Kenny van Gaalen explained

Kenny van Gaalen
Nationality: Netherlands
Birth Date:29 January 1988
Birth Place:'s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands
Bike Number:6
Sa Active Years:2009-2012, 2014-present
Sa Manufacturers:KTM-VMC (2009-2010) Zabel-VMC (2011) Zabel-WSP (2012, 2014–present)
Sa Championships:(1) 2012
Sa Last Season:2015
Sa Last Position:6th
Sa Last Points:368
Sa Race Starts:98
Sa Race Wins:5
Sa Podiums:13
Sa Total Points:1,252

Kenny van Gaalen (born 29 January 1988) is a Dutch sidecarcross rider and the 2012 Sidecarcross World Champion, riding as passenger with Daniël Willemsen.[1]

Biography

Kenny van Gaalen began his sidecarcross career as the passenger of Belgian driver Ben Adriaenssen in 2004, racing in the Netherlands in the competition of the Motorsport Organisatie Nederland, a Dutch amateur motorsport organisation[2]

In 2009 the pair moved up to semi-professional level and entered the World Championship, making their debut at the Swiss Grand Prix at Wohlen. They finished the season in 18th place overall with three sixth place finishes as their best race results.[3] In the team's second World Championship campaign, in 2010, Adriaenssen and van Gaalen finished sixth overall, with a second place in the first race of the Danish Grand Prix as their best result.[4]

In 2011 van Gaalen did only race sporadically, at the side of fellow Dutchman Bjorn Roes. In the 2012 edition van Gaalen replaced Haralds Kurpnieks who broke his wrist in the first Grand Prix of the season as Daniël Willemsen's passenger but himself suffered a knee injury in the second French Grand Prix, and being in turn replaced by Lauris Daiders for the last five GP's.[5] [6] [7] [8] Van Gaalen took out the World Championship as a passenger because he earned more than 50 percent of the total points Willemsen took out in the 2012 championship, the necessary requirement for a passenger to become World Champion as per FIM regulations.[9]

In 2013 van Gaalen did not race at World Championship level while his former partner, Ben Adriaenssen, took out the World Championship.[10] He returned for the 2014 season, now as passenger of then 17-year-old Koen Hermans.[11] The pair raced together again in 2015, now coming sixth overall.

Season by season

The season by season results in the world championship for Kenny van Gaalen:

SeasonDriverEquipmentPositionPointsRacesWinsSecondThird
2009 Ben AdriaenssenKTM-VMC1810814
2010KTM-VMC63222712
2011 Bjorn RoesZabel-VMC4154
2012 Daniël WillemsenZabel-WSP124910541
2014 Koen HermansZabel-WSP1510013
2015Zabel-WSP636830
2016Zabel-WSP
Overall 2009 – 20151,25298553

Honours

World Championship

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://www.fim-live.com/en/fim-gala/2012/motocross/fim-world-champions/detail/champions/van-gaalen-kenny/ Kenny van Gaalen biography
  2. http://team-adriaenssen.mx-sidecar.nl/team.html Ben Adriaenssen official website
  3. http://www.fim-live.com/en/sport/sidecarcross/classifications/year/2009/ 2009 Sidecarcross World Championship
  4. http://www.fim-live.com/en/sport/sidecarcross/classifications/year/2010/ 2010 Sidecarcross World Championship
  5. http://www.teamwillemsen.com/pages/5/News.html NEWS: Race-report Pernes les Fontaine
  6. http://www.teamwillemsen.com/pages/5/News.html DANIËL WILLEMSEN ZET MET VERVANGENDE BAKKENIST JACHT OP DE WERELDTITEL VOORT
  7. http://www.destentor.nl/sport/grootdeventer/11711463/Willemsen-op-titelkoers-met-vierde-plek.ece Willemsen grijpt tiende wereldtitel
  8. http://www.telegraaf.nl/telesport/12951127/__Historische_titel_Willemsen__.html Tiende wereldtitel zijspancrosser Willemsen
  9. http://www.fim-live.com/fileadmin/alfresco/Codes_et_reglements/MXJunior_en.pdf FIM SIDECAR MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP APPENDIX
  10. http://www.fim-live.com/en/sport/sidecarcross/classifications/year/2013/ 2013 Sidecarcross World Championship
  11. http://www.speedweek.com/mxsidecross/news/54522/Gespann-WM-Willemsens-aufgewaermte-Beziehung.html Gespann-WM: Willemsens aufgewärmte Beziehung