| BALEN SAND TRAP SWALLOWS LEOK'S PODIUM ASPIRATIONS 15 August 2009
The penultimate GP of the 2009 season at Lierop is fast approaching, and since Lierop is one of the world's notorious sand pits, everyone and his proverbial dog headed for the Belgian Championship event at Balen to sharpen their swords as far as sand riding is concerned. Situated next to the quaint Keiheuvel Aero Club, the venue consists of nothing but innocuous sand dunes with a spattering of trees for 364 days of the year. Annually on 15 August, though, the terrain is turned into a whooped-out, unyieldiing, swallow-bike-and-rider-whole sand monster, and many big reputations have been known to have remained behind at this, one of the toughest of all sand races. Tanel Leo also reported for duty on his Red Bull De Carli Yamaha, as did teammate and world championship leader Antonio Cairoli. In fact, a slew of top 10 GP level talents were present, and for 20 Euro, the spectators got their money's worth, seeing a day chock full of racing, a near GP in the international class, and of top of it all, being able to force all the mayonnaise-drenched french fires and beer that they could manage down the collective gullet. Tanel was not so much interested in the catering arrangements, though, and his mind was fixed firmly on the racing action. The Belgian championship events are jam-packed with action, with many classes and races squeezed into a single day. The training sessions are therefore of necessity quite short, and Tanel only managed to find his rhythm towards the end of the short 20 minute qualifying session, posting the 11th fastest time. As the 40 - odd riders headed into the woods for the first race, he was in a mid-pack position, Unfortunately in the melee of lap 1, another rider whose balance of enthusiasm vs ability leaned strongly in favour or the former, took a rather unique line through a corner and put the Estonian down. By the time Tanel had remounted and restarted the bike, he was dead last, and then by a fair margin too. He put his head down and got cracking, but in the short 20 minute races there is not much time for a full-on catch up effort. He did manage to work h is way up to 15th, though, and retired to the paddock somewhat less than happy. Again the start genie seemed to favour other riders in race 2. Tanel again got away in 15th, but this time he avoided all and any trouble with errant riders, and managed to scurry back up to 8th position by race end. His first heat troubles already rendered a good overall result nigh on impossible, and in the third race, the final nail was hammered into the coffin of a very frustrating day. Poised in a good position and ready for action, Tanel came cruising around after two laps and retired from the race. The exhaust pipe on his bike has suffered some damage, and there was no other option but to seek the solace of the pits. ALthough the day did not yield the hoped for result, Tanel did get a few more miles of sand riding under his belt. He will participate in the Everts and Friends charity race at Genk next weekend, and after that it's off to Lierop for the next Grand Prix in the world series.
This report is available online
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