Netherlands’ Ebbinge leads World Driving Championship

Hightstown, NJ — Rick Ebbinge, the defending WDC champion from the Netherlands, dominated Tuesday’s (Aug. 15) action in the World Driving Championship. He won three of the five races and finished second in the other two to open a 34-point lead over second-place Huygens.

Also winning races Tuesday were Blair Orange (New Zealand) and Miodrag Pantic (Serbia).

Canada’s Doug McNair, who topped the leaderboard after the first round, is sixth following Tuesday’s races.

USA’s Jordan Ross sits in seventh place following Tuesday’s (Aug. 15) second round of the World Driving Championship, but the U.S. representative is only 10 points from second in a group of 10 international drivers competing this week at tracks in the Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium.

In the WDC’s second race, Ross finished fifth with Joni d’Azur TF. He had a sixth-place finish with I’myournightmare in the third race and was eighth with Velten Elisabeth in the first.

“Today was OK,” Ross said. “(Handy Wise) raced really good. The people here have been very nice. They tell me about their horses, how they like to be driven, and to just go out there and have fun. It’s been an adjustment racing here, but for the most part, I’m pretty pleased. It’s going well.”

Rick Ebbinge, the defending WDC champion, dominated Tuesday’s action. He won three of the five races and finished second in the other two to open a 34-point lead over second-place Huygens.

Also winning races Tuesday were Blair Orange (New Zealand) and Miodrag Pantic (Serbia).

Canada’s Doug McNair, who topped the leaderboard after the first round, is sixth following Tuesday’s races.

Drivers receive 17 points for winning a race. The points for the remaining nine finishing positions are, in descending order, 12, 9, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1.

The World Driving Championship third round will be held Wednesday at Hippodrome de Wallonie in Mons, Belgium. The final round is Friday at Trabrennbahn Mariendorf in Berlin.

“Hopefully, I can have some luck,” said Ross, who in the States races primarily at Harrah’s Hoosier Park, where he is tied for fifth in wins. “I’m just trying to enjoy the experience. It’s the experience of a lifetime.”

For Wednesday’s program, click here. Racing is scheduled to begin at 12:17 p.m. (EDT), with the WDC events carded as races two through six. For the Hippodrome de Wallonie’s YouTube channel, click here.

World Driving Championship Standings
After Round 2 of 4 (10 of 20 total races)
1. Rick Ebbinge (Netherlands) 103
2. Hanna Huygens (Belgium) 69
3. Peter McMullen (Australia) 68
4. Blair Orange (New Zealand) 65
5. Santtu Raitala (Finland) 65
6. Doug McNair (Canada) 63
7. Jordan Ross (U.S.) 59
8. Miodrag Pantic (Serbia) 53
9. Michael Nimczyk (Germany) 49
10. Rodney Gatt (Malta) 48

To visit the World Driving Championship website, click here.

by Ken Weingartner, for the USTA