The old ones are the best!
By TMX Archives on 9th Aug 07
I wasn't going to Donington, but now I'll have to think long and hard about it this week,'' grinned Britain's last 500 world champ, Dave Thorpe after winning the Senior (40-50 years old) class of the Veteran World Cup at Namur last weekend.
‘‘A friend is boxing for a title that day, and I'd intended to go towatch,'' he added. ‘‘In fact I only came here because Eric Geboers rangme up last Sunday and asked me.''
Riding his own CRF450 - ‘‘Honda give me a new bike every year'' - butriding in Ken De Dycker's practice kit - ‘‘Someone nicked mine out ofthe van, and nobody else's gear fits me'' - the three times world champ(1985-86-89), 45 next month, was not totally optimistic on Friday: ‘‘Istill run and cycle, but I don't race regularly anymore. I'll bealright for a couple of laps, but I reckon I might struggle at the endof the races. And I'm not going to take any chances and hurt myself,I'm just here to enjoy myself.''
Just how ‘‘not taking any chances'' is compatible with passing tenrivals in the woods to lead by a hundred yards after a lap of the firstmoto on Saturday evening is hard to say. ‘‘I always was good at passingon the first lap, remember. I had to be with my starts.''
And out front is where DT stayed for 20 minutes. ‘‘Then I made a mistake. Jan caught me and he had more left.''
The defending champion, Thierry Godfroid, Bridge-stone's man at theGPs, had dropped back after 10 minutes, but Jan Blancquaert, 46 inNovember and still an active competitor every weekend with the amateursand even the MX2 national title chase, was too strong for them all onthe first day.
‘‘I'm not going to lose today,'' confided Thorpey on Sunday morning, and he was true to his word.
Again slow off the mark, David put in a devastating opening lap to leadby half the Esplanade and was never caught. Coming out of the pack,Blancquaert again looked dangerous after 10 minutes, but he thenslackened his pace: ‘‘I enjoyed it more yesterday. They put down somuch water today and it was so slippery in the trees. I think I coulddo with new tyres.''
FIM VETERANS WORLD CUP Rd 1 - Namur, Belgium
SENIOR
1 Dave Thorpe (GBR - Honda) 22 + 25 = 47
2 Jean Blancquaert (B - Kawasaki) 25 + 20 = 45
3 Thierry Godfroid (B - Kawasaki) 20 + 22 = 42
4 Andres Krestinov (EST - KTM) 15 + 18 = 33
5 Regis Simon (F - Honda) 16 + 16 = 32
6 Toine van Dijk (N - Suzuki) 18 + 14 = 32
VETERAN
1 Tony Cooksley (N - Yamaha) 25 + 25 = 50
2 Paul Barbara (F - Kawasaki) 22 + 18 = 40
3 Phillippe Dejong (B - Honda) 18 + 20 = 38
4 Jan Lemmens (N - KTM) 14 + 22 = 36
5 Harry Everts (B - KTM) 20 + 14 = 34
6 Anatoliy Efimov (UKR - Yamaha) 13 + 16 = 29
For full report, results and pictures see T+MX NEWS, Friday, August 10, 2007.
