Report: Coupe de l'Avenir (Under 21 Team Race)
By Dick Law on 5th Oct 16
While team Belgium retained the Coupe de lAvenir trophy (Cup of the Future) at the weekend in Baisieux on home terrain the nine- man Under 21 team representing Great Britain did the country proud by finishing the event in a strong second place overall and young Charlie Hayman topped the standings in the Junior 65cc class.
The event is contested by nine-man teams, three from each category and Britain was represented by Charlie Hayman (KTM), Kiean Boughen (KTM) and Alfie Boy Jones (KTM) in Junior 65cc, Rossi Beard (KTM), Sam Nunn (Husqvarna) and Josh Peters (Husqvarna) in the Open 85cc and in the Open class, Callum Green (Husqvarna 125), Josh Gilbert (Husqvarna 250F) and Liam Garland (KTM 350F) with each rider getting three races on Sunday to decide the winning team.
On a hard pack track that changed from hot and dusty on one day to wet and greasy on the next all riders acquitted themselves well in their respective qualifying races on Saturday.
Garland just missed the holeshot in the Open class as he went round turn one in second and with Gilbert in his wheel tracks the pair went on to finish a respectable fourth and seventh, which gave them third gate pick come Sundays three races. It was a similar story in the Open 85cc class as Beard gated well and ran with the leaders and ended the race in fifth. His result combined with Nunn's 15th place meant that the teams 85cc racers got fifth gate pick.
Hayman was second going into the first turn in the Junior 65cc and spent all the qualifying session in that position, and with Jones's sixth place the team would get second gate pick at the all-important start.
There was no stopping the Swedish pair of Anton Gole and Alvin Ostlund in Sunday's first Open class as the GP riders were in a class of their own, but that didn't stop others trying to challenge them.
Ostlund got the first holeshot with Gole in second, but by the halfway stage the positions had swapped as Gole went on to win Open class race one.
Belgium's Daymond Martins started third but dropped to fifth place by the end of the race as compariot Jago Geerts replaced Martins in third.
Gilbert and Garland had gone into the first turn side-by-side in third and fourth but ended the opening lap in eighth and ninth place, from where Garland, after a hard race long battle, ended in eighth while Gilbert lost a couple of place in the last laps to place tenth.
Race two was pretty similar but this time Martins got the holeshot only to be passed by both Ostlund and Gole by the end of the first lap. The two flying Swedes finished in that order.
While Martins slipped down to fifth and, while Geerts made his way from fifth to third, Tomass Seleika from Latvia gated fifth and climbed to third before crashing down to eighth on the slippery track. He recovered somewhat to finish sixth.
Meanwhile, Garland had a pig of a start and was in 35th as the rounded turn one but by the end of the first lap he had climbed up to 18th place and two laps later he was in 12th. He went on to claim a creditable tenth at the flag.
Holeshot
Gilbert started 14th and worked his way to sixth with two laps to go, but was pushed back a place by Martins before the flag.
As the gate dropped for the third and final Open race, Garland got the holeshot ahead of Ostlund, Martens and Sileika, with Gole back in seventh after missing the start.
By the time the riders completed their first lap Ostlund was in the lead with Garland in his wheel tracks, but Gole was already in fourth and giving Martins a hard time for third place, which he captured a lap latter.
It took Gole until mid-distance to finally catch and pass Garland and within another couple of laps he was in the lead and poised to take his second win of the weekend, ahead of team-mate Ostlund.
Garland looked comfortable in third until, with three laps to go, he rode past the work area looking down and pointing to his bike as the mechanics and team manager, father Dave, tried to work out what was wrong. Liam managed to hold on to his third place despite a flat front tyre he struggled with for the final three laps.
Gilbert had gated eighth but lost a couple of places on the opening lap and spent the rest of the race in a lonely 11th place.
Overall for the Open class was Gole from Ostlund and Martens, with Garland the first of the British riders in fifth.
Gilbert was two places behind him in seventh while overall team results were Sweden from Belgium and France with the GB team fourth and just off the podium by three-points.
The first of the Open 85cc races was all about Rossi Beard as the lad gated second but took the lead around the first lap and never looked back. He won the race by almost six-seconds from Sweden's Emil Jonrup and Belgium's Wannes Van de Voorde.
Sam Nunn had an up and down sort of race. After gating ninth he gained a place on the opening lap, but crashed back to 18th place two laps later. Team spirit kicked in as the youngster bravely fought his way back to tenth by the finish flag.
The third member of the team, Josh Peters, was already struggling after a crash in Saturday's qualifying race left him with a sore back. He started in 13th and held on to finish 17th, but he still gained the team valuable points.
Denmark's Magnus Smith got the holeshot at the start of the second moto ahead of French riders Loris Levy and Florian Miot with Nunn in sixth, Beard 15th and Peters unable to complete a lap his back hurting too much to continue.
From lap three Nunn was on the move and passed rivals almost every lap and managed to pass two of the world's best 85cc racers on the very last lap to claim second place.
