The Round of Latvia was really eventful in both categories and we saw a lot of intense battles throughout the weekend in Kegums.
In EMX250, it was Hutten Metaal Yamaha Racing Team’s Ivano Van Erp who won his first EMX250 round of his career with a solid performance in front of the always consistent BT Racing Team’s Kay Karssemakers and Red Plate holder Hutten Metaal Yamaha Racing Team’s Andrea Bonacorsi.
In EMX125 presented by FMF Racing, 737 Performers GASGAS’s Mathis Valin got a back-to-back win in front of Red plate holder MJC Yamaha Official EMX125’s Janis Martin and Fantic Factory Team Maddii’s Maximilian Werner.
In Race 1, the first race was won by Team VRT KTM Factory Juniors’ Marc-Antoine Rossi but the Frenchman lost 10 positions due to a penalty received for not respecting waved yellow flag. Rossi eventually finished 11th. In the end it was Ivano Van Erp who rode an excellent race to finish 2nd synonymous of victory. Van Erp was the quickest out of the gate and took the lead only to get overtaken once by Rossi on lap 3 of 14. Van Erp solidly maintain his position until the end.
The Red Plate holder Andrea Bonacorsi kept garnering a lot of point with a 2nd place in the end. Bonacorsi shows that when he is not riding at the lead, he can be patient and manage to keep getting a chance to win the overall. Bonacorsi overtook Hutten Metaal Yamaha Racing Team’s Karlis Reisulis on lap 7 for 4th and kept riding strongly to pass Kay Karssemakers on lap 10 for 3rd and stayed there until the end. Gaining a position due to Rossi’s penalty, Karssemakers stayed consistent and continued on his good form to get 3rd while Reisulis also maintained a good pace on the back of a good performance in France with a 4th place.
VRT KTM Factory Juniors’ Ferruccio Zanchi spend the race in 6th position without getting into any trouble and finished officially 5th. Similarly to Zanchi, local rider Edvards Bidzans made a fast start and maintained his pace throughout the race to finish 6th.
TM moto SteelsDrJack’s Meico Vettik had to fight his way up from the 11th to 9th over the first 3 laps. He kept charging forward and get into an intense battle with home rider Mairis Pumpurs for the 8th place in a give and take that finished with Vettik getting the best out of Pumpurs to finish 8th (7th in the end). Pumpurs got overtaken in the very last lap by an excellent Bud Racing Kawasaki’s Quentin Prugnieres who came back from the 13th place to 9th, and then 8th because of Rossi’s penalty. Pumpurs finished 9th in the end in front of Fantic Factory Team Maddii’s Cas Valk who managed to get a top 10 finish.
In race 2, Van Erp made a blistering start again and took the lead. Rossi was behind in 2nd position and looked very comfortable on this track and eventually passed Van Erp on to lead on lap 5 but his lead was short-lived as Rossi fell down a few turns later to pick himself 4th. Van Erp took back the lead immediately. Van Erp looked like he was going for the win when Karssemakers came back from 5th on lap 1 to get right behind Van Erp in 2nd position on lap 5. Van Erp defended very well but Karssemakers’ pace made the difference on lap 12 and overtook Van Erp. Karssemakers went on to win his first race of the season. Van Erp finished 2nd for an excellent 2-2 to win his first round of his career in EMX250.
Karssemakers continues his podium streak to three in a row and consolidating his second place in the Championship. Rossi was really fast this weekend and managed to get back up to 3rd on lap 12 of 14 as he overtook Reisulis. With the penalty in the race 1, Rossi went 11-3 for 6th overall. Reisulis finished 4th after being consistent and went 4-4 to miss the podium for 2 points.
Bonacorsi went down after the start and picked himself up in 18th place and had to charge forward to get important points for the championship. The Red Plate holder showed his immense talent as he didn’t waste any time to move up to 10th already on lap 1. His charge was not over as he passed many riders with a sense of urgency. Bonacorsi eventually found himself 5th on lap 8 to finish there and go 2-5 and get another podium in 3rd position.
Zanchi managed another solid race as he passed Vettik and KTM Beddini Racing Team’s Valerio Lata and Bidvans to move up to 6th and kept his position until the end to go 5-6 for 5th overall. The surprising Bidvans held his ground to finish 7th and go 6-7 for 7th overall while Lata had to settle for 9th and Vettik finished 8th for 8th overall.
In the end it is an amazing first EMX250 win for Ivano Van Erp in front of the consistent Kay Karssemakers and Red Plate holder Andrea Bonacorsi.
