Lommel Track Preview
Wednesday, September 19, 2012 | 9:55 AM
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The Vurbmoto crew already has boots on the ground in Belgium and they shot this preview of the track for next weekend's Motocross of Nations... Click to view.
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Looks awful, it must not be used on a regular basis.
I hope at least they cut the weeds down!! Looks like a pratic track more so than a Top level race track!!
Nice weeds. World venue?......looks more like a dump for the factory in the background.
@ corndog
The track gets used nearly everyday of the week. The track is World class and it will look superb next week.
Lake Elsinore had more elevation change than this place. Lame
If it had much for elevation, you couldn't race it. I bet it will look and race awesome.
Must be April 2012 and I just awoke ! Or was it Halloween....... Come on Man !!!!!!
I'm sure it will be awesome enough come race day
WOW!!! all the comments on how a track looks 2 weeks before the race???
Have any of you been to a track before raceday?
I'm sorry but you have more weeds and trash at all the US National tracks even on raceday.
Its funny seems like Americans are trying to make excuses even before raceday!!!
This is one of the top 3 gnarliest tracks ANYONE will ever race.
Yeah I'm an American but I have no illusions that the American riders are the best in the world in this particular track.
I still stand by my predictions, MX1 Cairoli then dungey, MX2Roczen, Musquin, Baggett crashes out at least one moto, MX3 Herlings, Barcia
It will be be cool to see that track get destroyed and how the riders will manage during the race but it is bizarre that the last couple of de nations in Europe have been on tracks with "unique" dirt. Difficult dirt doesn't make a track good. Anyone from Texas knows how unique (awful) black dirt is but I'd hate to see the de nations at a black dirt track.
Not4show who made an excuse?? I did not see one!! The track looks low budget it all anyone said. relax
It will be interesting. Sand is unique.. but all these tracks (freestone, elsinore and this one) without elevation change end up being.. turn jump turn jump turn jump ... repeat as necessary .. Give me a good downhill!
Are we going to get TV viewing
IMO, The track is fine. All the riders have to ride the same track. Over the decades I've raced I've always chuckled quietly as my competitors have complained bitterly about this or that at the track. When they do that they're setting themselves up for a bad day. The mental part of the deal is huge! I believe the facility will be awesome, fitting of a world class event, and the riders that just show up and do there best, without worrying if the track is what they expect it to be or not, will do well. That being said, IMO the U.S. team will have their hands full at this race. I believe they should prevail but you still gotta' race the race. I'm excited!
Ha ha ha. Let me get this straight. The primates in the united states are already formulating their reasons for not winning the cup. Track is primitive, looks like a practice track in the boon docks, etc etc. What a lot of damn peasants.
Lommel is the greatest track in Europe. It is open every day except mondays and it is where all the top riders base themselves because the track is the most challenging in the world. Win at Lommel and I´ll get on my hands and knees and kiss your Kenyan destroyer in chief, Barry Obongo´s choccolate brown rear end on the white house steps. Ain´t gonna happen, right. So blame away. Crap track, bad weather, they threw bottles at us, they disrespected our champions and insulted us, blah blah blah, ha ha ha. Sorry suckers. On this "goat" track you are gonna see just how ordinary your guys are. Bye bye, see you next year. LOL.
Nobody is trying to fabricate excuses for losing. They all have to race the same track. And I'm not sure why "us Americans" would be searching for excuses. We dominate the sport and have done so for well over 2 decades now.
Euromike you said the SAME crap last year then Team USA wiped the Euro azzes again and you disapaired for months. You where so sure team USA was going to get smoked last year and now again this year. Rememeber winning moto's at the MXD means squat if you don't win the over all. So the Euro's will get some moto wins but the over all will be hard. Hey is Roczen going to smoke the 250 class again like he did this year over here? OH yeah you were WAY off on that one also!! Mike We all LAUGH at you......
