    |
 |
|
|
|
Vangani Racing Press Release:
A little to the northeast of Stuttgart, Germany, lies the hamlet of Gaildorf, home to some spectacular hill-strewn scenery, possibly the best cheesecake in the world … and a glorious motocross track. For most of the GP regulars, the sight that greeted them when they drove up to Gaildorf to prepare for the 10th GP of the season was a familiar one, for Gaildorf has become almost an institution in world championship motocross. This year was different in one respect to some of the preceding GP events at Gaildorf, however. A blazing sun delivered scorching temperatures, which made a welcome change from the extremely muddy conditions that had prevailed in previous years.
The Big Five Vangani Racing crew rocked up in numbers, and no mistake. With all the riders, mechanics, support crew, useless hangers-on (management), family, friends and supporters visiting from South Africa, New Zealand et al , the team’s campsite resembled a (well-stocked) refugee camp, and much merriment was at the order of the day.
Tanle Leok was keen to erase the memory of the previous GP at Genk form his mind. On this occasion he failed for the first time to qualify for a GP, and he was a picture of determination in the weeks leading up to the Gaildorf event. The Estonian Express served notice of his intentions with a 6th qualifying time in the pre-qualifying practice. As the qualifying race drew closer, Tanel was practicing starts on the test strip, leaving no doubt about his levels of determination.
This is the normal sequence of events for a qualifying race: stirring music, gates drop, all hell breaks loose. This time was no different, and Tanel let rip with the leading group. A beautiful fast sweep through the second corner promoted him to second position, and it was clear that only a crash was going to keep him out of the GP this time. On lap 3, Josef Dobes got by Tanel on the finish jump, and it seemed as if the Estonian had lost some of his rhythm. He quickly regrouped, and a few laps later, he was testing Dobes’ resolve seriously. On lap 8, Tanel was back in second spot, and this time he quickly opened up a gap to secure his position. He made some strides towards catching runaway leader Steven Sword. As the race drew to a close, Tanel made good time on Sword, but as the flag fell, he had not managed to get close enough to challenge for the win.
Thus bolstered, the Leomaster went into Sunday’s GP. His start left him in mid-pack position, and when the scorers penned down the first lap, he was in 14th position. Wily old wardog Tallon Vohland went by in lap two, and Tanel was in 15th position for the next three laps. He steadily crept up the rankings, passing Antoine Letellier and repassing Vohland. With three laps to go, he was in 11th spot, and harrying Josef Dobes for the 10th position. He now had troubles of his own with Kevin Strijbos, however, and with two laps to go, Strijbos got past, relegating our man to 12th spot, which is where he finally claimecd the flag.
Tann man kept true to his word with a strong result, and has managed to climb three places up the world championship ladder to 22nd position. His objective is to achieve strong results in the last two GP’s, which will enable him to move into the top 20 in the world championship standings.
For Tyla Rattray, this trip to Gaildorf will not be recalled as fondly as his first visit to the spectacular circuit. On that occasion, in 1999, Tyla participated in his first ever international event, and scored a sensational 3rd place finish in the inaugural FIM 80cc world championship race. Gaildorf 2002 was to be a different sotry, altogether. Stylaman started the weekend off well enough, with strong showings in the practice sessions. Race day warm-up was especially encouraging, as he scorched around the circuit to set the fourth-fastest time. Tyla got fairly good launch off the gate in the race, but it pretty much went downhill from there. Four corners form the start, there was a messy pile-up, involving amongst others, Philippe Dupasquier, Trampas Parker, and there was nothing that Tyla and teammate Ben Townley could do to prevent from rushing headlong into the melee. After employing all of their engineering skills, the two friends got their bikes disentangled. For Townley, his race was run after only a few seconds. The throttle cable on the bike was damaged beyond repair, and all the Drop Bear could do, was trudge back to the pits disconsolately.
Styla kept going, albeit in last position. The gearlever on his KTM was badly bent in the crash, making gearshifting an unheard-of luxury. A visit to the pits for a new gearlever lost more precious minutes for him, but he gamely fought on, and rode out the race. In the end he finished in 22nd position, only the second time this season that he did not manage to score points.
For Richard van der Westhuizen, the weekend ended on qualifying day. Wichie found the going tough on the tricky Gaildorf circuit, but kept improving on his lap times as the day wore on, but the youngster’s inexperience was counting against him on the challenging track. After a bad start in the qualifying race, Wichie (literally) had an uphill battle on his hands. True to his nature, he kept pushing, and as the race wore on, he was rewarded with a number of positions up the ladder. In the end, Wichie finished seventeenth, on this occasion, the pace was just too high to allow the talented youngster to qualify.
Some heavyweight riders were relegated to the last chance race, including Marc De Reuver, Antti Kallonen and Billy McKenzie. Wichie would therefore not have an easy passage through this race, either, Another nervous start effectively killed his chances at the start. Although he gamely claimed back more positions, this was defninitely not the weekend on which he would line up for his first GP. His main focus now will be to prepare mentally for the FIM 125cc junior championship event next weekend in Austria.
Overall, the team had a disappointing weekend, but a strong ray of light shone through the clouds in the form of Tanel Leok’s return to serious action. Make no mistake, though, the lads are determined to come back stronger than ever.
