‘The umpteenth death sting to our sport’ – Stefan Everts

Belgium’s world famous Honda Park has been closed by the country’s council of state which has removed the permit allowing it to operate.

Uproar has been caused with the closure of one of the country’s most historical tracks, with the council of state deciding the circuit must meet a different standard, the “decree on environmental policy”. However the legislation states that motorsport facilities do not have to comply with the normal noise standard.

After battling for years with the belgian council to comply with sound and safety rules and regulations, this has left Honda Park no choice but to close and comply with the new rules in place. Hopefully this means sometime in the future it may re open, but unless it reopens as an electric motorcycle facility or has a reduced sound option to run the circuit, this might shut Honda Park permanently.

A disappointed Stefan Everts wrote “RIP Olmen (Honda Park). The umpteenth death sting to our sport. Thanks s**t Belgium.”

Joel Roelant said: “I WILL NOT QUIT, NEVER. The sport that gave and still gives my life and all kinds of people a purpose, The sport that became my work and still does for thousands of people directly or indirectly, The sport that got a lot cleaner, stricter and more quiet over the last decade.

“The racing side of motorbikes/cars go hand in hand with developing faster, smaller, lighter, cleaner and more durable engines.
Without racing we wouldn’t be even close to where we are today considering energy efficiency. Sadly travelling hundreds of kilometers to ride on tracks that are open takes more fuel then the few liters we use during practice itself.

“It’s no longer a question of changing everything on our sport (it still needs changes, don’t get me wrong) but it has become a mindset in certain peoples mind that we are “criminals” and one of the reasons i wake up every day and train hard is to prepare my body to go riding once in a while in a relatively safe way.

“They can ruin our sport in Belgium but i will keep riding, even if that means traveling far away, Please give our sport a chance and give a perspective to many of the people involved. Start with saving the track in Olmen (hondapark) which is there for many years already and only got more quiet so if it was possible for all those years, then it still is today. Thanks for reading and sharing, Joel Roelants – I WILL NOT QUIT, NEVER.”