The 50th(!) anniversary edition of organising club AMC Dworp will no doubt go down in history as an instant classic. Brilliant weather assured the best possible racing conditions on the iconic, natural Kesterheide track. More than 10.000 spectators came out to see today’s MXGP stars and pay tribute to Kester’s racing heroes of yesterday.

While the scenic venue, hardpack grippy surface and old school layout demand some getting used to, it was traffic more than anything that kept Christophe Charlier posting a fast lap in time practice. After a good start behind De Dycker, Van Horebeek, Jonass and Strijbos the 24MX Honda rider gained momentum. Charlier took a comfortable second right behind Strijbos in the opening moto. A less effective start and a small crash held back the Corsican in the second sprint. While Christophe managed 7th, another home rider in the form of Ken De Dycker took the win.

Charlier and his HGS Exhaust equipped Honda CRF450R enjoyed a great getaway in the final moto. The MXGP rookie was coming to terms with the track and made a strong impression. From 4th he passed Philippaerts and Van Horebeek to hunt down De Dycker. Unfortunately CC23 ran out of time before he could attack the former Belgian champion. Once more he had to settle for runner-up. After podiums with Clément Desalle (2009) and Davide Guarneri (2010), Christophe Charlier is the first rider in the history of Steven Lettani’s Honda squad to claim victory at the famous Kester race!

 
Christophe Charlier: “Kester is definitely an amazing race with a lot of tradition and I’m proud to be on the winners’ list! It took a bit of time to get used to the track but I had so much fun to come and race here.  We’ve been trying some new things with the bike and they’re clearly paying off. My starts were a lot better than before which makes a great difference. I tried not to rush things today because it was easy to make mistakes. Still I felt that my speed was good. In the third moto I started to push at the end and I was catching up quickly to De Dycker. However I had a bit of an issue with my goggles which hurt my vision. Anyway, this result gives us a good base to work from for the the next MXGP in Maggiora and I’m looking forward to the second half of the World Championship season.”

Moto 1: 1. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), 2. Christophe Charlier (FRA, 24MX Honda Racing), 3. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 4. David Philipaerts (ITA, Yamaha), 5. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), 6. Tyla Rattray (RSA, Kawasaki), 7. Jordi Tixier (FRA, Kawasaki), 8. Petar Petrov (BUL, Kawasaki), 9. Steve Ramon (BEL, Suzuki), 10. Nick Triest (BEL, KTM), 11. Aleksander Tonkov (Rus, Husqvarna), 12. Kevin fors (BEL, YAmaha), 13. Jeffrey Dewulf (BEL, Yamaha), 14. Marvin Van Daele (BEL, KTM), 15. Ken De Dycker (BEL, KTM), 16. Kristof Salaets (BEL, Kawasaki), 17. Jens Van Meer (BEL, KTM), 18. Yentel Martens (BEL, Husqvarna), 19. René De Jong (NED, KTM), 20. Jurgen Wybo (BEL, Kawasaki)

Moto  2: 1. Ken De Dycker (BEL, KTM), 2. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), 3. Jordi Tixier (FRA, Kawasaki), 4. David Philipaerts (ITA, Yamaha), 5. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 6. Jens Getteman (BEL, Honda), 7. Christophe Charlier (FRA, 24MX Honda Racing), 8. Tyla Rattray (RSA, Kawasaki), 9. Petar Petrov (BUL, Kawasaki), 10. Nick Triest (BEL, KTM), 11. Kevin fors (BEL, Yamaha), 12. Marvin Van Daele (BEL, KTM), 13. Yentel Martens (BEL, Husqvarna), 14. Kristof Salaets (BEL, Kawasaki), 15. Jurgen Wybo (BEL, Kawasaki), 16. Mike Vanderstraeten (BEL, Yamaha), 17. Jens Van Meer (BEL, KTM), 18. Steve Ramon (BEL, Suzuki), 19. RenÈ De Jong (NED, KTM), 20. Karel Kutsar (EST, KTM)

Moto 3: 1. Ken De Dycker (BEL, KTM), 2. Christophe Charlier (FRA, 24MX Honda Racing), 3. David Philipaerts (ITA, Yamaha), 4. Jordi Tixier (FRA, Kawasaki), 5. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), 6. Jens Getteman (BEL, Honda), 7. Petar Petrov (BUL, Kawasaki), 8. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 9. Tyla Rattray (RSA, Kawasaki), 10. Jeffrey Dewulf (BEL, Yamaha), 11. Marvin Van Daele (BEL, KTM), 12. Jurgen Wybo (BEL, Kawasaki), 13. Mike Vanderstraeten (BEL, Yamaha), 14. Steve Ramon (BEL, Suzuki), 15. Kristof Salaets (BEL, Kawasaki), 16. René De Jong (NED, KTM), 17. Nick Triest (BEL, KTM), 18. Kevin fors (BEL, Yamaha), 19. Jens Van Meer (BEL, KTM), 20. Buick Krekels (NED, Kawasaki)

Kester final Classification: 
1. Christophe Charlier (FRA, 24MX Honda Racing) 58 pts, 2. Ken De Dycker (BEL, KTM) 56, 3. David Philipaerts (ITA, Yamaha) 56, 4. Jordi Tixier (FRA, Kawasaki) 52, 5. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM) 49, 6. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki) 47, 7. Tyla Rattray (RSA, Kawasaki) 40, 8.  Petar Petrov (BUL, Kawasaki) 39, 9. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha) 32, 10. Jens Getteman (BEL, Honda) 30, 11. Marvin Van Daele (BEL, KTM) 26, 12. Nick Triest (BEL, KTM) 26, 13. Steve Ramon (BEL, Suzuki) 22, 14. Kevin Fors (BEL, Yamaha) 22, 15. Jeffrey Dewulf (BEL, Yamaha) 19, 16. Kristof Salaets (BEL, Kawasaki) 18, 17. Jurgen Wybo (BEL, Kawasaki) 16, 18. Mike Vanderstraeten (BEL, Yamaha) 13, 19. Yentel Martens (BEL, Husqvarna) 11, 20. Jens Van Meer (BEL, KTM) 10

Pic: CDS