21-02-2011
Herjan Brakke of the Yamaha van Beers Racing Team scored a top ten moto finish at the Starcross in Mantova, Italy. Brakke had to come back trough the field in all three motos but still managed to finish in 19th and a 10th position in the first two motos. In the third moto he was riding in 8th position when he collided with another rider and crashed. By the crash his front brake disc got bent so he had to lower the pace and finally finished the race in 30th position. Petar Petrov was riding on his Yamaha 250F between the MX1 bikes. He rode three consistent motos and finished in 24th, 23rd and in 21st position.
The weekend started really well for Herjan on Saturday. In the free practice sessions he set the 7th and 9th fastest time. In his qualifying heat he crashed with another rider in the first corner. It cost him a lot of time to get going because the other rider got stuck with his legs between Herjan’s subframe. When he was riding again he tried to make up time to the group. He rode a consistent race but couldn’t do more than finish the race in 22nd position.
Petar showed his speed in the free practice sessions as well. In the first session he set the 5th fastest time and in the second session he was 11th fastest. In his qualifying heat he got some bad luck in the first lap and had to come back from 30th position. Petar gave everything he had but because the track was still really fast it was difficult to overtake. He still managed to pass several riders and crossed the finish line in 20th position.
On Sunday the riders had to ride three motos. The MX1 and MX2 class were riding together. Herjan and Petar had to come back trough the field in all three motos. Herjan finished in 19th position in the first moto and crossed the finish line in 10th position in the second moto. In the third moto he was riding in 8th position when he collided with another rider and crashed. By the crash his frontbrake disc got bent so he had to lower the pace and finally finished the race in 30th position.
In the first moto Petar worked his way back up from 30th position to 24th position. In the second moto he finished in 23rd position and in the third moto he scored his best result of the day by finishing in 21st position.
Herjan finished 11th overall in the MX1 class while Petar finished in 10th position in the MX2 class. Next weekend the Yamaha van Beers Racing Team will participate in the first round of the Italian Championship Series in Ponte a Egola.