Haavisto wins in Belgium Honda 150 European Champion 2014
Haavisto wins in Belgium; Wilkie takes the title by two points
FUNCHAL (Portugal), 3 August 2014 – Jere Haavisto followed his win in yesterday’s race with another dominant performance today to take the overall Grand Prix victory, but it was Brit Albie Wilkie who had the biggest smile at the chequered flag as he was crowned the 2014 Honda 150 European Champion.
Just five points separated the two contenders coming into today’s race so it was always going to be a close-run affair. As Haavisto rode away from the field to take his fifth race win of the season, all eyes were on Wilkie as he fought towards the front from sixth position.
In a repeat of yesterday, it was Wilkie versus Rick Elzinga for second place, but this time the championship title was at stake. A third place wasn’t enough for Wilkie; he had to finish second. As Jere disappeared into the distance, able to do no more to strengthen his chances of overhauling Albie in the final race, the Brit gave it his all in his most impressive performance of the season.
The championship was decided with just seven minutes of the final race of the season remaining. Wilkie made the pass on Elzinga, and despite the dimunitive Dutchman keeping him in check until the finish, he was unable to remount a serious challenge.
With Haavisto taking the win and Wilkie second, Albie becomes the 2014 champion by a margin of just two points. The title secures him a ride with the Honda Jtech team in the 2015 European MX250category, aboard a Honda CRF250R, and represents a real springboard in his career.
Just as the Honda 150 European Championship has gotten stronger since its inaugural season last year, so it continues to grow with a new expanded calendar already confirmed with YouthStream and the FIM for 2015. See the end of this release for the confirmed dates.
Albie Wilkie, 2014 Honda 150 European Champion
“It’s there, I know I have the title, but it hasn’t properly sunk in yet! Thank you to everyone at Honda, to the whole team, as they’ve been great this year and given me so much support. I’d like to thank Eastwood Racing, as they’ve been my top supporter this year, and they’ve put me here, and also Wiseco. I’m hoping for more years to be like this! I am so surprised with the result this weekend on the sand, as Valkenswaard [the last sand race] was not really my track. Everyone was telling me Lommel is one of the hardest tracks to ride, and I don’t blame them, it is, but I just had to get it today. Now I’ll get my head down straight away, continue training hard and then hopefully next year will bring me even more.”
Jere Haavisto, Belgium GP winner
“This was a good weekend because I won both motos and I’m happy for this, but I lost the championship. I have two fractures, in my shoulder and in the knee, so now I will let those heal and recover properly, then do some more races and continue to train hard. I am hoping for a deal to race in EMX250 next year. As far as performance this year, some races have been good and some races bad but overall the championship is a really good place to show what you’ve got.”
Davy Dousselaere, Honda Motor Europe Off-Road Manager
“What an exciting weekend it’s been! We’ve had good, close racing all year, and now it all came down to the last race and with only two points difference in the championship – what more can you wish for?! Albie was mentally really very strong. He kept his head and proved that he deserves to be a champion, both physically and mentally, and he handled the pressure very well and this is what we’re looking for in the EMX250 class. Albie will ride for Honda Jtech next year in EMX250, and this is a really good fit. The team really guide young riders in terms of riding style and learning the new bike, so it will be a great opportunity for Albie with them and we’re all very excited to see him on the CRF250R.
“I’m also really pleased to announce that already we have for next year a six-race calendar confirmed for the Honda 150 European Championship so it continues to grow and I’m sure it will be another very exciting season. Even this weekend we had entries from as far as South Africa, so it’s clear that there’s a lot of interest and I expect this to be even more with entries next season.”
EMX150 Race 1: 1. Jere Haavisto (FIN, Honda), 26:37.759; 2. Rick Elzinga (NED, Honda), +0:10.076; 3. Albie Wilkie (GBR, Honda), +0:10.358; 4. Shana van der Vlist (NED, Honda), +0:22.899; 5. Keegan Hickson Mahony (RSA, Honda), +0:58.259; 6. Matias Murto (FIN, Honda), +1:01.245; 7. Damian Bergevoet (NED, Honda), +1:25.199; 8. Albin Larsen (SWE, Honda), +1:26.694; 9. Filip Olsson (SWE, Honda), +1:30.170; 10. Tatu Junnola (FIN, Honda), +1:49.148.
EMX150 Race 2: 1. Jere Haavisto (FIN, Honda), 25:43.208; 2. Albie Wilkie (GBR, Honda), +0:22.185; 3. Rick Elzinga (NED, Honda), +0:24.741; 4. Shana van der Vlist (NED, Honda), +1:02.096; 5. Damian Bergevoet (NED, Honda), +1:04.948; 6. Tatu Junnola (FIN, Honda), +1:05.482; 7. Brian Van Der Klij (NED, Honda), +1:16.965; 8. Albin Larsen (SWE, Honda), +1:23.366; 9. Hans Priidel (EST, Honda), +1:26.919; 10. Quentin Delbrassinne (BEL, Honda), +1:31.176.
EMX150 Overall: 1. Jere Haavisto (FIN, HON), 50 points; 2. Albie Wilkie (GBR, HON), 42 p.; 3. Rick Elzinga (NED, HON), 42 p.; 4. Shana van der Vlist (NED, HON), 36 p.; 5. Damian Bergevoet (NED, HON), 30 p.; 6. Tatu Junnola (FIN, HON), 26 p.; 7. Albin Larsen (SWE, HON), 26 p.; 8. Keegan Hickson Mahony (RSA, HON), 25 p.; 9. Brian Van Der Klij (NED, HON), 23 p.; 10. Quentin Delbrassinne (BEL, HON), 21 p.
EMX150 Championship Standings: 1. Albie Wilkie (GBR, HON), 222 points; 2. Jere Haavisto (FIN, HON), 220 p.; 3. Albin Larsen (SWE, HON), 158 p.; 4. Matias Murto (FIN, HON), 135 p.; 5. Tatu Junnola (FIN, HON), 135 p.; 6. Quentin Delbrassinne (BEL, HON), 122 p.; 7. Damian Bergevoet (NED, HON), 120 p.; 8. Brian Van Der Klij (NED, HON), 113 p.; 9. Rick Elzinga (NED, HON), 89 p.; 10. Max Erlandsson (SWE, HON), 88 p.
Click here to obtain the complete results.
All the photos of the MXGP of Belgium will be available here
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MXGP BELGIUM – QUICK FACTS
Circuit length: 1675
Type of ground: sand
Temperature: 26°
Weather conditions: sunny
LINKS
Author: Honda EMX150 Championship
Copyright: Photo: Honda EMX150 Championship