BELGIAN MOTORCYCLE ROYALTY MERTENS APPOINTED OFFICIAL STARTER OF EWC 8 HOURS OF SPA MOTOS

BELGIAN-MOTORCYCLE-ROYALTY-MERTENS-APPOINTED-OFFICIAL-STARTER-OF-EWC-8-HOURS-OF-SPA-MOTOS.jpg EWC x Webike

Stéphane Mertens has been appointed as the official starter of round two of the FIM Endurance World Championship, this Saturday’s 8 Hours of Spa Motos.

EWC champion in 1995 and 2002 powered by Honda and Suzuki respectively, 65-year-old Mertens’ illustrious CV also includes victories in the 1990 Bol d’Or and the 24 Heures Motos the same year, when he became the first Belgian to triumph in the Le Mans-based event.

A multiple title-winner in his homeland, Mertens, who was born in Paris, enjoyed successful stints at 250cc level in grand prix motorcycle racing, plus in the FIM Superbike World Championship, where he won 11 times.

An honour, not a job for Spa EWC hero Mertens

Stéphane Mertens says the opportunity to signal the start of the first 8 Hours of Spa Motos is ‘not a job but an honour’.

Mertens is one of Belgium’s most successful motorcycle racers and a two-time winner of the FIM Endurance World Championship, making him the ideal candidate to wave the green flag ahead of the second round of the EWC.

We cannot really say it’s a job, for me it’s an honour to get this opportunity from the organiser and it’s very nice of them to think of me,” Mertens said. “To be at Spa-Francorchamps is very special of course. It was my dream when I was young, when I was a kid watching the race, the 24 Hours of Liège actually, that was the name before. I was in my tent sleeping in the forest but watching and dreaming to be a racer. Then, finally, I became a racer. I did grand prix, I did World Superbike but mainly I won three times the 24 hours at Spa-Francorchamps.

Mertens continued:

I am still involved [in the sport]. Before I was the Eurosport reporter and then two years ago I was also a pit reporter for the organiser [of the 24H SPA EWC Motos] and now I am waving the flag. I take this with real pleasure. It’s an opportunity for me to be involved inside the race instead of being a tourist. It’s nice from the organiser that he involves the history of Spa-Francorchamps with people like me. It’s also my pleasure to make on my side some promotion on my Facebook page and things like that to help the organisers get more people to come to watch this very nice and special event.

Asked if he would prefer to be riding rather than waving the green flag this Saturday afternoon, Mertens said:

No, it’s really finished for me. I realised my physical condition don’t allow me to be back on the good level, especially now because I just got to 65 years old. I am still racing in classic racing, I still enjoy but after all my injuries it starts to become quite hard to be fit again and enjoy racing on a good level. I will enjoy to do the flag but not the racing. Two years ago I was still thinking can I do it or not, but it needs too much involvement and I realised my time has passed. I will be happy to meet many people I know from the past and to be involved in the evolution of endurance motorcycle sport.

Hollywood actor Norman Reedus performed official starter duties for the EWC season-opening 24 Heures Motos in April.

Click HERE for 8 Hours of Spa Motos ticket information.

Original Source [ FIM EWC ]

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