Sven Verbrugge

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Sven Verbrugge

No free image
Nationality Flag of Belgium Belgium
Date of birth August 21, 1967 (1967-08-21) (age 40)
Place of birth Schoten, Antwerp Province, Belgium
Website Sven Verbrugges official website
Sidecarcross record
Bike number 14
World championships 2005, 2006
Race starts 239
Race Wins 64
Podium finishes 119
Championship Points 3306
2007 Championship position did not start (pts)

Sven Verbrugge (Schoten, 21 August 1967) is a Belgian sidecarcross passenger and double Sidecarcross world champion, winning the title in 2005 and 2006.

Verbrugge started racing motocross in 1983 in the 125 cc solo class before becoming a sidecarcross passenger in 1986. In his career he has raced for over 20 years in the Belgian, Dutch and the world sidecarcross championships. After his second world championship in 2006, Sven retired from the world championship, but felt, according to himself, "homesick" for the GP circus and plans to return for the 2008 season alongside his countryman Nicky Pulinx [1].

Apart from two world championships, he also won the Belgian title in 1993, 1994, 2004 and 2006 and the Dutch in 2001 and 2006.

Contents

[edit] Sidecarcross world championship results

Sven Verbrugge joined the sidecarcross world championship in 1993 as the passenger of his countryman Gunther Gooverts, whom he raced with quite successfully for four seasons. He made his debut at the French GP in Pernes Les Fontaines on 4 April 1993. He won his first race in this season in Roggenburg, Switzerland on 15 August 1993. In 1995, an ankle injury prevented him for three month from taking part in most of the season but the year after the pair returned with a sixth place overall finish. After those four seasons, Verbrugge had two lean ones with only four races in 1997 and none in 1998 after Gooverts choose not to take part in the world championship and only race in domestic events in Belgium. He raced successfully with two different drivers in 1999, Martin Gölz and Gerton Kops, who finished 12th and 9th overall this season. After a short stint with Peter Steegmans he returned to Daniël Willemsen for a second time and the pair finished second overall in the 2000 and 2001 world championship. In 2002, apart from Willemsen, he also raced with Are Kaurit, with both drivers finishing in the top four. Another second place finish, now with Kristers Serģis, in 2003, when his old partner Willemsen won the championship was followed by a seventh place in 2004 due to a three month long injury for Serģis. After this, the two drivers, Willemsen and Serģis, swooped partners, with Verbrugge returning to Willemsen for a third time and Kaspars Stupelis joining Serģis instead. This move proved very successful for Verbrugge as he managed to win two world championships with Willemsen. After the second one, Verbrugge left the world championship in 2006, seemingly for good, at the age of 39. After a year away from the GP circus however, he decided to return, now with his new partner, fellow Belgian Nicky Pulinx.

[edit] Season by season

Season Team Equipment Position Points Races Wins Second Third
1993 Flag of Belgium Gunther Gooverts / Sven Verbrugge KTM-EML 11 182 27 2 3
1994 Flag of Belgium Gunther Gooverts / Sven Verbrugge KTM-EML 8 135 18 1 2 1
1995 Flag of Belgium Gunther Gooverts / Sven Verbrugge KTM-EML 21 27 8 1
1996 Flag of Belgium Gunther Gooverts / Sven Verbrugge KTM-EML 6 155 16 3 2
1997 Flag of Belgium Gert Devoldere / Sven Verbrugge KTM-EML 23 3 2
Flag of the Netherlands Daniël Willemsen / Flag of Belgium Sven Verbrugge Zabel-BSU 3 40 2 2
1999 Flag of Germany Martin Gölz / Flag of Belgium Sven Verbrugge Zabel-VMC 12 90 20
Flag of the Netherlands Gerton Kops / Flag of Belgium Sven Verbrugge MTH-EML 9 17 2
2000 Flag of Belgium Peter Steegmans / Sven Verbrugge Zabel-EML 21 16 2
Flag of the Netherlands Daniël Willemsen / Flag of Belgium Sven Verbrugge Zabel-BSU 2 320 22 5 4 7
2001 Flag of the Netherlands Daniël Willemsen / Flag of Belgium Sven Verbrugge Zabel-BSU 2 377 22 8 5 3
2002 Flag of Estonia Are Kaurit / Flag of Belgium Sven Verbrugge MTH-AYR 4 268 16 3 2
Flag of the Netherlands Daniël Willemsen / Flag of Belgium Sven Verbrugge Zabel-VMC 2 88 4 4
2003 Flag of Latvia Kristers Serģis / Flag of Belgium Sven Verbrugge MTH-BSU 2 501 26 12 7 1
2004 Flag of Latvia Kristers Serģis / Flag of Belgium Sven Verbrugge MTH-BSU 7 246 12 6 1 2
Flag of Germany Frank Hofman / Flag of Belgium Sven Verbrugge Zabel-VMC 12 22 2
2005 Flag of the Netherlands Daniël Willemsen / Flag of Belgium Sven Verbrugge Zabel-VMC 1 478 22 15 4
2006 Flag of the Netherlands Daniël Willemsen / Flag of Belgium Sven Verbrugge Zabel-VMC 1 341 16 13
2008 Flag of Belgium Nicky Pulinx / Sven Verbrugge Zabel-VMC 11 * 22 4
Flag of the Netherlands Jarno van den Boomen / Flag of Belgium Sven Verbrugge Zabel-VMC 17 * 8 2
Overall 1993 - 2006 3306 239 64 33 22

Source:The John Davey Pages - Sven Verbrugge. John Davey. Retrieved on 2008-04-15.

  • Passengers in italics.
  • * denotes season in progress (as of 25 May 2008).

[edit] External links

[edit] Sources

[edit] References

  1. ^ Sven Verbrugges loopbaan (in Dutch)
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Kaspars Stupelis
Sidecarcross world champion (passenger)
2005, 2006
Succeeded by
Reto Grütter