Chris' Stuff: Terreblanche has mixed fortunes during Baltic tour

Thursday, July 02, 2009

Terreblanche has mixed fortunes during Baltic tour

TERREBLANCHE HAS MIXED FORTUNES DURING BALTIC TOUR

30 June 2009

Shannon Terreblanche is fond of the Baltic. Ever since he blasted onto the international racing scene with an eyebrow-raising sixth place at the 85cc junior world championships in Kegums, Latvia, way back in 2004, he has often returned to the region and always had a fair measure of success, on and off the track. HIs popularity in racing circles in the region has earned him a number of invitations to race as a guest, and he is no stranger to the Latvian championships and international races in Estonia.

This first ever motocross Grand Prix in Latvia would be a milestone in racing history in the Baltic. Held at the selfsame track at Kegums where Shannon rode his first world championship event, the excitement leading up to the event was palpable. The excitement was getting to Shanter as well, resulting in involuntary twitchings of his right hand on the throttle of his Sturm Kawasaki. The highly motivated South African posted the 19th fastest qualifying lap, but more significantly, for the first time since moving to the big banger MX1 class, he was within 3 seconds of the world's best. This boosted his confidence even more, and he rode a strong qualifying race to ensure himself of the seventeenth starting gate for Sunday's race.

Sunday broke as a fine day, and, as expected, the Latvian, Estonian and Lithuanian fans packed the banks surrounding the track to capacity. Shannon had a sizeable fan club in attendance, and needless to say, he was well motivated to put his best foot forward. In the first race, he started just inside the points, and on a track that each and every rider described as technically difficult and challenging, he rode with a new-found ease to claim fifteenth position, his best in a GP since moving to the MX1 class.

A mishap in the early part of race 2 dropped the South African to the nether regions of the pack. He set about recovering the situation, when another mistake on a particularly tricky section sent him sprawling, and the race was all but done. ALthough he did not score in the second race, he remains in 25th position in the world standings.

After the obligatory cup of tea and packing the camper, it was but a short jaunt to Somerpalu in Estonia, home of the Leok Racing clan. The annual Somerpalu international event was celebrating its fortieth edition, and a strong line op of riders, including world championship leader Antonio Cairoli, all that is Leok, Spaniard Carlos Campano and a host of track-savvy locals pitched up at the start line. Shannon displayed his jumping prowess on the supercrossy terrain, and qualified in fifth spot during the qualifying session.

IN the first race, the SOuth African, seemingly having eaten chillies during the lunch break, got a bullet start and shot into the lead. He seemed capable of fending off the attacks of those following, until the most bizarre thing happened a few laps into the race. The inflatable Red Bull tower that spanned the finish straight deflated like a politician who'd been caught in a compromising position, and the race was halted. Another deflationary event coupled to a heavy rainstorm in the restart of the race meant that the fist heat was eventually cancelled.

IN the second heat, Shannon got a lesser start, and had to work his way forward from a mid-pack position. He did so with poise, and finally managed to clinch fifth position, good enough to get him into the superfinal.

The Superfinal pitted the best of the MX1 - and MX2 classes together. Shannon got away well, and in a crowd-pleasing display, got involved in an intense tangle with his friend Matiss Karro. The two youngsters circulated in fourth and fifth positions respectively. When Karro's bike cried enough for the day, Shannon had fourth position all to his own, but had the danger of home boy Tanel Leok behind him. As could be expected, Leok took no prisoners on his home track, but Shannon looked safe for fifth position. Alas, he stalled his bike three laps form the end, and although he could get going fairly quickly, he had lost two positions on the process, finally crossing the line in seventh position.

RESULTS:

All GP results are available on the official website of the motocross world championships.

Results for the Somerpalu Stadium motocross are available on Mylaps.