731Chopper your right no one made ANY excuses but in euromikes empty head he thinks we did. He has no clue at all!!
@euromike......your assessment of the POTUS may be correct, but your MX assessment is way off.
So......who do you predict will beat Team USA?
IMHO, there are no 3 rider Euro teams capable of putting two motos together.
Stick to politics, and leave the MXdN predictions to us.
As BillC stated......"you said the same crap last year.........."
Live timing and scoring available?
Even though its sandy, and were not supposed to runaway like the past years.... I think we still have the advantage, this track is going to be very physically demanding, USA= all out all the time! Now only if there was going to be 105 degree heat, then we would have a huge advantage.
My practice track looks better than this Go USA I want to see baggett and Bam bam mud wrestle for the win
Herrlings will be tough to beat in the sand no doubt, but I believe the Dunge is pretty darned good sand rider fo sho. Barcai goe sgood in the sand too and come to think of it, Bagget hauled ass at Millvile (yes I know not much of a comparsion). USA will win barring a bike failure.
I've thought the same thing (track looks like crap) about some US national tracks two weeks before the race. Once banners and all the dressup happens, looks great. I'm sure this will too.
Wow, I can't believe some people are disrespecting the track. That place is motocross hallowed ground and just as important and relevant as say Unadilla, or Glen Helen. It doesn't matter how it looks, some of the greatest riders of our sport have raced there, the history is amazing, show some respect.
Euro Mike ....promises promises promises,......didn't you already once promise to go away once before............The USA guys are all slow ... inconsistent....out of shape...can't ride that NASTY sand.....lol...just keep feedin your self that line of bull till even you believe it.......Dungeys "General Patton like speed" will crush all comers like he was using Khrushchev's shoe on a bug.....hopefully Bam don't start an international incident buy doooshing some Euros with AXE body spray and passing out stache grooming supplies on the line....."stop stop ..we surrender"...... and Baggett ...trust me has something to prove and will burn it down like a plantation ....they'll be washing down some freedom fries with some fine French champagne at the end of the day....and once again i'll say it....just be glad RV ain't goin on a 450......http://youtu.be/sjyZ8M_c558.......aye yi yi...momma mia.....grandismo.....
@ Gills ......... Treblinka was hallowed ground also
@Lars- That actually has nothing at all to do with what I wrote, not even the slightest bit. Thanks for the input though, glad you're still keeping track of those facts.
EuroMike heres a little history for you , last time the americans were in Lommel we took the trophy home !! Donnie Hanson , Johnny omara, Danny laport and Chuck Sun they killed it!!! they Battled the Belgium team of Harry Everts , Andre Vormans ,Rick Geboers,Marc Velkeneers Andre lived down the street from the track to !!this guys were the best sand riders at the time !! But USA brought it home !!!!!!!!
Couldn't help but notice the "greatest track in Europe" is maintained with Caterpillar equipment from the good ol' USA.
@Tonewall.
"they'll be washing down some freedom fries with some fine French champagne at the end of the day"
LOL. Freedom fries indeed, I loved that one. BTW, there´s a McDonalds just up the road from the holy grail of MX, but if you really want to taste the local quisine, rather ask for a packet of pomes frites with mayonese. Knocks McFatties crap into the weeds.
only a damn commie would put mayo on fries...thats why America invented tomatoes....lol.........I truly enjoy the fake international discourse but there is one fact that can't be overlooked....our guys are blistering fast..bell to bell..all day long.....2 Champs and Bam on a 450...good luck euros ...your gonna need it.... you'll need chalk and yellow tape when there done..........
Yes, Lommel on a non race day is FAR from inspiring. It Always has been. Tracks do tend to look pathetic without their fine clothes on for a big event, but Lommel is the ultimate example of that. Always has been.
It IS in a light industrial area - google map it. It's certainly not in a picturesque ' Euro' setting.
