MXGP Title chase tightens at Kegums
A single point separates Tim Gajser and Romain Febvre after the pair share the MXGP race wins in Latvia
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A packed schedule, with three European classes also out on track this weekend, made for brutal conditions where being smooth and consistent was the ultimate challenge.
Honda Gariboldi’s Tim Gajser had an action packed day in the office. The kid known to his fans as Tiga won the first race, which catapulted him to the top of the championship standings since Romain Febvre only came home in fifth. Heading into race two Gajser had a 6 point lead in the championship, but twisting the kaleidoscope, he had a huge high-side through the waves. Lucky to be unscathed, he got back to his bike, which was still running at the time and in the heat of the moment, dropped the clutch and stalled it. When it fired back up, he was outside the top twenty but astonishingly he got all the way back to fourth for his fourth grand prix overall.
Gajser is the only rider to have finished on the box at every round this season. He now trails Febvre in the championship by 1 point and still tops all the stats with 3 qualifying race wins, 108 laps led, 6 race wins, 4 grand prix victories and 6 podium appearances.
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli is in second place on the ‘laps led’ chart with 39. The Italian was on the brink of his first victory since the MXGP of Great Britain in Matterley Basin, which was almost one year ago, but ended up being nudged down to second place on the final lap when Tim Gajser added two more points to his tally with his pass on Max Nagl.
Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Romain Febvre looked frustrated after his fifth in race one but seemed to channel that energy into race two where he bounced back for the race win.
Fans that have followed the FIM Motocross World Championship for many years would have had ‘chicken skin’ watching Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Max Nagl’s newfound aggression in race one. ‘Chicken skin’? It’s a funny term the Europeans tend to use when your skin crawls or to describe that mysterious feeling you get when you are astounded, excited, impressed or proud, or even a combination of all emotions. The German literally hit the boost button and reeled in Gajser to challenge for the lead on the final lap. Gajser had to up his game to keep him at bay, which he did, but there was absolutely nothing in it at the checkers. Unfortunately in race two the ‘12’ was a victim of Gajser’s mistake but bounced back for fifth which left him tied with Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jeremy Van Horebeek for fourth overall.
Team HRC’s Evgeny Bobryshev had a bittersweet weekend. He was the fastest in free practice and timed practice yesterday but got tagged by Gajser on the start in the qualifying race and went down hard. The Russian looked hurt and didn’t rejoin but bravely lined up today with the last gate pick and soldiered his way to sixth!
Tony Cairoli – 2nd Overall
“I’m still missing the feeling that I’ve been looking for. I know that the beginning of the season I wasn’t ready but now its getting better and better. I’m happy about the season so far except perhaps the race in Mexico where we messed up a bit and I lost a lot of points, otherwise we would be very close in the championship. But I am always in the top five and I’m looking forward to the next GP. This one was close to the win.” Cairoli said he was still not in 100% condition, adding: “We still have a lot of work to do. For next weekend my goal, as always, is to win the GP and to stay on the podium for the championship.”
Romain Febvre – 3rd Overall
“In the first moto I made a small mistake, went down and lost a couple of positions. It’s disappointing but we made some changes to the engine in between, and in the second moto I felt like the real Romain Febvre. I was turning fast in the corners and playing with the bumps. The team got me back on the podium today, and I’m really happy with the work we did together today here in Latvia.”
Jeremy Van Horebeek – 4th Overall
“We did a big change with the bike this week for the starts, and to change a bike in just a few days is a big, big step. And it’s not easy on this track. But my starts here were better than all the previous GPs, and that’s because the team did a great job. The gap today was big, and the new bike takes a lot of energy, so it was hard to pass, but we will keep working and the hard work will pay off.”
Max Nagl – Overall 5th
“Overall, I had a good weekend. I got two good starts in both motos, which was really important. Moto one went very well. I was third behind Cairoli but passed him for second a few corners before the end. I managed to get a clean holeshot in moto two. Just before the end of lap one as I was racing in third place Tim Gajser crashed in front of me in the whoops. Unfortunately, I hit his bike and crashed too. From then on I had to push really hard to make it back to the top five. It’s a bit frustrating the GP ended like that. I showed I can fight for the overall win but missed the podium by a few points. Luck wasn’t on our side but my speed was very good and that’s the most important thing as we’re heading to my home GP in Germany next weekend.”
