Australians strong at FIM Junior MX World Championships Round 1 – Estonia
Minear third, Alsop 6th in 65cc class, Lawrood 11th in 85cc, Malkiewicz 11th and Semmens 22nd in 125cc
Perfect temperatures encouraged 80 eager youngsters to race for the win in the 2017 FIM Junior Motocross World Championship, as another 40 fought for the 65cc FIM Junior Motocross World Cup.
Australia was well represented in all three classes, with Kayden Minear and Jet Alsop in the 65cc classes taking third and sixth respectively. In the 85cc class it was Alex Larwood coming home in 11th, while the 125cc class saw Bailey Malkiewicz and Mason Semmens in 11th and 22nd respectively.
Mark Willingham – Australian Team Manager
“A fantastic effort by our riders in what can only be described as challenging conditions unlike those we are accustomed to at home. All riders gave it their all and we finished up 4th overall as a nation. As defending champions we were really hoping for a win again so we could bring it back and defend on home soil next year however it wasn’t our day for that. Our WA representatives were amazing. Obviously Kayden Minear was a stand out with his 3rd position finish, however the way he and his father, and his mechanic Grant Martin from Aussie Moto Engineering played their part in the overall team effort was exceptional. Grant for example offered his help to all riders on the team, even doing a complete ending breakdown and rebuild for one of our riders in his hotel room on the Thursday night… true legend status!”
Coming out on top of the world in their respective classes were Gianluca Facchetti, Eddie Jay Wade, and Ivano Van Erp.
125cc Junior Motocross World Championship – Estonia Qualifying
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Mikkel Haarup came out flying and put in the fastest lap of qualifying with a 1:31.612 time. While Haarup was fastest in Group A, Team France’s Brian Moreau topped the Group B Free Practice times just ahead of Kevin Horgmo.
While Free Practice gave riders a chance to get a feel for the track, the Qualifying Practice was the focus and in Group A, the Italian Gianluca Facchetti was all business topping Mikkel Haarup for pole position on Sunday.
While the third fastest Group A time went to the home team’s Andreas Hiiemägi, fellow Estonian Meico Vettik was quicker than anyone in Group B including Brian Moreau who put together the second fastest lap prior to a crash. Moreau however rejoined the practice after shaking off the fall.
For the riders who didn’t make it straight out of qualifying practice a last chance race was given. The top 4 last chance finishers of Viking Lindström, Christopher Mills, Timur Petrashin, and Emil Weckman were the last to be guaranteed a spot on the gate tomorrow.
125cc Junior Motocross World Championship – Estonia Race 1 & 2
The youthful racers of the 125cc World Championship launched off the dirt start of the Lange Motokeskus circuit and the #22 of Gianluca Facchetti led the field across the Fox Holeshot line. Facchetti was closely followed by Brian Moreau and further back was Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Mikkel Haarup running third.
While Facchetti started to pull a gap on Moreau the Frenchman settled into second. With Facchetti out of sight Haarup locked in on Moreau and patiently closed onto the back wheel of the #225 machine.
It wasn’t until the later stages of race that Haarup made a pass to secure second, eventually finishing only 4 seconds back of Facchetti.
Kevin Horgmo was charging the entirety of Race 1 putting in a late charge to post his fastest time on the 15th lap of 16 total. Horgmo finished the race in 4th and Matteo Pucinelli rounded out the top five.
Aussies Bailey Malkiewicz and Mason Semmens were 13th and 24th respectively in Race 1.
For Race 2 Facchetti had another good jump off of the gate but was beat around the outside of the first turn by Jeremy Sydow. Fachetti didn’t wait to take the lead however and at one point had a 16 second gap.
Early in the race Haarup ran second but a mistake on the back side of the track handed the position to Horgmo. Haarup remounted his Husqvarna quickly, losing only the single position that he was unable to take back. Race 1’s third place finisher, Moreau, didn’t have the start he wanted in race 2 but rode to a strong 4th while Rick Elzinga took 5th.
Bailey Malkiewicz and Mason Semmens were 13th and 18th in Race 2, with Semmens improving on his Race 1 result. This left Malkiewicz 11th overall for the round on 17 points, and Semmens 22nd.
