It’s been over two months since the first round at Genk but finally it has come time for the BNL Championship to burst back into action, this time at the Ostricourt circuit in France. Just a stones throw away from Lille the Ostricourt circuit is 1450m in length and is fast and flowing which should provide some extremely close racing!
Micro Max
Senna Kortman left Genk the championship leader but with only a two point advantage over his nearest rival Thomas Martens. It was the latter’s poor Final 2 result on Sunday which cost him the event win after he took two victories over the weekend. Van Der Linden and Rillaerts shouldn’t be too far behind but my one to watch is the Brit Zak O’Sullivan, he’s down in 7th in the championship but only due to a disqualification on Sunday as he was never off the podium in the other three.
Mini Max
Glenn Van Berlo was almost unbeatable at Genk, he took three victories but a poor Final 2 result on Saturday left his championship lead at just 9 points, which his competitors should be grateful for. Dylan Cleeren was the man who took the fourth and final victory which has helped him along to second place and I expect Thom Nelissen to also be up there after his impressive consistency at Genk. However my one to watch is Xavier Handsaeme, he had a terrible Saturday at Genk but two 2nd places on Sunday has lifted him to 6th overall, can he carry that form into Ostricourt?
Junior Max
Juniors is always a hard class to call mainly due to it’s size and strength in depth. At Genk there were close fights between Dylan Buys and Danny Kroes all weekend at the front so I suppose they would go down as immediate favourites for Ostricourt. However the Brit Jordan Brown-Nutley has won at this very track already this season in the BMC and will be looking to recover from his poor first round. Lars Olofsen and Jagesar Leroy both improved throughout the weekend at Genk whilst the Brits Sullivan and Ide are certainly capable of podiums. However there’s always a one to watch and my tip for Ostricourt is Adam Eteki. He’s on his home track and has been hugely impressive around the other Rotax European Championships this season.
Senior Max
If you were going to look at the current Championship standings as a form guide for this class then you can forget it! Fair enough Max Timmermans deserved his win at Genk but he is going to have some stiff competition including the likes of Saturday winner Hoogenboom and Ferdinand-Simmenauer. Rinus Van-Kalmthout off the back of his podium in Casteletto could be one to watch as could Alana Taylor who always seems to go well in the BNL. Dylan Lahaye was an exciting watch at Genk and Dave Blom has all the capabilities if at least a top 5. However looking at the entries there is one man that sticks out that I think may be a tough one to beat and that is the American Oliver Askew. He had a terrible Saturday at Genk but proved what he’s really capable on Sunday by finishing 2nd.
DD2
In my eyes this meeting is going to be a straight fight for victory all weekend between the Hungarian Ferenc Kanscar and Brit Barrie Pullinger. The Hungarian is the current championship leader after winning three out of the four finals at Genk. The Brit however had terrible trouble with engines and will be on a mission to improve on his current championship position, 22nd. As for the best of the rest well that will probably be between Van Riet, Lievens and Montfoort. In the Masters it’s going to be a tough one to call between Tamsin Germain, Jim Ringelberg and Christophe Adams.
Info BNL – Chris MccCarthy