Moto-cross is one of the most demanding sports in the world. Competitors need to be highly tuned, both physically and mentally to cope with the various jumps, bumps, twists and turns that the World Championships throws at them. The Videovision team were at the Valkensward track, near Eindhoven, for the Dutch GP to record all the action of what turned out to be a remarkable opening round.
Pre-event favourites included reigning champion Eric Geobers, fellow Belgian Georges Jobe and Britain’s Dave Thorp, so Honda’s chances of another title looked good. Kawasaki were out to dispel any thoughts from the minds of their Japanese counterparts, and their No.1 rider Kurt Nichol was very confident that he would take a slice of the glory.
The Austrian KTM concern were another ambitious factory and their lead rider - Kees Van der Ven - was looking for a good result from this race in particular, as it was his home GP.
With any opening round of the season there is always that element of surprise lurking, and this event was no exception. Watch the antics of local hero Dirk Guekens on his private Honda, and the rapid Australian Jeff Liesk (also Honda mounted) as they try to give stars of 500cc moto-cross a hard time.
With all these ingredients in mind, the 1989 500cc Moto-cross World Championship looks like being one of the best ever, starting with this, the Dutch GP. Watch out for the antics of the fans whose enthusiasm almost boils as tension on the track mounts