Hans Andersen had the best result of his SEC campaign in the Grand Finale in Rzeszow on the 29th September. In the Final Classification Hans advanced to 4th place, just one spot outside the top 3 places that give automatic seed through to next year’s competition:
“My goal was a place on the podium, but all things considering I am happy with 4th place overall, and I am happy to finish off the series with a good result in the last round. I feel I was quite consistent throughout, and there were a few occasions when I didn’t progress to the “last chance heat” because of count back, so I think overall, I have done ok”
“I put emphasis on doing the SEC, and although there were some disappointments, there are also a lot of positives to take as I still consider myself on the way back to how I was before the accident. We are already working on 2014 and I hope I get the chance to ride in the SEC again. If I had been one of the seeded riders then I could have used that when I speak with potential sponsors, but we will have to see how many permanent seeds they will have from this year”.
There has been a lot of talk amongst both riders and fans about the first year of the SEC Series, and Hans offered his own views:
“One Sport can definitely give themselves a pat on the back. They did things their own way, had their own ideas, new innovative additions like the Go Pro cameras – I thought they were great and brought some fantastic shots throughout the series.
I also don’t think anyone had anticipated the success that the series had”.
“The atmosphere was very positive, sure it was a serious race meeting, but everyone got on, had a laugh, and were talking, and yet when the tapes went up it was no holds barred racing for a championship. One Sport couldn’t really have done more for us, and I felt there was great cooperation. There wasn’t a problem that couldn’t be solved. That’s just brilliant support for a rider to have”.
“So overall I think the SEC has turned out to be a superb product, and the Eurosport coverage has also been fantastic because it gets out to such a huge audience”.
And finally – what was the SEC highlight for you?
“The sold out stadium in Togliatti was unbelievable. I have ridden there a couple of times before, and it’s not an easy place to get to logistically, but the organisers took all the hassle out of it by organizing the transport, and the bikes left on a Tuesday, and were back the following Monday. It was just super cool to be part of”.
