Best SX2-Rider on Friday / Bad Luck on Saturday
Last weekend (29th - 30th January) the Exhibition Centre in Herning, Denmark, was the showplace for the 16th Edition of the Yamaha Supercross Herning. In the mixed SX1/SX2-pack of 30 riders from twelve nations was Jack Brunell from Old Windsor, who was willing to face the challenges of this event at the end of the SX season 2009/2010.
 | | Jack Brunell |
Despite the not very simple track conditions, Jack was successfully able to establish himself as one of the best SX2 riders on Friday. In the training sessions he was able to set good lap times after a short settling-in period:
"The track in Herning was really tough and I was struggling to jump the big triple on the 250F. I managed to get a good lap in and finished 12th which was quite good as most riders were on 450's."
Jack expected that the path to the 15 lap final would be tough and he had to go all the way to the LCQ race. With a second place in the LCQ race Jack secured his place in the starting line-up of the final race:
"In the first heat I had a bad start and I had to work my way through the pack. I was able to make lots of passes and I finished the heat in 3rd which meant that I was through to the semi-final. Again I had a bad start against the 450's and was last of the start. I tried my hardest to make some passes and I finished the race in 6th so I had to go the LCQ race. I got a good start in the last chance and I was in 2nd position. I made a pass for the lead and held it until the last lap. Unfortunately I made a stupid mistake and slipped off on the last lap. I quickly got up and finished the race in 2nd so I made the final."
Despite a bad start and a fall, the 20-year-old would battle on and have a successful race. Jack finished the final in fifth and as the best SX2 rider on the night:
"I had a very bad gate for the final and so I got a bad start. There was a crash in the whoops and I got stuck so I was a long way behind. I managed to work my way through the field and at the end of the race I finished in 5th."
With this success in his pocket, Jack was feeling more confident and was able to show this with his performance in the Saturday practice:
"On Saturday I was able to jump the big triple jump and I finished practice with the 6th fastest time which I was really pleased about."
In the evening, Jack once again struggled against the bigger bikes and found himself in the LCQ race. Unfortunately, he buried all hopes of a position in the final after a serious fall:
"In the heat race I had a bad start but I worked hard and finished the race in 4th so I went in to the semi-finals. In the semi I was at the back at the start. I worked my way up to 5th and I was just behind 4th. However, I made a mistake and went down to 9th place. I made some passes before the end of the race to finish in 6th. The last chance race didn't go well. I hit the gate at the start and so I was last. I made my way up until 3rd before I was hit mid air by another rider and I had a big crash. I was unable to finish the race so my night had finished."
Even if the Saturday night did not go how Jack would have liked, he was still very happy with his result in Herning:
"Overall, I'm very happy with my performance in Herning. I was really pleased to finish 5th in the final on Friday and I'm sure I would have made the final on Saturday if it wasn't for the crash. I'm happy now to take a break and get ready for the outdoor season."
Results Final Friday, 29/01/2010: 1. Daniel Siegl (GER); 2. Florent Richier (FRA); 3. Cole Siebler (USA); 4. Jan Olav Lunewski (NOR); 5. Jack Brunell (GBR); 6. Adrien Lopez (FRA); 7. Alexandre Rouis (FRA); 8. Jurgen Wybo (BEL); 9. Nikolai M. Hansen (DEN); 10. Davide D. Esposti (ITA); 11. Ricky Renner (USA)
Results Final Saturday, 30/01/2010: 1. Alexandre Rouis (FRA); 2. Daniel Siegl (GER); 3. Cole Siebler (USA); 4. Florent Richier (FRA); 5. Doug DeHaan (CAN); 6. Ricky Renner (USA); 7. Jurgen Wybo (BEL); 8. Davide D. Esposti (ITA); NF Rasmus Sjöberg (SWE); NF Nikolai M. Hansen (DEN)
Event Results "King of Herning": 1. Daniel Siegl (GER), 47 pts.; 2. Cole Siebler (USA), 40; 3. Florent Richier (FRA), 40; 4. Alexandre Rouis (FRA), 39; 5. Jurgen Wybo (BEL), 27; 6. Ricky Renner (USA), 25; 7. Davide D. Esposti (ITA), 24; 8. Jan Olav Lunewski (NOR), 18; 9. Doug DeHaan (CAN), 16; 10. Jack Brunell (GBR), 16; 11. Adrien Lopez (FRA), 15; 12. Nikolai M. Hansen (DEN), 12; 13. Rasmus Sjöberg (SWE), 0
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