Jack unlucky to miss out on podium finish
Last weekend, the sixth round of the 2009 ADAC MX Masters Series was staged at the 1.7km ‘Auf der Wacht’ circuit in Gaildorf (Baden-Württemberg). The fine summer weather brought a crowd of 12,000 spectators out to the idyllic natural setting of the Swabian Forest and Limpurg range of hills. Lining up once again for the ADAC MX Youngster Cup in the colours of Sturm Racing Team was Jack Brunell, the young British rider from Old Windsor in Berkshire.
In the first free practice session on Saturday morning, Jack demonstrated how well he had adapted to the track conditions at this historical venue which, in the past, had regularly staged such memorable events as the Motocross World Championships (1976 – 2005), the Motocross of Nations (1985) and the Motocross of European Nations (2007). Without ever having competed on the track before, he immediately posted the fastest lap time in his practice group.
“I was really happy with the first session and I had the fastest time in my group, which was really encouraging considering I have never ridden the track before. Robbie had made a few changes to the bike before the race and it felt really good. Thanks, Robbie! The track was really nice to ride and I was confident with the bike.”
In the Saturday afternoon qualifying session, the 20-year-old then went one better. He improved his lap time by almost two seconds to clock the second fastest time in his class. This was not only his best qualifying result in the current ADAC MX Youngster Cup season but also meant that Jack had third choice of starting place in the motos, a set of circumstances that gave Jack good reason to feel optimistic about the outcome of Sunday’s races.
“The track was mega; I really liked it as it had dried a bit more. I was very happy with my time, as I managed to go two seconds faster than the first session.”
Unfortunately, track conditions then deteriorated because the organisers had heavily watered it in preparation for the motos. During Sunday’s warm-up, Jack was bitterly disappointed to find that the surface was now far from his liking.
“The warm-up was quite bad for me. The track was very heavily watered and so was very slippery to ride.”
Despite the hot weather and the long break between the warm-up and the first race, there was no significant improvement in track conditions in the meantime. After an unsteady start and a fall, Jack nonetheless managed to complete the 16 race laps to cross the finish line in eleventh position
“The first race started as a disaster! I had a terrible start and then I got covered in mud which broke my goggles. I then had a small fall and was in 20th. I just couldn’t find a rhythm to start with and I was stuck around 20th for a lot of the race. I then started to move forward and getting faster and faster as the track became better. I was making passes every lap. On the last lap I had made my way to 13th and I went as fast as I could. I overtook two riders on the last corner to finish 11th and the last lap was the fastest lap for me.”
In the second moto, Jack initially established himself in the front three and successfully defended this position for two-thirds of the race. However, a tumble six laps from the end (from which the young British rider fortunately emerged uninjured) shattered his hopes for a podium finish in this race and a better result in the day standings.
“Again, I didn’t get a good start, but with some quick thinking, I was third on the first lap. I was riding a very strong race, holding third and keeping consistent lap times. The bike suddenly slipped and I had quite a big crash which wasn’t good. I managed to get started again and finished the race in tenth. I was really disappointed.”
With this 11/10 result, Jack once again secured a Top 10 place in the day standings, but because of the meagre points haul in Gaildorf, he had to reconcile himself with the temporary loss of third place in the championship table.
“Overall, I’m quite disappointed with how the races went. I was fast and I know I should have been in the Top 5 at least but luck wasn’t with me today. In terms of the championship, I have lost two places and I am now fifth, but it’s still very tight with third place, so I will push as hard as I can in the next race to try to get third in the championship. I never expected to be fifth in my first season racing the ADAC series, as I have never ridden the tracks, so the year is going well for me.”
The first weekend of September (5th – 6th) sees Jack Brunell return for the seventh and penultimate round in the ADAC MX Youngster Cup in Holzgerlingen (Baden-Württemberg).
Event Results ADAC MX Youngster Cup – Gaildorf 23/08/2009: 1. Alexandr Tonkov (RUS) 50 pts.; 2. Angus Heidecke (GER) 44; 3. Dennis Ullrich (GER) 35; 4. Kasper Lynggaard (DEN) 34; 5. Bence Szvoboda (HUN) 29; 6. Dennis Baudrexl (GER) 24; 7. Stefan K. Olsen (DEN) 23; 8. Jack Brunell (GBR) 21; 9. Marvin Knörle (GER) 21; 10. Petar Petrov (BUL) 18
Provisional Standings ADAC MX Youngster Cup after the 6th event: 1. Angus Heidecke (GER) 207 pts.; 2. Dennis Baudrexl (GER) 201; 3. Kasper Lynggaard (DEN) 163; 4. Dennis Ullrich (GER) 161; 5. Jack Brunell (GBR) 155; 6. Stefan K. Olsen (DEN) 142; 7. Jernej Irt (SLO) 116; 8. Marvin Knörle (GER) 116; 9. Alexandr Tonkov (RUS) 100; 10. Bence Szvoboda (HUN) 85
Tags: adac, british, brunell, crash, european, goggles, luck, motocross, water
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