Silver-Bullet News: Vale Vangani?

Posted: Tue 08 Oct 2002

Vangani E-MAIL: 1 Kenneth Gundersen 2 Marc de Reuver 3 Antti Pyrhonen 4 Ben Townley 5 Mats Nilsson 6 Andrew McFarlane 7 Tyla Rattray 8 Tanel Leok 9 George Strik 10 Kevin Strijbos 11 Ken de Dijcker 12 Steve Ramon 13 Patrick Roos 14 Martijn Romviel 15 Kristof Salaets All in all, the team capped We are also happy to report E-MAIL: /images/tss/ts_ban_6.gif" width="800" height="37"> orcyclealley.co.nz/" rel="lightbox"> center; margin-top: 3px; margin-bottom: 1px;"> Web Ad 70pixel x 800pixel.gif" width="800"> Press Release
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motocross season, the Big Five Vangani Racing crew trotted off to Mill in Holland for the final round of the Dutch Championship series. The early morning chill turned into beautifully mild weather, and the rise in temperature may just have been occasioned by the hot racing on the track.

last race as a team together, the three terrible teens were committed to delivering a fine performance. They demonstrated their intentions form early on, with the third -, fifth – and sixth qualifying times going to Tyla Rattray, Tanel Leok and Ben Townley respectively. Bearing in mind that their competition included acknowledged sandmasters such as Erik Eggens, Marc De Reuver, Kevin Strijbos, and a host of others, this already indicated that the youngsters were on course for a strong performance.

to the front at the start of the first heat. He had the close attentions of Eggens and Townley, and a fierce battle erupted. This battle was joined after a number of laps by Kevin Strijbos, who came from a long distance back to join the leading trio. Tyla kept the snarling wolves at bay, and at mid-race distance, he even managed to create a little gap in the lead, setting the fastest lap of the race in the process. Eggens, however, was relentless on a track where he has always delivered strong performances, and soon he was hounding the sixteen year old South African again. When Eggens tried a passing maneuvre, the handlebars of the two KTM’s tangled, and Rattray, who was on the outside line, came off worst, having to go across a berm to avoid a crash. This allowed Townley and Strijbos through.

by the near crash, and it was Ben who took the lead from his teammate, raising hopes that the victory would stay within the team. Eggens was on a real mission, however, and clawed his way back to the front. Ben looked set to clinch second spot, but Strijbos made a do-or-die move in the last metres of the race, and snatched the runner-up spot, leaving Ben to claim the third spot. Tyla had to be content with fourth, after looking set for his first Dutch Chmapionship victory for most of the race. Whilst all this drama was unfolding, Tanel Leok was quietly working his way through the field after a bad start. His victims during his upmarch included Wyatt Avis and George Strik, and at the end he managed to recover to sixth spot.

KTM Champ KTTM Team Suzuki Bonenberg Racing Team KTM Big Five Vangani Racing KTM Big Five Vangani Racing KTM Champ KTM Team KTM Big Five Vangani Racing KTM Galvin MX Team KTM Vd Haar Racing Suzuki Bonenberg Racing Team KTM Crosshop Vijfhuizen YAMAHA G-Promotion MX Team van Vijfeijken KTM Van Vijfeijken Groenrecycling Kawasaki Kawasaki Racing Team KTM Motocross Aad / C1000 KTM - Honda - YAMAHA Team Taxi Marcel KTM Lededokter / LV Motors YAMAHA Van Beers Racing KTM

holeshot, this time with Townley in control. The Taupo Terrier was a picture of determination, as he tried to increase his lead. He soon had the attentions of Marc De Reuver, who was also in devastating form on the day. Behind the leading trio of Townley, Eggens and De Reuver, Tanel Leok was making the best of a good start, and holding steady in fourth position. The usual KTM freight train was doing business as usual. At around half race distance, Ben provided the spectators with the save of the day. He charged down a bumpy straight towards a fast left hand corner at around Concorde’s take-off speed. The spectators instinctively felt that Ben was not going to make it through the corner and scattered as the youngster prepared to overshoot, break down a track barrier and mow down a couple of trees. Fortunately for him, Ben got the plot under control at the last second, but by now he was on the wrong side of a sizeable berm, and it took him 10 seconds or so to shove his heart back down his throat.

adventure was all the invitation that Tann man needed to move into third spot. In so doing, he completed a full house of the terrible teens occupying a podium spot at some stage or another during the course of the day. His efforts were thwarted when Strijbos yet again slipped past, depriving him of his podium spot. The Estonian teenager claimed fourth spot for himself, followed home by teammate Townley.

work on his hands in the second heat. He crashed in the first lap, and by the time he got the KTM going again, he was way down the pack. This seemed to lift his determination, and he blitzed round the ever-worsening Mill circuit in his efforts to make up as many spots as possible. When Styla is in this mood, few riders can offer meaningful resistance, and this occasion was no different. He made small work of getting by accomplished sand riders such as George Strik, Wyatt Avis and Patrick Roos, and ensured himself of a sixth spot at the fall of the flag.