I've been to races at Lommel a few times over the years - the first time I went, I got there a few days early, and I couldn't adequately describe my shock and disappointment. Five Days later, I was completely in Awe of the place, and the riders that rode there.
Nothing is like the sand at Lommel - it seems it's far worse and more bottomless than any other Belgian , and more over, Dutch sand track.
You get there, and it's as smooth as a babies bum, with at the most, 30 ft of track height change. Looks pathetic, truly. Then, you get the bikes out there and it turns to HELL. The vast majority of riders here on this site (me included) would be lucky to last a couple of hundred meters before ' eating it '. No fun to be had at all, for most riders. It is Viciousness , personified (trackified?).
I thought I'd see many of the reactions above to the track, when I saw this clip. Do yourselves a favour, and do some research - find videos of the place. If you are at all honest with yourself, you'll see how full on the place is. I've seen so many fools just look at the start straight / first few straights / turns, that Have to be bulldozed, each moto, for survival of the riders, who then (the fools) say it's smooth / easy.
I'd rather see the Des at Leirop, or Valkenswaard, but Lommel is a classic, brutal track.
The US team - due to DeCosters forethought, have got there early, to practise on Belgian Sand - they've even been given access to Lommel, for practise, I've read. A brilliant piece of strategy on his part.
The US Team Will do well - they go there to do the job - no faffing about. But, it's MX, at it's hardest, and anything can happen.
Our OZ team, has no chance ( though I'd be delighted to be proved wrong), and I personally would just like to see Antonio Cairoli have a good MX Des Nations - he last won his class in 2006 - since then, he's had the sort of luck, that DeCoster had at the Carlsbad USGP did, for so many years.
I think Roczen is racing in the GP at Teutschethal (sp?) - I would have like to see the US riders try it, but, as I've written, they have a Job to do - the MX Des Nations.
I'm flying off in a few hours, to catch the German GP, then perhaps a day or two at the ISDE, then the MX Des Nations. I recommend making an effort to everyone - especially the, seemingly, anti anything - or just plain ill informed - US fans. Not all are like that, but it does seem to be the majority. Sometime in your life, try it. Broaden your horizons - you'd see racing at it's very highest levels.
I forgot Namur.
That's the place I'd really like to see the Des Nations at. Or GPs return to.
There is movement to get Namur back - I really hope it happens - though, they'd have a fair few new houses (and a childcare centre that's now just past the little bridge) right up next to the course.
I'm not going to hold my breathe on the return of Namur - though, it seems some of the town controllers are wanting the return of such a revenue raiser. Hope it comes to pass.
I read the comments here and it reminds me how much I hate people in general at times.
Unadilla used to have two foot high grass ON the track when the first practice started when they held the GPs there.....and it was awesome!! Now we need to have manicured grounds and weed free grassy knolls. I think that is fine at Augusta in April (Masters Golf tournament) but this is MX. I'm sure they will do some weed-whacking before the big event but why the hell do we care unless we're there and have to walk through the weeds? Next we'll be hearing that the concession stands or bathrooms are not up to par.......
The track will be phenomenal.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsKfvOUx_9o
@B-KR. Right on dude. You nailed it right there (in my best american) LOL.
The commentater in that video is Paul Malin....remember him Jeffro from the 1994 Des Nations lol? I yeah I forgot, you never got to see him because he was so far in front of you!!
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America should've just left all you Europeans in the stomach of Nazi Germany to get killed. Next time you want to bash on America, remember who saved your ancestors' lives for you and your country to even be in existence today.
@ JBix
In fact, before the first American fired a shot in the European war (Operation Torch, in November 1942), the tide had turned against Nazi Germany. The last of the German advances anywhere had ended, in the Crimea, and Stalingrad, and Rommel was being pushed back by the Brits, who were, it seems, not quite "on their last foot".
Sadly, far too many Americans get their limited grasp of history from Hollywood, and Hollywood's mandate is to make money, not teach history. And, sadly, Hollywood is pitching to customers whose schooling told them virtually nothing about the other 95% of the planet, making movies from screenwriters who came out of that school system.