In the overall Facchetti’s 1-1 was the clear winner and Haarup’s 2-3 beat out Horgmo’s 4-2.
Gianluca Facchetti
“I’m so happy about this race, it is amazing that I am World Champion. I’ve dreamed so much about becoming a World Champion this year and thank you to everyone who has helped me.”
Mikkel Haarup
“I rode good I would say but Gianluca was just faster than me which I have to accept. I wanted to win but obviously that wasn’t possible this weekend, I know I did everything I could and that’s why I am happy with my second.”
125cc Junior World Championship Race 1 Top 10
- Gianluca Facchetti (ITA, Husqvarna), 29:10.430
- Mikkel Haarup (DEN, Husqvarna), +0:04.490
- Brian Strubhart Moreau (FRA, KTM), +0:08.914
- Kevin Horgmo (NOR, KTM), +0:29.540
- Matteo Puccinelli (ITA, KTM), +0:36.626
- Rene Hofer (AUT, KTM), +0:39.061
- Meico Vettik (EST, KTM), +0:42.738
- Emilio Scuteri (ITA, KTM), +0:43.413
- Emil Weckman (FIN, KTM), +0:44.279
- Andrea Zanotti (SMR, KTM), +0:45.084
…13. Bailey Malkiewicz (AUS, Husqvarna) +0:46.753
…24. Mason Semmens (AUS, Yamaha) +1:24.254
125cc Junior World Championship Race 2 Top 10
- Gianluca Facchetti (ITA, Husqvarna), 29:34.734
- Kevin Horgmo (NOR, KTM), +0:08.589
- Mikkel Haarup (DEN, Husqvarna), +0:19.172
- Brian Strubhart Moreau (FRA, KTM), +0:29.344
- Rick Elzinga (NED, Yamaha), +0:33.819
- Andreas Hiiemagi (EST, Husqvarna), +0:34.956
- Tim Edberg (SWE, Yamaha), +0:36.900
- Rene Hofer (AUT, KTM), +0:37.940
- Raivo Dankers (NED, KTM), +0:42.208
- Emilio Scuteri (ITA, KTM), +0:44.897
…13. Bailey Malkiewicz (AUS, Husqvarna) +1:05.114
…18. Mason Semmens (AUS, Yamaha) +1:13.090
125cc Junior World Championship Overall Top 10
- Gianluca Facchetti (ITA, HUS), 50 points
- Mikkel Haarup (DEN, HUS), 42
- Kevin Horgmo (NOR, KTM), 40
- Brian Strubhart Moreau (FRA, KTM), 38
- Rene Hofer (AUT, KTM), 28
- Matteo Puccinelli (ITA, KTM), 25
- Tim Edberg (SWE, YAM), 24
- Emilio Scuteri (ITA, KTM), 24
- Rick Elzinga (NED, YAM), 19
- Raivo Dankers (NED, KTM), 19
- Bailey Malkiewicz (AUS, Husqvarna), 17
…22. Mason Semmens (AUS, Yamaha), 3
85cc Junior Motocross World Championship – Estonia Qualifying
From the 125cc’s the track was turned over to the 85cc rippers. In group A Free Practice Max Pahlsson led the way but less than a second separated him from 2nd and 3rd, British rider Eddie Jay Wade and Frenchman Florian Miot.
Group A’s Free Practice lap times were close to one another but so too were Group B’s. Noel Nilsson topped the charts ahead of the Hungarian, Adam Zsolt Kovacs, and the lone South African Camden Mc Lellan.
Eddie Wade carried his free practice speed into A Group’s Qualifying and this time out his smooth riding out ranked that of Phalsson’s. In Group B Qualifying Nilsson again had the fastest time while Kovacs was only 4 tenths of a second off his pace.
Kovacs looked comfortable on the track throughout the day, and he said: “Qualifying was very nice I came off the track 2nd and during the first 3 laps I pushed, the track was nice, it started to get bumpy, which I like so everything is good.”
In 85cc class the last 4 of 40 spots were filled via the last chance race top 4 of Nico Greutman, Petr Rathousky, Martin Venhoda, and Tomas Pikart.
