The fourth round of the EMX250 and fifth of EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing went to St Jean D’Angely during the Monster Energy MXGP of France. As we are now used to witness, the French fans show so much passion and enthusiasm for motocross and came in numbers, braving the changing weather conditions over the weekend which made this round another exceptional event.
Words and Images by Infront Moto Racing
In Race 1 of the EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing, Filippo Mantovani took the holeshot with blistering start but it was a clever move in the inside from Simone Mancini in the second turn that put him in the lead with Yamaha Europe EMX125 MJC’s Mano Faure following closely behind. Mantovani in 3rd with RFME GASGAS MXJunior Team’s Salvador Perez 4th after few turns.
Then with the ruts deepening few riders started to encounter some difficulties such as Mantovani who nearly fell down with Jarne Bervoets from Yamaha Europe EMX125 MJC clipping his front wheel on the Italian’s bike while trying to take him on the outside on lap 3. After that, Mantovani lost his way and made some mistakes to finish 12th while Bervoets managed a good 5th place in the end.
Meanwhile as Fantic Factory Racing EMX125’s Noel Zanocz went on the charge after an average start and quickly move his way up taking on Mantovani on lap 3 to move 4th and then 3rd on lap 6 when Perez completely went out of track after losing control. Perez came back straight back to it in 4th where he would stay until the end.
While Mancini was cruising at the top of the race, Faure crashed out of 2nd with Zanocz again benefitting from it and going 2nd. However, the young French was feeling the track and came back to overtake the Hungarian red plate and take the 2nd place back on lap 9 until the end. Zanocz secured his 3rd spot until the end.
It was an up and down race for another contender for the Championship, Gyan Doensen from Racestore KTM Factory Rookies Team who, despite starting well had to settle for 8th in the end after never really finding his rhythm.
In the end it was a comfortable race win for the Italian star Mancini who took a good option for the final overall win.
In race 2, Zanocz this time took the strongest start, with his teammate Mancini just behind and Faure 3rd. Maenwhile, a handful of riders went down after a couple of turns with Perez and Bervoets involved.
Doensen managed to stay in the mix in 4th. The top 4 riders kept the same order for a while with not many attacks. Following his misshape, Perez climbed his way up pretty quickly after coming from the back going just outside the top 20 on lap 3. Markuss Ozolins got to 5th early on and kept his rank but started to get threatened by Cole McCullough from Maddii Fantic by Milwaukee who whittled the gap down as the race went on. On lap 9, while beginning to shape an attack McCullough crashed and let Ozolins off the hook.
Francesco Bellei from Dreams Racing made an excellent come back to mov from 11th to 5th in the end for 5th overall. The top 4 settled in their position until two laps to go when Faure went down which gifted a couple of point for Doensen although the podium was still on for the Frenchman as he ended third overall for an important podium at his home round. Solid winner Zanocz missed out on the overall win but finished second in the podium and kept the red plate.
It was a strong 1-2 for Mancini that put him on the top step of the podium for the 3rd time this year and a good double for Fantic Factory Racing. Mancini is also asserting himself as one to watch for the Championship and his teammate and red plate Zanocz wh finished 2nd overall.
Simone Mancini: “I’m so happy with two in a row, and my third win. Today the track was very difficult with the mud, I passed second in the first lap but couldn’t catch Noel (Zanocz) in the second race. It was not easy as the track was softer but the staff and the team made a great work and congratulations to everyone. Now see you in Latvia!”
EMX125 – Race 1
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EMX125 – Race 2
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EMX125 Overall
EMX125 Championship – Top 10 Classification: 1. Noel Zanocz (HUN, FAN), 190 points; 2. Gyan Doensen (NED, KTM), 173 p.; 3. Simone Mancini (ITA, FAN), 166 p.; 4. Mano Faure (FRA, YAM), 159 p.; 5. Salvador Perez (ESP, GAS), 150 p.; 6. Francesco Bellei (ITA, KTM), 147 p.; 7. Dani Heitink (NED, YAM), 104 p.; 8. Áron Katona (HUN, KTM), 103 p.; 9. Markuss Ozolins (LAT, GAS), 100 p.; 10. Jarne Bervoets (BEL, YAM), 86 p
EMX125 Manufacturers – Top 10 Classification: 1. Fantic, 235 points; 2. KTM, 210 p.; 3. GASGAS, 189 p.; 4. Yamaha, 177 p.; 5. TM, 83 p.; 6. Husqvarna, 46 p.;