KTM Champ KTM Team KTM Champ KTM Team Suzuki Bonenberg Racing Team KTM Big Five Vangani Racing KTM Big Five Vangani Racing KTM Big Five Vangani Racing Suzuki Bonenberg Racing Team KTM Galvin MX Team KTM Vd Haar Racing YAMAHA G-Promotion MX Team YAMAHA Team Taxi Marcel van Vijfeijken KTM Van Vijfeijken Groenrecycling Kawasaki Kawasaki Racing Team KTM Crosshop Vijfhuizen YAMAHA Motocross Aad Honda - KTM Motocross Aad / C1000 Honda Team Care-DonJoy-Honda YAMAHA Van Beers Racing KTM

their combined efforts netted Townley, Leok and Rattray 4th, 5th and 6th spots respectively for the event. Tyla was able to successfully defend his third position in the Dutch Championship series, which is in keeping with his pre-season objective of finishing in the top 5 of this very competitive series. Ben missed two rounds of the series, but still managed to clinch seventh spot in the championships, whilst Tanel, also sitting out two rounds, claimed ninth spot in the championships.

season, the Dutch championship series featured a superfinal, where the top 15 125cc finishers could flex their muscles against the top 15 open class riders. This brought some more world stars, such as Kenneth Gundersen, Steve Ramon, Andrew McFarlane, Antti Pyrhonen and the like to the start line. Townley again produced a good start, and slotted into second spot in the early part of the race, but Antti Pyrhonen soon boomed past on his 450cc fourstroke machine. De Reuver also found a way past the young New Zealander, who held his fourth spot safe till the end of the flag.

a fierce battle for sixth position with Kawasaki factory rider Andrew MacFarlane. Stylaman held the advantage for a number of laps, but McFarlane got the better of the youngster in this uneven battle. Tanel Leok again marched through the field after a so-so start, and claimed the scalps of Manuel Priem, Heikki van Den Berg, Kevin Strijbos and George Strik to work his way up to eighth spot, right behind teammate Rattray. At one stage the Estonian looked ready to challenge his teammate, but a bit of overenthusiastic jumping tweaked a muscle in his back, and he had to settle for eighth spot.

Kawasaki Kawasaki Racing Team Open KTM Champ KTM Team 125cc Honda Team Care-DonJoy-Honda Open KTM Big Five Vangani Racing 125cc Husaberg JM Racing Open Kawasaki Kawasaki Racing Team Open KTM Big Five Vangani Racing 125cc KTM Big Five Vangani Racing 125cc KTM Vd Haar Racing 125cc Suzuki Bonenberg Racing Team 125cc Husaberg JM Racing Open KTM Champ KTM Team Open KTM Galvin MX Team 125cc Honda Team Romviel / Honda Open YAMAHA G-Promotion MX Team 125cc

a successful season with a sterling performance in this, one of the toughest championship series in Europe. The riders’ successes throughout the season have brought about higher expectations and a lot of additional pressures, and some management disagreements have resulted in a situation where the team was constrained to reorganize its structure. Thus it has come about that, sadly for those that have had more than an opportunistic interest in the team, the race that we have just reported on, will be the last for the team in its current guise. Ben Townley’s performances throughout the season have earned him the use of factory material for 2003, and KTM have decreed that Ben should form part of the official factory team. Tyla Rattray and Tanel Leok have reaffirmed their faith in the team that has helped them during this season and, in the case of Stylaman, over the last four seasons, and they will contest the 2003 world championship series under the wings of a newly-established semi-factory KTM team. Details regarding the new team will be released during the course of this week, but rest assured, the friendly, supportive spirit that lay at the base of Vangani Racing, will remain.

that not only in Europe did the team cap off its activities in style. Richard van Der Westhuizen, who spent a few months in Europe a while ago, slotted right into his old winning ways in his first national championship event back in South Africa. Despite a crash in the first heat of the race in Bloemfontein, Wichie fought back to second spot in a wonderful display of smooth riding. The youngster used all his accumulated international racing experience in the second heat, and after the first lap of the race, his rivals only got to see him again at the finish line. Despite missing two events as a result of his European adventure, Wichie looks set to clinch his second South African title at the final round of the series. Shaun Kruger scored two seventh place finishes in his two outings, which was good enough to gain him a few spots on the South African championship log.

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Vale Vangani?

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