Ivano Van Erp: “I am so happy to win today. I rode well all weekend and.I can finally get an overall win! Thanks to my team and I look forward for the next rounds”
EMX250 – Race 1 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Ivano Van Erp (NED, Yamaha), 29:55.887; 2. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, Yamaha), +0:05.417; 3. Kay Karssemakers (NED, Husqvarna), +0:14.003; 4. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:25.652; 5. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, KTM), +0:31.671; 6. Edvards Bidzans (LAT, Husqvarna), +0:46.401; 7. Meico Vettik (EST, TM), +0:56.514; 8. Quentin Marc Prugnieres (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:57.454; 9. Mairis Pumpurs (LAT, Yamaha), +0:59.967; 10. Cas Valk (NED, Fantic), +1:03.213
EMX250 – Race 2 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Kay Karssemakers (NED, Husqvarna), 29:53.371; 2. Ivano Van Erp (NED, Yamaha), +0:02.806; 3. Marc-Antoine Rossi (FRA, KTM), +0:09.124; 4. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:13.468; 5. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, Yamaha), +0:24.754; 6. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, KTM), +0:35.754; 7. Edvards Bidzans (LAT, Husqvarna), +0:40.684; 8. Meico Vettik (EST, TM), +0:52.142; 9. Valerio Lata (ITA, KTM), +0:52.698; 10. Quentin Marc Prugnieres (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:09.914
EMX250 – Overall Top 10 Classification: 1. Ivano Van Erp (NED, YAM), 47 points; 2. Kay Karssemakers (NED, HUS), 45 p.; 3. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, YAM), 38 p.; 4. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 36 p.; 5. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, KTM), 31 p.; 6. Marc-Antoine Rossi (FRA, KTM), 30 p.; 7. Edvards Bidzans (LAT, HUS), 29 p.; 8. Meico Vettik (EST, TM), 27 p.; 9. Quentin Marc Prugnieres (FRA, KAW), 24 p.; 10. Mairis Pumpurs (LAT, YAM), 22 p
EMX250 – Championship Top 10 Classification: 1. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, YAM), 220 points; 2. Kay Karssemakers (NED, HUS), 190 p.; 3. Marc-Antoine Rossi (FRA, KTM), 156 p.; 4. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, KTM), 151 p.; 5. Cas Valk (NED, FAN), 149 p.; 6. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 145 p.; 7. Ivano Van Erp (NED, YAM), 140 p.; 8. Quentin Marc Prugnieres (FRA, KAW), 119 p.; 9. Valerio Lata (ITA, KTM), 118 p.; 10. Meico Vettik (EST, TM), 91 p
EMX250 – Manufacturers Classification: 1. Yamaha, 234 points; 2. Husqvarna, 198 p.; 3. KTM, 196 p.; 4. Fantic, 151 p.; 5. Kawasaki, 124 p.; 6. TM, 91 p.; 7. GASGAS, 88 p
In Race 1, it was Fantic Factory Team Maddii’s Maximilian Werner who took the lead early on after a great start but got passed by a very fast Mathis Valin and MJC Yamaha Official EMX125’s Janis Martin Reisulison lap 3. From there on it was all about Valin and Reisulis to battle for the lead. Reisulis maintained an incredible pace and Valin could not follow and Reisulis took the lead on lap 8 of 14 to never let it go and cruise to victory. Valin settled for the 2nd place.
Werner was 3rd for the most part of the race but couldn’t defend on his teammate, Fantic Factory Team Maddii’s Elias Escandell who overtook him for 3rd at the end. Werner ended at the 4th place
Julius Mikulaperformed really well as he went from 8th on lap 1 to 5th even putting some pressure at the end to Werner for 4th.
Vitezslav Marek continues to show a lot of qualities as he went from 13th to 6th and overtook many riders while Sturm STC Racing Team’s Mads Fredsoe did the opposite as after an excellent start he couldn’t maintain his pace and moved down the rank to finish 8th. Finishing 7th was August Frisk who had an incredible finish as he overtook 3 times in the last lap to move from 10th to 7th.
In race 2, Werner got the best start of the pack and took the lead in front of Valin and Marek. On lap 2, Valin pushed and took charge of the race as he set a fastest lap to move on to the lead. Valin set an infernal pace and edged away. That gap helped him when Valin fell but picked himself up still in front and went on to dominantly win without dropping his pace. Valin went 2-1 for a back-to-back win and his 3rd win of the season.
