By Switzerland’s leading pure road racer Lukas Maurer added his name to the roads’ scene history books, via success within the first ever ESR (European Series Road Racing) affiliated race.
Third on the grid following yesterday’s qualifying circulations at Hengelo, Maurer the 2023 IRRC Superbike Champion got the hole-shot before pole-sitter, BeNeLux Trophy-BK Superbike racer Yan Ancia sped into first.
Ancia remained P1 till a technical issue struck on lap four, allowing Thijs Peeters (Peeters Racing BMW) to become the third different race leader.
Before lap seven, race leadership had altered again as Maurer regained P1 ownership.
Holding off Ancia, who re-grouped after early race problems, passed Peeters for second, a delighted Maurer would ultimately cross the finish line (end of lap nine) with a race winning gap of 1.33 seconds (1.338 to be exact).
Peeters dropped to fourth with Sander Claessen overhauling him for third, Mike Parmentier won a tight duel for fifth with leading full-time ESR competitor Laurent Hoffmann.
Race attrition was low as twenty-five riders reached the chequered flag.
BeNeLux Trophy-BK Superbike/ESR Hengelo Race 1 Result:
1st – Lukas Maurer
2nd – Yan Ancia
3rd – Sander Claessen
4th – Thijs Peeters
5th – Mike Parmentier
6th – Laurent Hoffmann
7th – Fedrik Matthys
8th – Kevin De Haan
9th – Anssi Koski
10th – Thibault De Hert
11th – Wally Jacobs
12th – Amalric Blanc
13th – Kees Boekel
14th – Mike Cleutjes
15th – Lukas Vaclavovic
16th – Gijs Mertens
17th – Marcel Elsner
18th – Rasmus Lindstrom
19th – Karel De Groote
20th – Wouter De Cooman
21st – Paul Manx
22nd – Christophe Kreller
23rd – Jerome Vignaud
24th – Roy Tepper
25th – Rob Van Eijs
Photo credit: Jan Vavra, Thijs Van Der Horst
Words by Stevie Rial #dontletfearcontrolyou
