Max Verstappen scored phenomenally this weekend. But let's not forget what happens in the Westfield Cup. Simply, here in the Netherlands:
RONALD LENTERS WINS, DISQUALIFICATION WILLIAM FRIEND.
The sixth event of the Plusprint.be Westfield Cup 2017, made possible by LIG Vastgoed, on the Circuit of Zandvoort has once again become a victory for Ronald Lenters. The complete podium, made possible by Hans Wellink Race Experience, is for MB Motorsport with Lex Peters in second place and Rainer von Klier in third place, but MB also saw reigning champion and championship leader Willem Vriend being disqualified.
A tight debut
Robert Andriessen and René de Groot made their debut and were immediately ready to go in time training. Ronald Lenters continued his good form with a Pole Position. Lex Peters and Willem Vriend were second and third respectively. Jan Frensch became fourth. There was only 3 second between place 7 and place 0.2.
The head start
The head start in the first race was for Peters, with Lenters and Vriend close. These three made the leading group, but Frensch, Eric Janssen and Hans Wellink competed. Frensch lost ground due to cooling problems. The spectators were pampered with racing of the highest level: not only constant leader and position changes, but two times more riders at place 1 and place 3. The victory was ultimately for Vriend, with Peters in second place and Eric Janssen with the minimal lead of 0.002 second for Ronald Lenters in place 3. Rainer von Klier rushed from place 15 to 5.
The second moto
In the second race Vriend made optimal use of the first starting place, but Peters already saw Janssen pass at the end of the Tarzan curve. However, Janssen is unable to keep its place, partly due to an unleashed Von Klier. For half a race Vriend was in the lead, until Lenters outwit him. Then Von Klier also passed him by. Lenters just won for Von Klier and Vriend. Hans Wellink finished fourth, ahead of Peters.
Disqualified
After the second race, a technical follow-up of five cars followed, including that of Vriend. It appeared that the shock absorbers were not in accordance with the rules, so that the race management could not do anything else than disqualify the Friend from the event. Race one now became a prey for Peters for Janssen, Lenters and Von Klier. In race two, Wellink moved on to third place and Peters took fourth place. Lenters wins the event for Peters and Von Klier.
A sporty gesture
Taking into account the nature of the disqualification of Vriend, the other MB riders, in an exceptionally sporty gesture, compelled them to hand in their points for the championship. This led to a championship ranking where Vriend leads, ahead of Lenters and Peters with Frensch only 26 points behind.
The next, and last, race in the Plusprint.be Westfield Cup is on 19 October at Circuit Zolder.
Photo 1, 2 & 3: Thomas Bakker. Photo 4 Margo van Toor. Photo 5: Monte Lopez Sans.