Christophe Charlier – Overall 7th
“It was a very positive GP for us. It’s my best result so far in this season and I think it shows how much work we’re all putting in. I had great starts in both motos and managed to stay inside the top six and fight with the top guys for a few laps. My lap times around the track were good throughout the weekend and I proved I have the speed to fight for the top. I’m still lacking a bit of stamina to keep pushing hard until the end of each moto, but the speed is there now and that’s really important for the rest of the season. I’m enjoying my time on the bike and I think I can now start showing my true potential.”
Ben Townley – 8th Overall
“A bit of a shocker to be honest. I moved too early along with Clement [Desalle] in the first moto and just had to put my head down and see where I’d end up. On the first lap of the second race there was a lot of jostling going on. I went inside and I saw Kevin go wide but didn’t expect him to come back as quickly as he did. We touched and I went down and he obviously paid for it later. If it had happened on lap 15, say, then I’d understand people being upset but it was on the first and pretty chaotic. Just one of those racing things and it was a shame. After that I just did what I could. Stefan had told me that the track would get rough and demanding so I played it safe out there. There are some positive signs from this weekend and I really just need to put everything together in one Grand Prix to show what I can do and it hasn’t happened yet this year.”
Kevin Strijbos
“Not so much luck so far this year. The first moto was pretty good and I was catching Febvre until I made a couple of mistakes and then a really big one where I almost lost the bike and had to run off the track. Despite that I was still feeling good for the second and had a slightly better start. On the first lap I picked a rut on the outside and Ben came through and hit me. He crashed from that move and hit me really hard, I was worried about the engine but saw I still had power and carried on. I was feeling great and gaining positions and time but I also had to adjust the clutch quite a lot until eventually it just ran out. I had to stop and the guys saw a big hole through the clutch cover. My back was not too bad today and overall I feel like we are going in a good direction.”
Glenn Coldenhoff
“A lot went wrong for me this weekend. We worked all day yesterday to find a good setup for the bike and this morning it looked like we had found it because I felt much better. I felt good all day, but I had some bad luck. A few guys moved at the start of the first moto and I almost hit the gate, but luckily I was able to stay behind it. I managed to go solid into the first turn but then I held up by someone. I still finished tenth, which wasn’t so bad. The speed was okay and I felt good out there, I think I was fourth at the start of the second moto but Townley crashed in the first lap and a few others went down. Then I crashed as well and the bike was stuck on a jump and it took me a while to get going again. What is positive is that I was riding well. Now I will work hard, we will do some tests next week and try to bounce back at Teutschenthal.”
Tommy Searle
“I proved once again when I posted second fastest time in every practice that I am as fast as anyone out there, but I just don’t have any luck. At the start of the qualification race two other riders collided right in front of me and one of them crashed into me so I only had twenty-fourth choice of gate. The first corner here is really hectic and my bike must have got damaged; I was having to make adjustments from the first lap but I still managed to move forward from fifteenth to tenth before the bike stopped. I was feeling my injuries from a crash last week during the second race, so I rode a steady race to finish ninth.”
Clement Desalle
“It was a tough weekend, and I was pretty unlucky in both races. On Saturday I qualified in ninth position, which gave me a decent gate but at the start of the first race the gate didn’t drop so fast and some riders anticipated the start. I followed them and was blocked behind my gate; it took me so much time to get free that I could only come back to eighteenth. The second race was even worse; there was a crash during the opening lap just before a jump and somebody hit me from behind when I braked. I was forced to retire and feel pretty sore but the medical examinations have revealed no broken bones.”
