By Those track side around the Varsselring were treated today, to an IRRC Superbike masterclass from three of Europe’s foremost closed roads exponents.
Nip and tuck throughout, Didier Grams, Q1 pace setter, Kawasaki mainstay Lukas Maurer, reigning Champion Vincent Lonbois all at one point held provisional pole position.
With just under five minutes of Superbike Q2 to run, Swiss ace Maurer found an extra gear, lapping in the 1.46 seconds bracket (1.46.497).
The leading Mountain Course newcomer of 2019 pace was so vast, that it gave him an advantage of 0.611 over Mototech Yamaha runner Lonbois (1.47.108).
45 times IRRC race winner Grams (1.47.390) would go onto finish third quickest with P4 on the times sheet acquired by event wildcard, Thijs Peeters (1.48.156).
Rounding out this afternoon’s top ten speediest 1000cc pilots were Joey Den Besten, Patrick Hoff, twice Supersport Champion Laurent Hoffmann.
Sweden’s leading IRRC competitor Markus Karlsson, MTP Racing’s Johannes Schwimmbeck and Marcel Elsner.
Best of the UK IRRC first timers was Richard Charlton finishing 15th fastest whilst the Never Be Clever Racing pairing of Rhys Hardisty and Forest Dunn, placed respectively eighteenth, twenty third fastest.
IRRC Hengelo – Superbike Q2 result, reads as follows:
1 – Lukas Maurer – 1.46.497
2 – Vincent Lonbois – 1.47.108
3 – Didier Grams – 1.47.390
4 – Thijs Peeters – 1.48.156
5 – Joey Den Besten – 1.48.849
6 – Patrick Hoff – 1.48.976
7 – Laurent Hoffmann – 1.49.103
8 – Markus Karlsson – 1.49.468
9 – Johannes Schwimmbeck – 1.49.489
10 – Marcel Elsner – 1.51.278
11 – Virgil Amber Bloemhard – 1.51.728
12 – Luca Gottardi – 1.52.036
13 – Nico Muller – 1.52.704
14 – Xavier Denis – 1.53.608
15 – Richard Charlton – 1.53.712
16 – Wally Jacobs – 1.54.070
17 – Pontus Roestlinger – 1.54.426
18 – Rhys Hardisty – 1.54.680
19 – Patrick Van Der Eecken – 1.54.698
20 – Florian Astner – 1.54.855
21 – Marcel Zuurbier – 1.55.014
22 – Dirk Walter – 1.55.173
23 – Forest Dunn – 1.55.578
24 – Steven Bellavoine – 1.55.957
25 – Jaroslaw Szczesny – 1.56.157
26 – Reinhard Strack – 1.56.326
27 – Rob Van Eijs – 1.56.544
28 – Lasse Karki – 1.56.898
29 – Paul Manx – 1.57.357
30 – Mike Ceuppens – 1.57.665
31 – Emil Krchnavy – 1.58.648
32 – Morgan Baplu – 1.59.125
33 – Christoph Kreller – 1.59.149
Photo credit: Nick Wheeler
Words by Stevie Rial #dontletfearcontrolyou