Quickly
Beard was also suffering from a painful back and struggled to race for a couple of laps untill he pulled out.
Heartbreak came for Nunn and the team in the third and final Open 85cc moto.
He started in fifth and made his way quickly to the front of the pack and was opening up lan ever increasing gap over second-place Smith.
Then, with one lap to go, he slid off on one of the down-hill sections and despite kicking and kicking his bike just wouldn't re-start. As a result Smith took the win.
Jonrup didn't get the start he wanted and had to fight for every place as he climbed from 13th to give the young Swedish rider second place with Adam Zsolt Kovacs doing even better as he came from 32nd to third place.
Top scorer in Open 85cc was Van de Voorde, ahead of Jonrup and Kovacs with Nunn ninth and Beard 11th. In the team contest overall Belgium won from Switzerland and Portugal as team GB notched up another fourth place.
Dutch rider Ivano Van Erp got the holeshot at the start of the first Junior 65cc race from Denmark's Mads Fredsoe and Latvia's Edvards Bidzans with Hayman in seventh place.
By the end of the opening lap Bidzans was in the lead with Hayman up to third but closing in fast on Van Erp.
Bit by bit Hayman closed Bidzans down and past him on the very last lap to snatch second place.
Both of the other GB riders didn't get the best of starts with Boughen 25th and Jones 30th with Jones picking off lots of the other riders on the opening lap to finish 17th as Boughen crossed the finish line 19th.
It was a start-to-finish win for Bidzans in race two with Hayman gating third and passing the fast starting Van Erp mid race for second place at the flag as Van Erp held on to third with Liam Everts fourth.
Once again Boughen and Jones didn't make the best of starts and finished mid pack.
Van Erp got the holeshot in the third and final Junior 65cc moto but was quickly passed by Bidzans who promptly fell off and was out of the race as Hayman raced from fourth to second in two laps and passed Van Erp for the lead. This was his only win off the weekend a lap later.
Boughen stalled in turn one and started the day in almost last place but pulled through to 11th and good overall points for the team.
Individual overall it was Hayman from Van Erp and Everts but in the teams contest it was Denmark from Latvia and Holland with once again team GB fourth and missing out a trip to the podium again.
"I am very impressed with the whole of the team,” said team manager Dave Garland.
"All the riders contributed to that second place overall and they gave their all. And with a bit more luck we could have been on the top step of the podium. It's fantastic and its put Great Britain back on the motocross map for future years.”n Coupe de l'Avenir Trophy MX
n Report & pictures: Dick Law
While team Belgium retained the Coupe de l'Avenir trophy (Cup of the Future) at the weekend in Baisieux on home terrain the nine- man Under 21 team representing Great Britain did the country proud by finishing the event in a strong second place overall and young Charlie Hayman topped the standings in the Junior 65cc class.
The event is contested by nine-man teams, three from each category and Britain was represented by Charlie Hayman (KTM), Kiean Boughen (KTM) and Alfie Boy Jones (KTM) in Junior 65cc, Rossi Beard (KTM), Sam Nunn (Husqvarna) and Josh Peters (Husqvarna) in the Open 85cc and in the Open class, Callum Green (Husqvarna 125), Josh Gilbert (Husqvarna 250F) and Liam Garland (KTM 350F) with each rider getting three races on Sunday to decide the winning team.
Missing
On a hard pack track that changed from hot and dusty on one day to wet and greasy on the next all riders acquitted themselves well in their respective qualifying races on Saturday.
Garland just missed the holeshot in the Open class as he went round turn one in second and with Gilbert in his wheel tracks the pair went on to finish a respectable fourth and seventh, which gave them third gate pick come Sundays three races. It was a similar story in the Open 85cc class as Beard gated well and ran with the leaders and ended the race in fifth. His result combined with Nunn's 15th place meant that the teams 85cc racers got fifth gate pick.
Hayman was second going into the first turn in the Junior 65cc and spent all the qualifying session in that position, and with Jones's sixth place the team would get second gate pick at the all-important start.
There was no stopping the Swedish pair of Anton Gole and Alvin Ostlund in Sunday's first Open class as the GP riders were in a class of their own, but that didn't stop others trying to challenge them.
Ostlund got the first holeshot with Gole in second, but by the halfway stage the positions had swapped as Gole went on to win Open class race one.
Belgium's Daymond Martins started third but dropped to fifth place by the end of the race as compariot Jago Geerts replaced Martins in third.
Gilbert and Garland had gone into the first turn side-by-side in third and fourth but ended the opening lap in eighth and ninth place, from where Garland, after a hard race long battle, ended in eighth while Gilbert lost a couple of place in the last laps to place tenth.
Race two was pretty similar but this time Martins got the holeshot only to be passed by both Ostlund and Gole by the end of the first lap. The two flying Swedes finished in that order.