MXGP Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), 33:55.987; 2. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Husqvarna), +0:01.545; 3. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:05.654; 4. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:10.263; 5. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +0:15.166; 6. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:32.318; 7. Ben Townley (NZL, Suzuki), +0:51.441; 8. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Husqvarna), +0:58.559; 9. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +1:10.768; 10. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +1:14.646.
MXGP Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), 34:06.040; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:12.420; 3. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:18.547; 4. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:24.293; 5. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Husqvarna), +0:25.970; 6. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:38.669; 7. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +0:42.406; 8. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Husqvarna), +0:47.558; 9. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +1:04.696; 10. Valentin Guillod (SUI, Yamaha), +1:07.333.
MXGP Overall Top Ten: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 43 points; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 42 p.; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 41 p.; 4. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 38 p.; 5. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 38 p.; 6. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 27 p.; 7. Christophe Charlier (FRA, HUS), 26 p.; 8. Ben Townley (NZL, SUZ), 22 p.; 9. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 21 p.; 10. Milko Potisek (FRA, YAM), 20 p.
MXGP Championship Top Ten: 1. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 260 points; 2. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 259 p.; 3. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 213 p.; 4. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 203 p.; 5. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 200 p.; 6. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 197 p.; 7. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 143 p.; 8. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, SUZ), 142 p.; 9. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 121 p.; 10. Valentin Guillod (SUI, YAM), 116 p.
Jeffrey Herlings remains undefeated in MX2 – The Dutchman lapping up to seventh place in the second moto
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings is out of this world at the moment. While a lot of riders struggled with the roughness of the circuit, Herlings just got stronger and faster. It was awe-inspiring to watch The Bullet attack the track with such finesse. He won both races by more than thirty seconds and lapped more than half of the field, “I’m back, I’m feeling strong and I’m just trying to get the best out of myself, it’s six out of six wins this weekend and I hope there will be many more to come.” He said after his win in the final race.
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Max Anstie finally caught a break! The Brit has been lightning fast all season but has been faced with all sorts of adversity, from random off-track excursions through to mechanical failures. This weekend he managed to avoid drama and claimed his first piece of silverware this season with two second place finishes for second overall.
Black smoke is still puffing from the diesel, Team Suzuki World MX2’s Jeremy Seewer, who remains consistent with yet another podium finish in third.
Stranger things have happened. If you haven’t heard that phrase before, it’s something English speakers say when something unlikely happens. In the case of MX2 race two, it was Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team ’s Petar Petrov being a member of the toss-up for the Fox Holeshot! The Bulgarian is a big lad and starts are normally his biggest nemesis. After bouncing back in remarkable fashion in race one when he crashed and peeled back a bunch of places to finish sixth, he finished fourth in race two for fourth overall.
After spending the last two months recovering from shoulder surgery, Monster Energy Kawasaki racing Team’s Dylan Ferrandis made an impressive return this weekend in the demanding conditions here at the ‘Zelta Zirgs’ circuit for fifth overall.
Meanwhile, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Pauls Jonass fans swarmed the venue to watch their hero do business. The Latvian rode the wheels off his Red Bull KTM to finish third in race one, while in race two he struggled to come to grips with gnarliness of the circuit and kept crashing. He only finished fourteenth which left him in seventh overall, while fellow Latvian, riding for HSF Logistics Motorsports KTM, Roberts Justs went 15 – 8 for twelfth overall.
Jeffrey Herlings – Winner
“I felt good all weekend and I started out fast in the practices so I got the inside gate for the qualifying, which is pretty good for this track. We managed to pull a good start and won the qualifying for the best gate pick for the main races. Both starts were good for us. I think I was fourth at the start of the first race and got to the front in the first two laps and managed to win. Then I pulled a holeshot in the second moto and did what I had to do.” Herlings said he suffered with a little arm pump in the first moto but put it down to the big time gap between the warm-up and the races.”
Max Anstie – Overall 2nd
“It’s been an awesome weekend for myself and my team. I’ve worked really hard to build my speed and race consistency so it’s rewarding to find myself on the MX2 podium. I’ve delivered some strong rides during the last few races but things didn’t seem to go our way up until now. It was nice to finally be able to put two solid motos together and that was my goal for this GP. I felt like I rode two strong races and made some good passes. We’ve come a long way in the season so now I can be positive for the GPs to come.”