It's not surprising. In Europe, if you travel 50 miles in any direction, you may well be in another country, with a different language. In the US, if you travel 50 miles in any direction...nothing's different.
So, alas, even with Band of Brothers, which is "extremely historically accurate", you're getting a writer, Stephen Ambrose, whose animosity toward the Brits was legendary and well-documented.
And all of us in the west are guilty of dramatically underplaying the importance of Russia's contribution.
...and as much as I hate to mention it, the French were a big reason we were able to defeat the British a couple hundred years ago. Probably the last time the French ever put up any kind of fight.
@theped26
You sound like you're trying to sound intelligent but don't actually know half of what you're trying to pretend to. Saying that far too many Americans get their limited grasp of ww2 history from Hollywood sounds great but is completely wrong.
Russia played a huge role in defeating Nazi Germany but The United State saved Western Europe both during and after the war. Even before a single US troop set foot in Europe it was the American support of the British that enabled them to keep fighting.
As a German, it makes me laugh when I hear how you"saved" the world by crushing Germany. Truth is, you fought against a country who´s sole objective (I know you won´t agree with me because it flies in the face of how you have been conditioned, but it´s true) was to defeat communism world wide. Instead of aligning yourselves to our cause, you got sucked into supporting the zionists, who now rule you and your country (along with Britain and Europe). Their claim that Germany wanted to rule the world was nothing but horse manure. In reality, what our nationalistic fervor did oppose was their dream of world domination through Marxism and global control. You suckers fell for their propaganda hook line and sinker, just like you fell for every war since WW2 under the guise of "spreading democracy and freedom". What a bloody joke. The next one you fall for will be against poor innocent Iran.
If Germany had won the war the world would be a much better and peaceful place today, and we wouldn´t be drifting ever closer to a zionist Marxist communist (socialist) society controlled by a one world order, yes, the very people you fought and died for against your white German brothers. Europe wouldn´t be the multicultural hell hole it´s fast becoming and neither would America. Zionism has forced this on us and it´s destroying the white race, and ultimately, civilization as we know it. Soon the white race will be a mongrel people who will have lost their identity. Great, do you really think this is what your forefathers fought for, the genocide of the white race?
OK, enough politics. Back to MX. Germany will win the MXON. Goooooo Germany.
Well, the above comment from Euromike has really 'jumped the shark'.
If anyone thinks that it's not rather disturbing, indicating some very strange ideas, I wonder at their cognitive abilities.
Jumping into a theme of 'Zionism destroying the white race', and saying victory by Nazi - as that is the regime Germany was ruled by - Germany would have a world that would be a much better and peaceful place indicates a hell of a lot of revisionism and Neo 'N' thought.
DC and Co, I think that something needs to be done about the previous posters access to the site comments. Freedom of Speech, as much as I support it, is not much of a defense for such writting.
I'm absolutely appalled by this turn in the debate.
@Bear. Thank you for your comment. Instead of countering my points with intelligent arguments, you feint outrage and call for me to be banned. It is indicative of the intellectual bankruptcy of the left wing liberals who claim to support tolerance and freedom of speech. Of course, what the likes of you really mean, is tolerance and freedom of speech only for those who support their points of view. You really are quite laughable.
No sport - you really wrote just like the sort of drivel that Neo Nazis come out wish.
You, sport, are really quite idiotic, and, seem to think that that sort of stupidity makes you clever.
No wonder the majority of people here regard you as a fool.
With comments like the "white race will become a mongrel people", and "If Germany had won the war the world would be a much better and peaceful place today", you present the ' Neo Nazi' doctrine well.
You seem to be proud of yourself. That post, is nothing to be proud of.
I'm in Germany right now - I'm glad to say, your sort of outlook, seems to be very much a minority one in the country.