On his return to racing after an absence of a month and a half, 24MX Honda’s Jens Getteman took a strong 6th at the the third round of the Open Dutch Championship in Axel. Former MX2 world champion Tyla Rattray (Husqvarna) won the overall with two moto victories. He was joined on the podium by sand specialists Jeffrey Dewulf (Yamaha) and Herjan Brakke (Kawasaki).
Getteman picked up a nagging wrist injury in Qatar and pulled out of the Thai MXGP after the opening moto. While the talented young Belgian focused on his physical training off the bike during rehabilitation he only returned to riding a couple of weeks ago. With a solid 7th time in qualifying Jens started his race day at RES Axel in good spirits. The 20 year-old dropped back from 6th after the start to 16th when he was forced to pull into the pitlane because of a minor issue with his goggles. Once he got going ‘The Joker’ concentrated on smooth riding and consistent laps. He managed to comeback to 9th but his pace and best lap time showed that he was capable of more.
And indeed more did come in the rough second moto! The former Belgian MX2 champ powered his mighty Honda CRF450R to an excellent 2nd place in the start, right behind Dewulf. Getteman almost immediately moved into the lead and pulled off what no one saw come coming! For almost eight laps Jens comfortably set the pace at the front. With no prior experience in longer motos during his recent build-up Getteman wisely backed off and South-Africa’s Tyla Rattray was the first to take advantage. The 24MX Honda rider hung on to second for a while but allowed Dewulf, Brakke and Kromhof through. A final effort saw him close down the gap with ‘CKK’ however he crossed the finish line fifth. As far as speed is concerned there was never any doubt that Xavier Boog’s young team mate made good progress over the winter. Today Getteman even posted the fastest lap time of the second MX1 moto!
Jens Getteman: “I’m quite satisfied with how my day went. The first moto started a bit strange for me, but at least I was pretty consistent. So to do 35 minutes with an OK rhythm gave me some confidence. My jump from the gate was already good in the first moto but in the second I was so close to the holeshot! To my own surprise I was quickly able to take the lead and control the race for several laps! Around 20 minutes I knew that the lack of race rhythm and bike fitness would hit me. That’s what happened so Tyla (Ratrray) passed me. The track was gnarly in some spots so I took it easy and rode a couple of laps at “granny” pace! Especially on sand tracks like these the hours on the bike are key and that’s where I’ll be one step closer when Valkenswaard comes around. On the other hand it’s cool to see that the speed is still there.”
Both Getteman and Xavier Boog will take part in the 44th International Motocross in Wuustwezel (Belgium) tomorrow. A preview clip of Jens Getteman ahead of the Dutch MXGP round in Valkenswaard can be found under
ONK MX1 moto 1
1. Tyla Rattray (RSA, Husqvarna), 2. Joel Roelants (BEL, Honda), 3. Jeffrey Dewulf (BEL, Yamaha), 4. Marc De Reuver (NED, Honda), 5. Ceriel Klein Kromhof (NED, KTM), 6. Herjan Brakke (NED, Kawasaki), 7. Ryan Houghton (GBR, Yamaha), 8. William Saris (NED, Kawasaki), 9. Jens Getteman (FRA, 24MX Honda Racing), 10. Rob Van Vijfeijken (NED, Yamaha)
ONK MX1 moto 2
1. Tyla Rattray (RSA, Husqvarna), 2. Jeffrey Dewulf (BEL, Yamaha), 3. Herjan Brakke (NED, Kawasaki) 4. Ceriel Klein Kromhof (NED, KTM), 5. Jens Getteman (FRA, 24MX Honda Racing), 6. Marc De Reuver (NED, Honda) 7. William Saris (NED, Kawasaki), 8. Rick Satink (NED, KTM), 9. Steve Ramon (BEL, Suzuki), 10. Rene Albers (NED, KTM)
ONK MX1 Axel – final classification
1. Tyla Rattray (RSA, Husqvarna) 50 pts, 2. Jeffrey Dewulf (BEL, Yamaha) 42, 3. Herjan Brakke (NED, Kawasaki) 35, 4. Ceriel Klein Kromhof (NED, KTM) 34, 5. Marc De Reuver (NED, Honda) 33, 6. Jens Getteman (FRA, 24MX Honda Racing) 28, 7. William Saris (NED, Kawasaki) 27, 8. Joel Roelants (BEL, Honda) 23, 9. Rick Satink (NED, KTM) 22, 10. Rob Van Vijfeijken (NED, Yamaha) 21 pts