The highly feared trip to the Dutch sand at Lierop ended on a positive note for Team Aprilia Off Road. Cedric Melotte, an official rider of the Noale Production House, demonstrated to have recovered well physically after skipping the Irish Gp to recuperate from the injury he suffered in Lommel. He completed both of the two heats that really tested the endurance of the riders. Gullies, holes, deep trenches, and trajectories that changed lap after lap didn't impede Melotte from placing well (starting from Saturday's first qualifying round) at the penultimate trial of the World MX1 Motocross Championships.
In fact, the Belgian rider marked the 14th best time atop the competitive and trustworthy Aprilia MXV 4.5, despite racing on a sandy surface. That result was repeated and improved upon, even in Sunday morning's warm-up lap, when he recorded the 11th best time.
Both heats were characterized by good comebacks that followed not-so-brilliant starts. In Race 1, Melotte took off in 20th place and battled back to 17th while in Race 2, he climbed his way up to 14th place after taking off in 18th. Thanks to these results, Melotte closed out the Benelux MX1 Grand Prix in 15th place overall, conquering 11 points.
Lierop (NED) - 14th round of The World Motocross Championships
MX1 Class
Race 1: 1. Marc de Reuver (Honda); 2. Jonathan Barragan (Ktm); 3. David Philipaerts (Yamaha); 17. Cedric Melotte (Aprilia MXV 4.5).
Race 2: 1. Ken de Dycher (Suzuki); 2. Maximilian Nagl (Ktm); 3. Marc de Reuver (Honda); 14. Cedric Melotte (Aprilia MXV 4.5).