Jeremy Seewer – 3rd Overall
“The second moto was pretty good but Max was just a bit better. It was quite sketchy out there so I didn’t take any risks and kept it safe. In the first moto we had some struggles again but we are working on it, as well as the bike, and we are testing a lot. Overall it was an amazing weekend so a big thanks to whole crew. Everyone is motivated and happy and the season is long and we’ll keep trying to take results like these.”
Dylan Ferrandis – 5th Overall
“It was a tough weekend. On Saturday we worked on the setup of the bike as we had no possibilities to do this during the last two months. Sunday was not so bad; my starts were not so good but in the first moto I rode smooth and got a fifth. I was a little too optimistic in the first corner and crashed, but I did my best to come back from last to sixth. After two months without riding I feel tired at the end of a tough weekend, but I have no regrets; we know that this track is very rough, but it was my decision to come here. The first race after a break is always difficult; I’m sure that next weekend will be better.”
Petar Petrov – 6th Overall
“We got a fourth overall which is not so bad, even if I think that I could have finished second in the second race. There was a crash in the first corner but I went inside and nearly holeshot the race. In the first race I crashed at the start and had to work to come back to sixth. It’s frustrating to finish fourth or fifth in the GPs; I’ve just missed podiums and now it’s time to get on the box. We’ll go in Germany with a lot of confidence; everything is very good, we’re consistent and we didn’t make any mistakes. The track was very bumpy in the second moto, so it was quite easy to make mistakes but I rode smooth. We’re now fourth in the standings and that’s good. We’ll work hard again this week to prepare for Germany; I really like the track.”
Pauls Jonass – 7th Overall
“Everything was going quite good until the last moto. I was second in qualifying and third in the first moto and my riding was pretty good except for the last moto. We changed the suspension a little and maybe that didn’t work out for me. There was a crash at the beginning of the second moto, then I crashed again on my own and I’m really disappointed that my riding was bad in the first lap. But I have a lot of things to learn and the season is long. Now I’ll go home and do the work so we get back to where we should be.”
MX2 Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 35:30.258; 2. Max Anstie (GBR, Husqvarna), +0:32.751; 3. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), +0:39.912; 4. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +0:44.374; 5. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:01.732; 6. Petar Petrov (BUL, Kawasaki), +1:13.880; 7. Brent Van doninck (BEL, Yamaha), +1:16.519; 8. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, KTM), +1:20.125; 9. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +1:26.014; 10. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), +1:26.435
MX2 Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 35:23.887; 2. Max Anstie (GBR, Husqvarna), +1:02.361; 3. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +1:06.598; 4. Petar Petrov (BUL, Kawasaki), +1:31.464; 5. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +1:33.420; 6. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:50.446; 7. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), +1:51.621; 8. Roberts Justs (LAT, KTM), -1 lap(s); 9. Alvin Östlund (SWE, Yamaha), -1 lap(s); 10. Vsevolod Brylyakov (RUS, Kawasaki), -1 lap(s)
MX2 Overall Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 50 points; 2. Max Anstie (GBR, HUS), 44 p.; 3. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 38 p.; 4. Petar Petrov (BUL, KAW), 33 p.; 5. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, KAW), 31 p.; 6. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 28 p.; 7. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 27 p.; 8. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), 25 p.; 9. Brent Van doninck (BEL, YAM), 24 p.; 10. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, KTM), 22 p.
MX2 Championship Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 300 points; 2. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 230 p.; 3. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 193 p.; 4. Petar Petrov (BUL, KAW), 165 p.; 5. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, YAM), 163 p.; 6. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 154 p.; 7. Samuele Bernardini (ITA, TM), 133 p.; 8. Vsevolod Brylyakov (RUS, KAW), 132 p.; 9. Max Anstie (GBR, HUS), 126 p.; 10. Alvin Östlund (SWE, YAM), 110 p.
