Lommel legends

When you think Lommel, you think sand specialists. Riders like Antonio Cairoli and Jeffrey Herlings. Both men have had their moment at the treacherous circuit, considered by many as the roughest and toughest circuit in the world.

I remember my first visit to Lommel, it was in 1997, and to be honest, I wasn’t that impressed. Mind you, it was raining, and Lommel, while a circuit with a great history, isn’t the most picturesque circuit on the calendar.

On that wet day in August it was Avo Leok who won. The uncle of Tanel Leok only ever won a single GP in his career, but beating home the likes of Kurt Nicoll and Peter Johansson was a special effort.

Since that 1997 visit Lommel hadn’t really been a regular stop on the Grand Prix calendar. Due to the involvement of the legendary Namur circuit, and stops in places like Neeroteren, Nismes, Genk, and so many others it seemed that Lommel was a little forgotten, and was generally just a training facility for the GP riders.

It wasn’t until five times motocross world champion Eric Geboers got involved and decided to bring the circuit back to the Grand Prix scene, and of course the fact Namur was closed due to the greenies getting the better hand of the local government.

Funnily enough probably the greatest sand rider of all time, Stefan Everts only won one Grand Prix at Lommel. That coming in the 1994 250 Grand Prix. He had a handful of victories from the Namur circuit, and a good selection from other Belgian circuits, but in his racing era Lommel wasn’t often on the Grand Prix calendar, at least not for the 125 or 250 class where he selected to race.

When Lommel returned to the Grand Prix schedule in 2008 it was Spanish rider Jonathan Barragan who put his name on the winners list with an MX1 overall, while Gert Krestinov shocked the world to win the MX2 overall.

Names like Marvin Musquin (2009 MX2), Ken Roczen (2010 MX2) and Ken De Dycker (2009 MX1), joined Barragan and Krestinov as GP winners, but it was the performances of Antonio Cairoli in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014 that stand out. Cairoli won three GPs and the MXoN overall with 1-1 results and showed he owned the circuit in that era.

Jeffrey Herlings took wins in 2011 and scored 1-2 results in the 2012 MXoN, but injures have seen him miss the last two years, with Max Anstie making the most of that, to win in both 2014 and 2015, scoring 1-2-1-1 in the process. Shaun Simpson added his name to the Lommel winners list with 1-1 in MXGP in 2015.

This year of course we have Herlings coming back from injury, and Antonio Cairoli out of form. Shaun Simpson is also out of touch, so will we see a new Lommel winner? Maybe red plate owner Tim Gajser or defending MXGP champion Romain Febvre? Or can Anstie once again show his liking for the Belgian sand?