It was not said who would be the champions of the IRRC edition. So the tension was high before the last races in Frohburg (Germany). German rider Didier Grams had the best chance in the Superbike category. He needed only 10 points to be the Superbike champion for the fifth time. Dutchmen Johan Fredriks was second. The practise showed the same as the championship. Grams on pole position before Fredriks. On the third place multiple TT Man winner Michael Dunlop and on the fourth place Matti Seidel.
Fredriks took the lead after the start in the first race. Grams was second before Dunlop, Seidel, vd Hoek and Kreutz. Fredriks hold the lead till three laps before the finish line. Grams took over the lead and showed who was the man to beat this season. He won with a difference of 0,6 seconds. Second was Fredriks, third Dunlop. Seidel and Kreutz were fourth hand fifth.
Vd Hoek had a magnificence start in the second race but he could not hold the lead. Fredriks, Grams, Seidel and Dunlop overtook him in the first lap. Grams took over the lead in the fourth lap before Fredriks but Seidel, Dunlop and vd Hoek stayed close and changed position a lot of times.
In the end Seidel won the battle for the third place. Vd Hoek won the battle for the fourth place. Marnix d’Hondt was fifth after a recovery of almost one year. Didier Grams was the best of 2014 and won the Superbike championship. The two Dutchmen Fredriks and Bakker joined him on the podium.
The tension before the two Supersport races was even higher. Joey den Besten (NL) had the lead with only one point difference. The Czech rider Cerveney was second and Baken (B) third.
The leader in the championship had two bad practise sessions. He trained himself to the fifteenth place due to problems with the bike. Guest rider Antweiler had pole position on his fast 3 cylinder MV. Den Besten started as a arrow that left the bow. After the first lap the was ninth. More important for him, Cerveny left the race after a crash at the back of the circuit. Den Besten had only one mission after that and that was reaching the finish line. He succeeded his mission and ended the race on fifth place. That meant he had a advantage of 17 points for the last race. Antweiler won the race. Dokupil was second Kreutz third and Baken fourth.
There was a crash in the first corner after the start of the second race. Den Besten had some luck and could pass the crowd at the inside of the corner. After the first lap Baken had the lead before Cerveney and den Besten. Halfway Kreutz overtook den Besten but the fourth place was enough to win the overall Supersport championship.
Overall IRRC Superbike championship 2014
- Didier Grams Germany
- Johan Fredriks Netherlands
- Frank Bakker Netherlands
- Thomas Kreutz Germany
- Ales Nechvatal Czech Republic
Overall IRRC Supersport championship 2014
- Joey den Besten Netherlands
- Timothy Baken Belgium
- Marek Cerveny Czech Republic
- Thomas Kreutz Germany
- Anders Blaha Denmark
The IRRC organisation looks back with mixed feelings. There were more riders in this year’s championship, which meant the organisation could split up the Superbike and Supersport races. There were 32 Supersport championship riders and due to that hardly any guest riders. In the Superbike races there were some guest riders each races. The organisation hopes the Superbike championship will be as crowded as the Supersport championship next year.
The IRRC championship was confronted with the dark sides of motor racing in Chimay. Two championship riders, Vick de Cooremeter and Thilo Häfele lost their lifes after a crash.
The organisation is looking forward to 2015. We expect to visit the same circuits as this year. At the end of this year we will publish the exact plans for 2015.