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Posted by Supplied by FEI on 31/12/2019.
Boyd Exell wins again!
Dirk Caremans

Boyd Makes it Seven

Boyd Exell continued his stunning start to the season with another win, this time in Mechelen...

Boyd Exell of Australia won the top honours in FEI Driving World Cup™ action on Monday at Mechelen, making it the seventh win in a row for him in Leg 8 of nine qualifying events. Exell is an eight-time World Cup champion and five-time world champion, who also won the Mechelen leg last year.

The home crowd in the Nekkerhal were thrilled to see Belgian driver Dries Degrieck win second place, competing on a wild card and moving up from last place after the first day of Driving.

Third place in Monday’s festive holiday event went to defending European and FEI Driving World Cup™ champion Bram Chardon of the Netherlands, who drove the first clear round of the day in his first turn around the arena lined with twinkling lights and Christmas trees.

Heading into Monday’s event after Round 1 on Sunday, Dutch driver Koos De Ronde was in the lead, followed by Exell and Chardon, with the senior Chardon, Ijsbrand, chasing close behind.

The competition was fierce on Johan Jacobs’ incredibly tricky course, which featured a bridge, a speedbox, and two sets of tightly placed marathon obstacles that only afforded a few options for Driving teams to choose what they thought was the quickest passage.

With only one leg remaining in Leipzig in mid-January, and only six places available to compete in the FEI Driving World Cup™ Finals at Bordeaux in February, all of the eight Driving teams were keen to make it to the podium and win precious qualifying points.

Dries Degrieck was first into the arena, having been eliminated the day before. His score of 146.98 seconds, after just one 4-point penalty, became the one to beat, as team after team gave it their all.

It wasn’t until Bram Chardon had his turn as the sixth driver that Degrieck’s time was beaten. With his sister Lianne Chardon as navigator and friend Maurits Hallo as backstepper, Chardon whipped through the course to finish on zero penalties and a time of 136.26 seconds, guaranteeing him a place in the drive off.

Next up, Exell knew what he had to do to make it into the drive off. With his team of Emma Olsen and Luc Astiengano hanging perilously off the carriage, he too had a clear round, but at 137.66 seconds found himself trailing the upstart champion by more than a second.

When Koos De Ronde finished in 148.86, thanks to 8 costly penalty points, it was Degrieck, Chardon, and Exell in the drive off, with scores starting at zero again and the three teams competing in order of their first round finish. 

First up, Degrieck had the crowd wild with excitement, as he stayed clear all the way through the course, finishing in 140.65 seconds, his team of Maude Degrieck and Frederic De Bruyere grinning with happiness.

Next into the arena was Exell...

The Australian was at a slight disadvantage not knowing what time Chardon would put down that he would have to beat.

With amazing speed and agility, his team tightened their lines even more and crossed the beam in 131.14 seconds, with no penalty points to weigh them down.

Finally, it was Chardon’s turn, with the pressure on from Exell’s superb run. He put on the speed immediately, but it came at a cost. With 8 penalty points in the end, his score of 142.90 gave him a podium spot, but he had to finish behind Exell and Degrieck.

Said Exell of his seventh fantastic win this season:

“Mechelen is like a home show for me, sponsored by Willy Naessens [the Belgian construction company that also sponsors Exell’s team]. And as a World Cup competition here, I was pleased to drive with such a great public.”

When called “extraterrestrial” by the prize givers in the awards ceremony, Exell responded, “It’s the horses. I cannot slow them down. I just have to try to steer them!”

Behind former World Cup champion De Ronde in fourth place, driving legend Ijsbrand Chardon finished fifth, followed by Jérôme Voutaz of Switzerland, Chester Weber of the USA, and Glenn Geerts of Belgium, who had a tough run on Day 2, accruing 44 penalty points after getting stuck in the marathon section.

Whilst Boyd Exell was driving on a wild card in Mechelen and didn’t pick up any qualifying points, he still tops the leaderboard in the overall rankings for Bordeaux on 30 points, with both Chardons and De Ronde on his heels, all tied on 24 points.

József Dobrovitz of Hungary and Glenn Geerts round out the top six, but right behind are Chester Weber and Marieke Harm of Germany, eager to punch a ticket to France. Benjamin Aillaud is already guaranteed a slot, as he’ll be driving on a wild card for his host nation.

Who will take the next big prize in Leipzig, and who will advance to the FEI Driving World Cup™ Finals in February?

 

*Supplied by FEI

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