FIM e-Power International Championship Thijs de Ridder, new electric reference New entrant to the FIM e-Power International Championship, Thijs de Ridder (Crystalyte team) from Belgium, made a convincing start and seems to be the new strong man of this category by posting the fastest times during both qualifying sessions. Former rider in the Belgian and Dutch national Superbike and Supersport Championships, Thijs made his fastest lap in 1’54.199, ahead of Italian Thomas Betti (ITA) and Rainer Kopp from Germany. The performances from all the riders improved during the two qualifying practice sessions with Thijs pulling the small group, dedicated to catch the new leader. His motorcycle, developed with the help of his father, Jef, was finished in a period of three months and is built using a Yamaha TZ 250 rolling chassis with two motors. Thijs reached a top speed of 175 km/h on the start and finish straight. The start of the second round of the FIM e-Power Championship will be given at 13h45, after completing the pre-race start procedure. The race will be cover 9 laps (3539 m).