EMX 250
The circuit of Kegums has a deceiving nature. It looks soft and loamy but underneath its hard and choppy with massive braking bumps and sharp acceleration bumps. In race one yesterday KTM Factory Juniors Jorge Prado got off to a fantastic start and led last years FIM Junior 125cc World Champion, riding for Kemea Yamaha, Maxime Renaux around turn one.
Two of the young guns that hung out at the pointy end of the field at round one, Even Heibye and Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Hunter Lawerence, were also inside the top five before Lawrence spun out, crashed and re-joined outside of the top twenty.
Bodo Schmidt Motorsports Thomas Kjer Olsen got off to an average start but was on another level yesterday and passed everyone like they were standing still on his way to the front of the pack. Team Suzuki World MX2’s Bas Vaessen has always been fast and managed to keep it on two wheels for second place ahead of Heibye and astonishingly Hunter Lawrence, who set the fastest lap amongst traffic on his way from outside the top twenty to fourth. Renaux rounded out the top five.
Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Hunter Lawrence can’t buy luck this year. The young Australian who is undoubtedly a title contender has crashed in three of the four races this year, and in Race 2 had to start from dead last after getting caught in a pile-up at turn one.
Hunter Lawrence
“It was a good and a bad weekend. The riding was good, but the results didn’t really reflect how I rode. We’ve made some good progress since Valkenswaard. In the first moto I crashed by myself on the first lap and came back from twenty second to fourth; that was not bad even if I was not so happy with this crash. There was a crash at the start of the second moto; I don’t really know what happened but I was in it and another wheel was stuck between my rear wheel and the frame so it took a lot of time to restart in last position. I again came back through the pack to finish seventh; that is never easy as everyone is trying to make aggressive passes and you need to find your way. I’m now second in the standings; we’ll continue to work hard and hopefully we’ll be even stronger in Germany next weekend.”
In Race 2, Kemea Yamaha Racing’s Maxime Renaux emerged as the leader in front of Belgian Kevin Wouts and the kid sitting second in the championship standings, Even Heibye. Race one winner Bodo Schmidt’s Thomas Kjer Olsen also got off to a good start ahead of Bud Racing Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Darian Sanyei.
Wouts wasted no time in passing Renaux for the lead followed by Heibye. Heibye is running a hot pace this year was all over Wouts for the top spot but a race win wasn’t on the cards for the Norwegian this weekend after he crashed spectacularly on lap three. Meanwhile, Kjer Olsen was hanging right off the back of his Husqvarna in effort to keep the front end light through the soft stuff and over some of the massive holes. The Dane, Kjer Olsen, chomped down the gap Wouts and with two laps to go he hammered the throttle and got the job done for another race win and a perfect score here in Latvia.
Sanyei was also hauling and charged his way to third while Renaux was hounded by Team Suzuki World MX2’s Bas Vaessen who did take fourth briefly but was passed back on the last lap and finished fifth. The defending EMX250 champion, J-Tech Honda’s Nick Kouwenberg was sixth ahead of Hunter Lawrence who put in yet another jaw-dropping performance from dead last to seventh.
It was an incredible weekend for Bodo Scmidt Motorsports Thomas Kjer Olsen who went 1 – 1 for his first double victory of his career, and the overall as well as the championship red plate! Team Suzuki World MX2’s Bas Vaessen and Bud Racing Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Darian Sanyei rounded off the podium in that order.
Bas Vaessen
“It’s been a good weekend and I started well on Saturday and had some nice battles to get up and keep second place. I didn’t have a good start today and had to work to get back to the front. I didn’t want to ride too close to the edge near the end of the race and ‘kinda knew I had the podium but it still felt like a surprise! Overall it was great and I want to give a bit thanks to my parents and all the sponsors.”
