos SPA KTM
- Seistola, Matti FIN Honda
- de Reuver, Marc NED KTM (THOR)
- Bonini, Matteo ITA Yamaha
- Boissiere, Anthony FRA Yamaha