85cc Junior Motocross World Championship – Estonia Race 1 & 2
The 125cc class wasn’t the only one that saw dominance as the 85cc Champion Eddie Jay Wade also took commanding double victories.
Race 1 was perfect for the Brit when he took the Fox Holeshot by a relatively large margin and then led every lap to the finish. In second was Noel Nilsson who early in the race was right on the lead pace.
Nilsson looked as if he would catch Wade but never came close enough to make the pass. Team Sweden not only had Nilsson up front but also Max Palsson in a lonely third. 4th and 5th were Netherland’s Kay Karssemakers and Germany’s Constantin Piller.
Aussie Alex Larwood had a tough first race to finish 18th.
In Race 2 Wade was beat on the start by Magnus Smith but #17 kept the winning form from Race 1 taking the double victory and the overall. Nilsson had a similar story with a bad start and after passing several riders again found second.
The race for the 3rd was a 4 way battle between Kay Karssemakers, Florian Miot, Magnus Smith, and Kay de Wolf. The 4 racers shifted positions back and forth with the Holeshot winner Smith fighting to stay up front. Karssemakers took 3rd while Smith held on for 5th behind Miot but ahead of De Wolf.
Larwood had a much stronger Race 2, finishing seventh and pushing his overall placing up to 12th overall.
With the 1-1 Wade was crowned World Champion with Nilsson 2nd and Karssemakers 3rd.
Eddie Wade
“It feels really special to win for Great Britain, I can’t express how much it means to me.”
85cc Junior World Championship Race 1 Top 10
- Eddie Wade (GBR, Husqvarna), 25:17.680
- Noel Nilsson (SWE, Husqvarna), +0:04.292
- Max Palsson (SWE, KTM), +0:11.805
- Kay Karssemakers (NED, Husqvarna), +0:17.558
- Constantin Piller (GER, KTM), +0:20.257
- Kay de Wolf (NED, KTM), +0:27.848
- Magnus Smith (DEN, KTM), +0:29.258
- Florian Miot (FRA, Yamaha), +0:34.083
- Adam Zsolt Kovacs (HUN, Yamaha), +0:39.273
- Bobby Wayne Bruce (GBR, Husqvarna), +0:47.339
…18. Alex Larwood (AUS, Yamaha), +1:18.856
85cc Junior World Championship Race 2 Top Ten
- Eddie Wade (GBR, Husqvarna), 25:31.753
- Noel Nilsson (SWE, Husqvarna), +0:15.071
- Kay Karssemakers (NED, Husqvarna), +0:20.320
- Florian Miot (FRA, Yamaha), +0:20.982
- Magnus Smith (DEN, KTM), +0:24.998
- Kay de Wolf (NED, KTM), +0:31.621
- Alex Larwood (AUS, Yamaha), +0:33.307
- Constantin Piller (GER, KTM), +0:34.727
- Adam Zsolt Kovacs (HUN, Yamaha), +0:39.150
- Max Palsson (SWE, KTM), +0:48.709
85cc Junior World Championship Overall Top Ten
- Eddie Wade (GBR, HUS), 50 points
- Noel Nilsson (SWE, HUS), 44
- Kay Karssemakers (NED, HUS), 38
- Florian Miot (FRA, YAM), 31
- Max Palsson (SWE, KTM), 31
- Magnus Smith (DEN, KTM), 30
- Kay de Wolf (NED, KTM), 30
- Constantin Piller (GER, KTM), 29
- Adam Zsolt Kovacs (HUN, YAM), 24
- Andrea Roncoli (ITA, HON), 20
…12. Alex Larwood (AUS, Yamaha), 17
65cc Junior Motocross World Cup – Estonia Qualifying
The 65cc class is full of the most impressive young riders in the motocross world. With lap times not far off of the 85cc bikes the little riders are railing their way around the track.
For Italian youngster Ferruccio Zanchi the weekend couldn’t have started any better. Zanchi had the fastest time in Free Practice and Qualifying Practice of not only of his Group A, but of either group A or B.