Finishing 2nd was his usual rival Reisulis who couldn’t keep the pace and settled for 2nd after a nice effort to move up from 6th on lap 1. With 1-2 Reisulis finished 2nd overall and lost few points in the Championship to Valin but still kept the Red Plate.
Werner who got overtaken only by Valin and Reisulis continues his great form with his 4th podium in a row and an strong 4-3 for 3rd overall. Marek keeps fighting at the top recently and got only passed by Reisulis to finish 4th with a 5th overall.
Riding strongly and consistently were RFME GASGAS MXJUNIOR TEAM’s Francisco Garcia and Cole McCullough crossed paths on lap 2. Garcia finally managed to pass McCullough on lap 8 to go 5th until the end while McCullough settled for 6th. Garcia in the end went 11-5 for 7th overall, McCullough showed good qualities and went 12-6 for 8th overall.
Escandell made a mistake on lap 2 to move down from 5th to 8th and manage to gain a position as he overtook Noel Zanocs for 7th while Zanocs settled for 8th. Escandell went 3-7 for 4th overall, missing the podium by 4 points behind his teammate Werner. Zanocs on his side went 10-8 for 9th overall to get a good top 10.
Fredsoe managed to be more consistent in race 2 and didn’t fade out as he shadowed Mikula during the race and moved up the leader board throughout the race going from 13th to 10th while Mikula went from 12th to 9th.
In the end Mathis Valin managed a really impressive weekend to win a back-to-back round in front of Red Plate holder Janis Reisulis and Maximilian Werner who continues on his impressive podium streak.
Mathis Valin: “It’s a great weekend for me. The first race didn’t go as planned but winning in the second race, even if I went down during the race was really amazing”
EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing – Race 1 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), 30:37.560; 2. Mathis Valin (FRA, GASGAS), +0:23.988; 3. Elias Escandell (ESP, Fantic), +0:30.533; 4. Maximilian Werner (GER, Fantic), +0:33.722; 5. Julius Mikula (CZE, Yamaha), +0:34.578; 6. Vitezslav Marek (CZE, KTM), +0:39.687; 7. August Frisk (SWE, KTM), +0:51.759; 8. Mads Fredsoe (DEN, KTM), +0:52.887; 9. Maximilian Ernecker (AUT, GASGAS), +0:56.474; 10. Noel Zanocz (HUN, KTM), +0:58.184
EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing – Race 2 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Mathis Valin (FRA, GASGAS), 30:46.908; 2. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:11.493; 3. Maximilian Werner (GER, Fantic), +0:14.348; 4. Vitezslav Marek (CZE, KTM), +0:29.742; 5. Francisco Garcia (ESP, GASGAS), +0:30.848; 6. Cole McCullough (IRL, KTM), +0:36.340; 7. Elias Escandell (ESP, Fantic), +0:39.938; 8. Noel Zanocz (HUN, KTM), +0:48.757; 9. Julius Mikula (CZE, Yamaha), +0:51.018; 10. Mads Fredsoe (DEN, KTM), +0:53.568
EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing – Overall Top 10 Classification: 1. Mathis Valin (FRA, GAS), 47 points; 2. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 47 p.; 3. Maximilian Werner (GER, FAN), 38 p.; 4. Elias Escandell (ESP, FAN), 34 p.; 5. Vitezslav Marek (CZE, KTM), 33 p.; 6. Julius Mikula (CZE, YAM), 28 p.; 7. Francisco Garcia (ESP, GAS), 26 p.; 8. Cole McCullough (IRL, KTM), 24 p.; 9. Noel Zanocz (HUN, KTM), 24 p.; 10. Mads Fredsoe (DEN, KTM), 24 p.
EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing – Championship Top 10 Classification: 1. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 219 points; 2. Mathis Valin (FRA, GAS), 205 p.; 3. Maximilian Werner (GER, FAN), 173 p.; 4. Elias Escandell (ESP, FAN), 162 p.; 5. Vitezslav Marek (CZE, KTM), 160 p.; 6. Francisco Garcia (ESP, GAS), 138 p.; 7. Mads Fredsoe (DEN, KTM), 115 p.; 8. Noel Zanocz (HUN, KTM), 95 p.; 9. Gyan Doensen (NED, KTM), 93 p.; 10. Laban Alm (SWE, HUS), 86 p
EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing – Manufacturers Classification: 1. Yamaha, 225 points; 2. GASGAS, 222 p.; 3. Fantic, 200 p.; 4. KTM, 174 p.; 5. Husqvarna, 115 p