EMX250 Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), 29:25.965; 2. Bas Vaessen (NED, Suzuki), +0:01.988; 3. Even Heibye (NOR, KTM), +0:02.978; 4. Hunter Lawrence (AUS, Kawasaki), +0:03.337; 5. Maxime Renaux (FRA, Yamaha), +0:13.851; 6. Darian Sanayei (USA, Kawasaki), +0:15.202; 7. Miro Sihvonen (FIN, KTM), +0:29.695; 8. Nick Kouwenberg (NED, Honda), +0:35.960; 9. Kevin Wouts (BEL, KTM), +0:41.656; 10. Ken Bengtson (SWE, Yamaha), +0:43.440.
EMX250 Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), 29:07.199; 2. Kevin Wouts (BEL, KTM), +0:04.286; 3. Darian Sanayei (USA, Kawasaki), +0:10.698; 4. Maxime Renaux (FRA, Yamaha), +0:12.681; 5. Bas Vaessen (NED, Suzuki), +0:13.748; 6. Nick Kouwenberg (NED, Honda), +0:27.187; 7. Hunter Lawrence (AUS, Kawasaki), +0:29.167; 8. Miro Sihvonen (FIN, KTM), +0:33.147; 9. Karlis Sabulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:34.179; 10. Max Engelen (NED, KTM), +0:40.389.
EMX250 Overall Top Ten: 1. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 50 points; 2. Bas Vaessen (NED, SUZ), 38 p.; 3. Darian Sanayei (USA, KAW), 35 p.; 4. Kevin Wouts (BEL, KTM), 34 p.; 5. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 34 p.; 6. Hunter Lawrence (AUS, KAW), 32 p.; 7. Nick Kouwenberg (NED, HON), 28 p.; 8. Miro Sihvonen (FIN, KTM), 27 p.; 9. Ken Bengtson (SWE, YAM), 21 p.; 10. Even Heibye (NOR, KTM), 20 p.
EMX250 Championship Top Ten: 1. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 90 points; 2. Hunter Lawrence (AUS, KAW), 70 p.; 3. Kevin Wouts (BEL, KTM), 64 p.; 4. Bas Vaessen (NED, SUZ), 63 p.; 5. Even Heibye (NOR, KTM), 60 p.; 6. Darian Sanayei (USA, KAW), 58 p.; 7. Nick Kouwenberg (NED, HON), 54 p.; 8. Conrad Mewse (GBR, HUS), 50 p.; 9. Ken Bengtson (SWE, YAM), 42 p.; 10. Miro Sihvonen (FIN, KTM), 38 p.
EMX 300
When the gates dropped for the first race yesterday it was Matt Moffat who took the holeshot ahead of GL12 Yamaha’s Lewis Gregory, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Yentel Martens and Mike Kras.
Kras was in his element, he got to the front of the field relatively quickly and set sail to take an easy win over the red plate holder Martens. Meanwhile it was drama for Gregory whose bike died on the second lap while challenging for the lead, but his GL12 Yamaha teammate Brad Anderson happily took the torch and finished the race in third. Moffat battled a bit of arm-pump but held on for fourth while Thomas Marini rounded out the top five.
The first corner here in Kegums is a nasty right-handed 180-degree turn. It always causes carnage and did so in Race 2 collecting yesterdays fourth place finisher Matt Moffat and a couple of others. In the meantime, GL12 Yamaha Racing’s Brad Anderson, who actually rides a 450 four-stroke most of the time, led yesterdays top two Mike Kras and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Yentel Martens.
In one of the best races the EMX300 has ever had, Anderson, Kras and Martens were bashing bars left, right and center. Kras was the first to make a move and took the lead when Anderson sunk into an inside rut and Kras railed around the outside. A few turns later, Anderson pinned it up the inside and put a textbook pass on the Dutchman to reclaim it. In the meantime, Martens had a decision to make, put a bag of popcorn in the microwave and sit back and watch the show or change the channel. The Belgian, who has the red plate opted to change the channel and in the space of two turns blitzed past both riders to take the lead.
Martens set the fastest lap time on the lap that followed and distanced himself from the field while Ando buried himself in a berm and crashed. Kras had to pull something out of the bag if he was to catch Martens, which was too much to ask in the end.
