Fürstlich Drehna in Brandenburg was the scene of an eventful start to the motocross season for the SHR Motorsports by Hartje Team. Despite hard work and determination, the riders faced major challenges.
Sigurd Thomsen, competing in the Junior Cup 85 class, initially found himself in 36th place in qualifying – not exactly the ideal start. But his courage and determination did not let him down. The first race ended abruptly after a heavy crash, which led to a DNF. But Thomsen proved his fighting spirit and started again in the second race, fighting for 28th place.
Jayson van Drunen, riding the Yamaha YZ125 in the Junior Cup 125, demonstrated his strengths in qualifying and secured a respectable fifth place. However, the race was anything but straightforward. In the first race, he found himself at the back of the field after a difficult start. But van Drunen was not discouraged. Despite a small crash that dropped him back to 25th place, he fought his way back up the field and eventually finished in 15th place. In the second race, he once again showed that he feels comfortable in the sand and took tenth place.
Paul “Habi” Haberland also had to deal with the adversities of the track in the Big Boys, the ADAC MX Masters. Although he qualified tenth in Masters Group A, the races did not go according to plan. The first ended early with a DNF, while he fought his way up to 25th place in the second race. Unfortunately, the DNF scenario was repeated in the third race.
Mike Bolink and Petr Polak also battled it out in the Masters class. Bolink secured 15th place in Group A qualifying. Despite this, he was only able to finish 32nd in the first race after a crash at the start, but improved to 29th and 31st in the following races. Despite the unlucky incidents at the start of the race, Bolink impressed with consistently fast lap times that matched those of the Riders in the top 15.
Petr Polak also qualified directly with an 18th place in Group B. Polak got off to a better start and performed solidly in the races. This was only his second race after nine months out of racing following a long period of injury. Despite these challenges, he showed his remarkable endurance and achieved midfield placings, finishing the races in 17th, 20th and 18th place. His performance was an encouraging return to the racing scene and underlines his will and determination to re-establish himself after his injury lay-off.
Despite the ups and downs, the SHR Motorsports by Hartje Team showed impressive dedication and perseverance. They will undoubtedly work hard to learn from this experience and come out of the challenge stronger.
