Today’s 3 hours RES Axel team race capped off the outdoor MX season for many Dutch and Belgian riders. 24MX Honda’s Jens Getteman and his team mates Van Vaerenberg and Huylebroek rounded out the season-ending Dutch endurance race sixth overall. The one-off trio was plagued by bad luck but they showed rostrum-finishing speed. Dewulf, Seronval and Bal won, second overall was for Boot, Van Roy and Schmidt. For Getteman this was also he’s last appearance on a the 24MX Honda CRF450R as he will focus on testing and training with JTech Honda on the CRF250R from next week on.
38 teams, consisting of 114 riders lined up and after 65cc and 85c riders competed in their own 2 hours race the RES circuit was rough, rutted… And the deep sand would only become more physical. The REX Axel 3 hours started in a bad way for Getteman and his squad. Tallon Huylebroek got stuck on the starting line so that they effectively started dead last. With 20 minute stints for each rider everything came down to team work. Jens and his buddies recovered well, climbing up to fifth, but bad luck struck again when a stone broke Getteman’s front sprocket and undid his chain.
However the former Belgian MX2 champion really got in to the flow in his last stint. When the track was its worst the Dunlop-shod Getteman was at his best passing race leader Dewulf and proving his ability in the sand. While second or third overall would have been in his reach, Axel 3 Hours race prove to be a nice and fun way for Jens to end the first 450 chapter of his young career.
Jens Getteman: “I came here without ambitions. The last few weeks I had a break and it had been a while since I rode the sand! Physically it was definitely tough, I have to admit that at the end of my first 20 minutes my arms hurt a lot. Going on it went better and better. My last moto was really good, I rode smooth and flawless. After passing Jeffrey (Dewulf) I was surprised that I even pulled away from him quite easily. So just to race once more on the Honda CRF450R together with friends was really cool! I can’t thank the 24MX Honda Racing team and my manager enough for the last two years. It hasn’t been easy with all the injuries, but I have improved as a rider and I learned a lot. Now it’s time for a new challenge with Jtech and I’m really looking forward to go to work with the CRF250R and my new Honda family in Italy!”
Image: 24MX Honda/Vepix.be
