Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127186
Jeff Leisk took the lead near the end .of the first moto. but ran out of gas with a lap to go. He came back to take a narrow win in round two. Reigning World Champion Eric Geboers led much of the first moto before slipping to second. then struggled to sixth in moto two for second overall. • KTM-mounted Kees Van der Ven charged through the pack to take fourth in the first moto. then took a close fifth in moto two for third overall: World Ctlampionship SOOcc MX Series: Round 1 Geukens surprise winner in Holland By Alex Hodgkinson VALKENSWAARD, HOLLAND, APR. 2 Twenty-five-year-old Honda privateer Dirk Geukens, from just over the border in Belgium, scored a totally unexpected victory in Valkenswaard, as the big names all ran 20 into trouble of one kind or another throughout the day. And the man who looked strongest of all wa n't Belgium's defending champ Eric Geboers, or former champs Dave Thorpe of England or Belgian Georges Jobe, or last year's runnerup from England Kurt Nicoll, but Australian newcomer Jeff Leisk. After running out of fuel one lap from the end of the first moto while leading, Leisk came back and won the second moto. But the star men aren't likely to be too disappointed since nobody has won both the opening GP of the year and the championship since Belgian Andre Malherbe did it in 1981. Germany's Dietmar Lacher and Geboers, the two lightweight men of the 500cc GP circuit, shot to the front as the gate dropped for the start of the new 500cc World Championship season and it was the defending champ Geboers who came around at the end of the first lap with a small lead. Jo Martens passed Lacher on the first lap with Swede Leif Persson, Geukens, Leisk, Stefan Larsson and Jacky Martens soon joining them in a breakaway from the rest of the pack. Former 250cc World Champion Jacky Vimond of France had been involved in a tangle at the start gate which left him to ride hard for an eventual 13th, while English hopes Nicoll and Thorpe were both in trouble at the end of the leaderboard. Nicoll's works Kawasaki had suffered a partial seizure on the first lap and after a constant repetition of the problem Nicoll pulled out before the halfway point of the 40 minute plus two-lap moto. Thorpe was to see the checkered flag but only in seventh place after -fighting with loose front forks from early in the race. Also in trouble was Jobe, who had fallen while 10th in lap one. Jobe rode a fantastic second half to finish ninth. Another early casualty was American Billy Liles, who was 12th and improving rapidly until the packing of a brand-new silencer blew out and blocked the exhaust flow. With Geboers a comfortable leader but never able to pull away, Jo Martens seemed to have little difficulty holding second despite the efforts of a charging Persson until he caught his troublesome foot in a hole and gradually dropped back. At the same time Leisk started to make his big move with Geukens chasing hard. Just after the halfway Point Leisk inherited second as Persson began to drop back rapidly, his rear shock having broken and then the rear brake. Thirty minutes into the race, Leisk had caught Geboers and the World champ had no answer when the Australian rode under him in the main arena. Geboers fell to Geukens too before the end of ·the lap, but Leisk looked far too strong to allow a Belgian win until his motor spluttered to a halt just before the finish line where the flagman was waiting with the onelap board. Leisk had run out of fuel, having taken the risk of running a standard tank even though team coordinator Roger Van den Borght had supplied him with a larger altemative~ The crowd rose to the heartbroken Aussie as the awful truth of his mistake struck home and he slumped in tearful desperation on the handlebars. The win went. to Geukens and Geboers completed a Belgian 12, but only just as Lacher, riding better than ever before in the sand, almost nipped him to the line. Jacky Martens had gone out with a broken rear suspension linkage while Holland's Kees Van der Ven was fourth after a difficult ride back through the pack after being hanipered by Jobe's early fall to pass Larsson late in the race. Race two was no less dramatic. Liles led the start with Belgians Jo Martens, Geukens and Geboers chasing hard, but the first man to eventually demote Liles from the lead was Leisk, who had charged from fifth advancing at the rate of one position per lap.