Anderson managed to hold onto third but had his work cut out for him as Francisco Utrilla Antonio pushed him till the end. Mike Vanderstraeten rounded out the top five.
He was sick all weekend and fought to second in the first race yesterday but felt better and took the win today for the overall as well; Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Yentel Martens topped the box and retains the red plate as the series heads for Talavera, Spain on the weekend of May 29. Yesterday’s race one winner Mike Kras went 1 – 2 for second overall while Brad Anderson bagged a pair of thirds for third.
EMX300 Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Mike Kras (NED, KTM), 29:06.870; 2. Yentel Martens (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:02.090; 3. Brad Anderson (GBR, Yamaha), +0:43.377; 4. Matthew Moffat (GBR, KTM), +1:04.916; 5. Thomas Marini (SMR, Husqvarna), +1:09.413; 6. Joshua van der Linden (NED, Yamaha), +1:15.486; 7. Francisco Utrilla Antonio (ESP, Yamaha), +1:17.289; 8. Mathias Plessers (BEL, KTM), +1:28.006; 9. Kevin Van Geldorp (NED, Yamaha), +1:41.470; 10. Nolan Cordens (BEL, KTM), +1:46.057;
EMX300 Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Yentel Martens (BEL, Husqvarna), 29:25.544; 2. Mike Kras (NED, KTM), +0:15.366; 3. Brad Anderson (GBR, Yamaha), +0:21.522; 4. Francisco Utrilla Antonio (ESP, Yamaha), +0:23.020; 5. Mike Vanderstraeten (BEL, TM), +0:45.701; 6. Joshua van der Linden (NED, Yamaha), +0:49.548; 7. Matthew Moffat (GBR, KTM), +0:55.211; 8. Aaron Pipon (GBR, Yamaha), +0:55.932; 9. Devon Vermeulen (NED, KTM), +1:05.064; 10. Dietger Damiaens (BEL, KTM), +1:10.065
EMX300 Overall Top Ten: 1. Yentel Martens (BEL, HUS), 47 points; 2. Mike Kras (NED, KTM), 47 p.; 3. Brad Anderson (GBR, YAM), 40 p.; 4. Francisco Utrilla Antonio (ESP, YAM), 32 p.; 5. Matthew Moffat (GBR, KTM), 32 p.; 6. Joshua van der Linden (NED, YAM), 30 p.; 7. Thomas Marini (SMR, HUS), 24 p.; 8. Nolan Cordens (BEL, KTM), 21 p.; 9. Kevin Van Geldorp (NED, YAM), 21 p.; 10. Devon Vermeulen (NED, KTM), 20 p.;
EMX300 Championship Top Ten: 1. Yentel Martens (BEL, HUS), 94 points; 2. Mike Kras (NED, KTM), 87 p.; 3. Francisco Utrilla Antonio (ESP, YAM), 59 p.; 4. Matthew Moffat (GBR, KTM), 56 p.; 5. Joshua van der Linden (NED, YAM), 56 p.; 6. Brad Anderson (GBR, YAM), 55 p.; 7. Mike Vanderstraeten (BEL, TM), 54 p.; 8. Kevin Van Geldorp (NED, YAM), 49 p.; 9. Lewis Gregory (GBR, YAM), 40 p.; 10. Dietger Damiaens (BEL, KTM), 39 p.
EMX 125
Yamaha MJC’s Zachary Pichon, son of the former multi-time world champion Mickael Pichon, got off to a blistering start yesyerday ahead of Bud Racing Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Kim Savaste and Szymon Staszkiewicz. Pichon looked red hot up front but soon came under pressure from Sahkar Racing KTM’s Jago Geerts who came from around fifth to push Pichon into a mistake.
Geerts took the lead and ran away for a comfortable win celebrated with a sweet whip over the finish. Pichon recovered to beat Savaste by three seconds while DP19 Racing Yamaha’s Roan Van De Moosdijk battled from an average start for fourth ahead of Szymon Staszkiewicz.