Second to Zanchi in Group A was Ivano Van Erp from the Netherlands while in Group B the fastest in Free Practice and the qualifier was the recently crowned EMX65 champion Mads Fredsoe.
Fredsoe was followed by Finland’s Saku Mansikkamäki in Free Practice and his Danish teammate Jakob Madsen in Qualifying.
The 65cc class was no exception when it comes to last chance qualifiers. The final spots went to Uldis Freibergs, Bradley Mesters, Eldar Mukimkhanov, and Kirils Maslovs.
65cc Junior Motocross World Cup – Estonia Race 1 & 2
The youngest riders were the little 65cc warriors fighting for the FIM Junior Motocross World Cup.
In race 1 the #47 of Alessandro Gaspari took the FOX Holeshot. Team Netherland’s Ivano Van Erp positioned himself well behind Italian Ferruccio Zanchi. Zanchi who had the fastest qualifying time of his group Saturday lead the first laps before fall left him 29th.
After Zanchi went down Van Erp took over the lead and never looked back winning the race 8 seconds ahead of the newly crowned EMX65 champion Mads Fredsoe Sorensen.
Poland’s Maksymilian Chwalik had a comfortable race of his own for third ahead of team Australia’s Kayden Minear and Finland’s Saku Mansikkanäki. Fellow Aussie Jet Alsop was ninth in Race 1.
Race 2 was almost identical up front with Van Erp in the lead ahead of Mads Fredsoe all the way to the finish.
Kayden Minear however moved up a position this time edging out Chwalik. Jet Alsop improved on his Race 1 result, to finish sixth in Race 2.
Van Erp took the overall win, followed by Sorensen, and with the Minear and Chwalik tying in points the final podium spot went to Minear with the better result in race 2, and Mansikkamaki took fifth overall. Jet Alsop was sixth overall.
Van Erp
“This is something very special, my weekend was really good.”
65cc Junior World Cup Race 1 Top Ten
- Ivano Van Erp (NED, KTM), 17:54.130
- Mads Fredsoe Sorensen (DEN, KTM), +0:08.529
- Maksymilian Chwalik (POL, KTM), +0:27.403
- Kayden Minear (AUS, KTM), +0:33.410
- Saku Mansikkamaki (FIN, Honda), +0:34.503
- Alessandro Gaspari (ITA, KTM), +0:38.906
- Elisey Oreshkin (RUS, KTM), +0:44.075
- Alejandro Perez Martin (ESP, Husqvarna), +0:56.859
- Jet Alsop (AUS, Suzuki), +1:00.62
- Wal Beaney (GBR, KTM), +1:03.401
65cc Junior World Cup Race 2 Top Ten
- Ivano Van Erp (NED, KTM), 17:59.389
- Mads Fredsoe Sorensen (DEN, KTM), +0:07.042
- Kayden Minear (AUS, KTM), +0:25.373
- Maksymilian Chwalik (POL, KTM), +0:27.866
- Saku Mansikkamaki (FIN, Honda), +0:40.550
- Jet Alsop (AUS, Suzuki), +0:46.478
- Kirils Maslovs (LAT, Husqvarna), +0:50.347
- Wal Beaney (GBR, KTM), +0:50.749
- Kasimir Hindersson (FIN, KTM), +0:53.133
- Ollie Colmer (GBR, Honda), +0:54.010
65cc Junior World Cup Overall Top Ten
- Ivano Van Erp (NED, KTM), 50 points
- Mads Fredsoe Sorensen (DEN, KTM), 44
- Kayden Minear (AUS, KTM), 38
- Maksymilian Chwalik (POL, KTM), 38
- Saku Mansikkamaki (FIN, HON), 32
- Jet Alsop (AUS, SUZ), 27
- Wal Beaney (GBR, KTM), 24
- Kirils Maslovs (LAT, HUS), 23
- Aleh Makhnou (BLR, KTM), 20
- Kasimir Hindersson (FIN, KTM), 19
2017 National Team Championship Results
- Denmark 10
- Netherlands 13
- Italy 22
- Australia 26
- Great Britain 27
- France 30
- Finland 40
- Latvia 53
- Czech 58
- Germany 63
