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Husqvarna Press Release
Varese, 15 July 2002
Supermotard World Championship
Namur (Belgium) – 1st round
GOOD DEBUT FOR HUSQVARNA IN THE FIRST ROUND OF THE SUPERMOTARD WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
The first round of the Supermotard World Championship started from Namur, the temple of Motocross, in which eleven nations will take part in three different continents.
Historical day for the Supermotard and for the new world adventure denominated "Fim Supermoto World Championship", or if you prefer "S1".
The good organization and the very professional formulation, carried out from the promoter Youth Stream, has been appreciated by all the employees and by the demanding public of Namur.
The ensigns of the official Husqvarna Team has been French riders Boris Chambon and William Rubio, the Belgian Eddy Seel and the Italian Massimo Manzo. The competition has been won by Thierry Van Den Bosch followed by Chambon, third the Belgian Délépine that has not disappointed his numerous supporters after an epic duel with the other idol of the public Eddy Seel.
The newborn Supermotard World Campionship foresees an innovative formula structured in two semifinals and in a final. The semifinals guarantee to the first eight classified of each the direct access to the final, while the excluded riders have to conquer places in the "last chance manche". The last chance manche allows eight riders to earn the last two useful lines of the starting grid of the final, made up of 24 riders.
The first very spectacular and competitive semifinal didn't offer particular surprises and saw the arrival of VDB, Chambon and Délépine followed by Manzo.
The second semifinal has been won by Eddy Seel, followed from the Belgian rider Godfroid and from the teammate William Rubio.
In the final manche, a charming duel between Chambon and VDB started since the first turns. Chambon, on a track typology not suited for his style of guide, has preferred to control and to maintain the second position through the competition. More unlucky the performance of Manzo and Seel. The Italian rider has been involved in a fall and starting again from the last position, he has succeeded in climbing up till the ninth position. The Belgian rider, fighting against his competitor Delepine for the third position, during the last lap slipped on the off-road part of the track receding so in sixteenth position.
The next round of the Supermotard World Championship will be held in Valkenswaard (Holland) on August 25.
Classification:
Semi-final 1: 1. Van den Bosch (KTM), 2. Chambon (Husqvarna), 3. Delapine (Vertemati), 4. Manzo (Husqvarna), 5. Lazzarini (Yamaha)
Semi-final 2: 1. Seel (Husqvarna), 2. Godfroid (Kawasaki), 3. Rubio (Husqvarna), 4. Guyot (Vor), 5. Giraudo (Vertemati)
Final: 1. Van den Bosch (KTM), 2. Chambon (Husqvarna), 3. Delepine (Vertemati), 4. Rubio (Husqvarna), 5. Godfroid (Kawasaki)
Todd Sutherland of `Bike Mart` advises that: Stephen Briggs will be competing, or at least trying to compete / qualify at a number of European rounds and Simon Turner who competed but did not qualify for the final, plans to do as many as possible.