In Race 2 the world’s fastest youngsters went one, two and three around turn one with Sahkar KTM’s Jago Geerts leading Bud Racing Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Kim Savaste and MJC Yamaha’s Zachary Pichon. Pichon passed Savaste before the end of lap one and went after Geerts but didn’t have anything for him.
Geerts has an incredible style on the bike and with a lap time that was more than 1.5 seconds faster than anyone, inched away. Pichon pulled a gap on Savaste, who was third, while the young Fin, Savaste, had to deal with the attack of KTM Silver Action’s Stephen Rubini. Rubini eventually made a pass stick and took over third, leaving Savaste to deal with DP19 Racing Yamaha’s Roan Van de Moosdijk who had miraculously appeared after starting outside of the top ten. Van de Moosdijk worked on Savaste for a couple of laps before he found a section where he could rail around the outside.
Meanwhile, Rubini had a hooked a couple of gears and caught and passed Pichon who started to fade. Savaste crashed with only a handful of laps to go, while Van de Moosedijk dropped Pichon back to fourth when he took over third. Pierre Goupillon rounded out the top five.
It was an outstanding start to the season for Sahkar Racing KTM’s Jago Geerts who dominated both races for the overall win and the red plate. MJC Yamaha’s Zachary Pichon put in two solid rides for second while DP19 Racing Yamaha’s Roan Van de Moosdijk battled from two less than average starts to impressively stand on the third step of the podium.
EMX125 Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Jago Geerts (BEL, KTM), 29:48.066; 2. Zachary Pichon (FRA, Yamaha), +0:13.031; 3. Kim Savaste (FIN, Kawasaki), +0:16.609; 4. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, Yamaha), +0:17.041; 5. Szymon Staszkiewicz (POL, KTM), +0:20.821; 6. Andrea Zanotti (SMR, KTM), +0:34.094; 7. Marcel Stauffer (AUT, KTM), +0:47.782; 8. Isak Gifting (SWE, KTM), +0:50.993; 9. Bastian Boegh Damm (DEN, KTM), +0:52.356; 10. Paolo Lugana (ITA, TM), +0:53.156.
EMX125 Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Jago Geerts (BEL, KTM), 29:30.909; 2. Stephen Rubini (FRA, KTM), +0:16.435; 3. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, Yamaha), +0:25.729; 4. Zachary Pichon (FRA, Yamaha), +0:33.246; 5. Pierre Goupillon (FRA, KTM), +0:41.726; 6. Gianluca Facchetti (ITA, KTM), +0:55.650; 7. Andrea Zanotti (SMR, KTM), +1:01.089; 8. Sergi Notario (ESP, KTM), +1:02.980; 9. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, Husqvarna), +1:03.423; 10. Bastian Boegh Damm (DEN, KTM), +1:10.781
EMX125 Overall Top Ten: 1. Jago Geerts (BEL, KTM), 50 points; 2. Zachary Pichon (FRA, YAM), 40 p.; 3. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, YAM), 38 p.; 4. Andrea Zanotti (SMR, KTM), 29 p.; 5. Pierre Goupillon (FRA, KTM), 26 p.; 6. Szymon Staszkiewicz (POL, KTM), 26 p.; 7. Bastian Boegh Damm (DEN, KTM), 23 p.; 8. Stephen Rubini (FRA, KTM), 22 p.; 9. Kim Savaste (FIN, KAW), 20 p.; 10. Tim Edberg (SWE, YAM), 17 p.
EMX125 Championship Top Ten: 1. Jago Geerts (BEL, KTM), 50 points; 2. Zachary Pichon (FRA, YAM), 40 p.; 3. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, YAM), 38 p.; 4. Andrea Zanotti (SMR, KTM), 29 p.; 5. Pierre Goupillon (FRA, KTM), 26 p.; 6. Szymon Staszkiewicz (POL, KTM), 26 p.; 7. Bastian Boegh Damm (DEN, KTM), 23 p.; 8. Stephen Rubini (FRA, KTM), 22 p.; 9. Kim Savaste (FIN, KAW), 20 p.; 10. Tim Edberg (SWE, YAM), 17 p.;