While Martins slipped down to fifth and, while Geerts made his way from fifth to third, Tomass Seleika from Latvia gated fifth and climbed to third before crashing down to eighth on the slippery track. He recovered somewhat to finish sixth.
Meanwhile, Garland had a pig of a start and was in 35th as the rounded turn one but by the end of the first lap he had climbed up to 18th place and two laps later he was in 12th. He went on to claim a creditable tenth at the flag.
Holeshot
Gilbert started 14th and worked his way to sixth with two laps to go, but was pushed back a place by Martins before the flag.
As the gate dropped for the third and final Open race, Garland got the holeshot ahead of Ostlund, Martens and Sileika, with Gole back in seventh after missing the start.
By the time the riders completed their first lap Ostlund was in the lead with Garland in his wheel tracks, but Gole was already in fourth and giving Martins a hard time for third place, which he captured a lap latter.
It took Gole until mid-distance to finally catch and pass Garland and within another couple of laps he was in the lead and poised to take his second win of the weekend, ahead of team-mate Ostlund.
Garland looked comfortable in third until, with three laps to go, he rode past the work area looking down and pointing to his bike as the mechanics and team manager, father Dave, tried to work out what was wrong. Liam managed to hold on to his third place despite a flat front tyre he struggled with for the final three laps.
Gilbert had gated eighth but lost a couple of places on the opening lap and spent the rest of the race in a lonely 11th place.
Overall for the Open class was Gole from Ostlund and Martens, with Garland the first of the British riders in fifth.
Gilbert was two places behind him in seventh while overall team results were Sweden from Belgium and France with the GB team fourth and just off the podium by three-points.
The first of the Open 85cc races was all about Rossi Beard as the lad gated second but took the lead around the first lap and never looked back. He won the race by almost six-seconds from Sweden's Emil Jonrup and Belgium's Wannes Van de Voorde.
Sam Nunn had an up and down sort of race. After gating ninth he gained a place on the opening lap, but crashed back to 18th place two laps later. Team spirit kicked in as the youngster bravely fought his way back to tenth by the finish flag.
The third member of the team, Josh Peters, was already struggling after a crash in Saturday's qualifying race left him with a sore back. He started in 13th and held on to finish 17th, but he still gained the team valuable points.
Denmark's Magnus Smith got the holeshot at the start of the second moto ahead of French riders Loris Levy and Florian Miot with Nunn in sixth, Beard 15th and Peters unable to complete a lap his back hurting too much to continue.
From lap three Nunn was on the move and passed rivals almost every lap and managed to pass two of the world's best 85cc racers on the very last lap to claim second place.
Quickly
Beard was also suffering from a painful back and struggled to race for a couple of laps untill he pulled out.
Heartbreak came for Nunn and the team in the third and final Open 85cc moto.
He started in fifth and made his way quickly to the front of the pack and was opening up lan ever increasing gap over second-place Smith.
Then, with one lap to go, he slid off on one of the down-hill sections and despite kicking and kicking his bike just wouldn't re-start. As a result Smith took the win.
Jonrup didn't get the start he wanted and had to fight for every place as he climbed from 13th to give the young Swedish rider second place with Adam Zsolt Kovacs doing even better as he came from 32nd to third place.
Top scorer in Open 85cc was Van de Voorde, ahead of Jonrup and Kovacs with Nunn ninth and Beard 11th. In the team contest overall Belgium won from Switzerland and Portugal as team GB notched up another fourth place.
Dutch rider Ivano Van Erp got the holeshot at the start of the first Junior 65cc race from Denmark's Mads Fredsoe and Latvia's Edvards Bidzans with Hayman in seventh place.
By the end of the opening lap Bidzans was in the lead with Hayman up to third but closing in fast on Van Erp.
Bit by bit Hayman closed Bidzans down and past him on the very last lap to snatch second place.
Both of the other GB riders didn't get the best of starts with Boughen 25th and Jones 30th with Jones picking off lots of the other riders on the opening lap to finish 17th as Boughen crossed the finish line 19th.
It was a start-to-finish win for Bidzans in race two with Hayman gating third and passing the fast starting Van Erp mid race for second place at the flag as Van Erp held on to third with Liam Everts fourth.
Once again Boughen and Jones didn't make the best of starts and finished mid pack.
Van Erp got the holeshot in the third and final Junior 65cc moto but was quickly passed by Bidzans who promptly fell off and was out of the race as Hayman raced from fourth to second in two laps and passed Van Erp for the lead. This was his only win off the weekend a lap later.
Boughen stalled in turn one and started the day in almost last place but pulled through to 11th and good overall points for the team.
Individual overall it was Hayman from Van Erp and Everts but in the teams contest it was Denmark from Latvia and Holland with once again team GB fourth and missing out a trip to the podium again.
"I am very impressed with the whole of the team,” said team manager Dave Garland.
"All the riders contributed to that second place overall and they gave their all. And with a bit more luck we could have been on the top step of the podium. It's fantastic and its put Great Britain back on the motocross map for future years.”
