EMX250

(VALKENSWAARD) Netherlands, 23 April 2017 - The first round of the European Championship EMX125 presented by FMF Racing and the second round of the European Championship EMX250 finished up this morning on the dark sand of Valkenswaard. With over 170 entries between the two classes, KTM DIGA Junior Racing’s Miro Sihvonen was the best rider on the track in EMX250 and Ice One Racing Husqvarna’s Mikkel Haarup was by far the fastest of the 125cc riders, both scored the overall with 1-1 results.

One week after his third place podium finish in Trentino KTM DIGA Junior Racing’s Miro Sihvonen started race 1 in 6th but he made several passes including the most important one on F&H Racing Team’s Ruben Fernandez for the lead with only two laps remaining, Fernandez kept Sihvonen in sight but he finished 2nd. In Race 2 Sihvonen won again but Fernandez finished 25th scoring no championship points and placing 8th overall.

Dutch rider Nick Kouwenberg placed 3rd in Race 1 after starting in 7th passing several riders including Round of Trentino’s Race 2 winner, Morgan Lesiardo. Race 2 started slightly better for Kouwenberg, he was 5th on the first lap and again he made some passes to get himself to 3rd. Kouwenberg’s impressive 3-3 were consistent enough for second overall in front of his home crowd.

Morgan Lesiardo’s 4th in race 1 was his better finish of the two races with a 10th in race 2. The 4-10 surprisingly secured him the podium being the third best results in the class.

Nichlas Bjerregaard and iFly JK Racing’s Ken Bengtson were another example of how consistency pays off. The two didn’t necessarily have any remarkable race performances but their ability to place in the top ten twice in one weekend is proving to be a feat of its own. Bengtson’s 6th and 9th put him 4th overall and Bjerregaard’s 10-7 achieved the 5th overall.

Last week’s winner Yamaha SM Action’s Simone Furlotti is now third in the points after finishing 11th overall going 18-6 here at Valkenswaard.

Another member of the top 5 riders in the championship is ASTES4-Tesar Yamaha’s Karlis Sabulis. Sabulis was 5th in race 1 but he had issues in race 2 where he scored no points and finished 22nd.

Last year’s EMX 300 Presented by FMF Racing Champion, GL12 Racing’s Mike Kras also struggled scoring a consistent result. The two-stroke rider placed a disappointing 20th in Race 1 before his impressive rebound in race 2 to 5th for 12th overall.

Sahkar KTM Racing’s Belgian rider, Jago Geerts, had scored only 1 point after the first 3 races until he flew into a 2nd place in Race 2 scoring 22 points and putting himself into 14th in the championship.

EMX250 Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Miro Sihvonen (FIN, KTM), 30:39.344; 2. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Kawasaki), +0:03.333; 3. Nick Kouwenberg (NED, Yamaha), +0:11.367; 4. Morgan Lesiardo (ITA, KTM), +0:16.290; 5. Karlis Sabulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:18.776; 6. Ken Bengtson (SWE, Yamaha), +0:20.638; 7. Mel Pocock (GBR, Husqvarna), +0:35.202; 8. Jere Haavisto (FIN, KTM), +0:37.629; 9. Alberto Forato (ITA, Honda), +0:39.798; 10. Nichlas Bjerregaard (DEN, Yamaha), +0:46.678.

EMX250 Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Miro Sihvonen (FIN, KTM), 29:26.087; 2. Jago Geerts (BEL, KTM), +0:03.837; 3. Nick Kouwenberg (NED, Yamaha), +0:05.257; 4. Michael Eccles (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:15.062; 5. Mike Kras (NED, KTM), +0:22.491; 6. Simone Furlotti (ITA, Yamaha), +0:24.651; 7. Nichlas Bjerregaard (DEN, Yamaha), +0:25.054; 8. Marshal Weltin (USA, Kawasaki), +0:28.402; 9. Ken Bengtson (SWE, Yamaha), +0:31.777; 10. Morgan Lesiardo (ITA, KTM), +0:40.587

EMX250 Overall Top 10: 1. Miro Sihvonen (FIN, KTM), 50 points; 2. Nick Kouwenberg (NED, YAM), 40 p.; 3. Morgan Lesiardo (ITA, KTM), 29 p.; 4. Ken Bengtson (SWE, YAM), 27 p.; 5. Nichlas Bjerregaard (DEN, YAM), 25 p.; 6. Mel Pocock (GBR, HUS), 23 p.; 7. Jago Geerts (BEL, KTM), 22 p.; 8. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, KAW), 22 p.; 9. Marshal Weltin (USA, KAW), 21 p.; 10. Michael Eccles (GBR, KAW), 18 p.

EMX250 Championship Top 10: 1. Miro Sihvonen (FIN, KTM), 90 points; 2. Morgan Lesiardo (ITA, KTM), 70 p.; 3. Simone Furlotti (ITA, YAM), 63 p.; 4. Nick Kouwenberg (NED, YAM), 63 p.; 5. Karlis Sabulis (LAT, YAM), 54 p.; 6. Ken Bengtson (SWE, YAM), 43 p.; 7. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, KAW), 40 p.; 8. Nichlas Bjerregaard (DEN, YAM), 34 p.; 9. Alberto Forato (ITA, HON), 32 p.; 10. Mel Pocock (GBR, HUS), 31 p.

EMX250 Manufacturers: 1. KTM, 93 points; 2. Yamaha, 85 p.; 3. Kawasaki, 73 p.; 4. Honda, 50 p.; 5. Husqvarna, 42 p.; 6. Suzuki, 14 p

At the first round of the European Championship EMX125 presented by FMF Racing, Ice One Racing Husqvarna’s Mikkel Haarup had two impressive races over the two days, with a pair of decent starts he moved into the lead quickly during both races. He won race 1 on Saturday by over 13 seconds and on Sunday doubled his gap to win by 26 seconds.

Behind Haarup in race 1 it was Tim Edberg who battled with BUD Racing Monster Energy’s Brian Strubhart Moreau in which Edberg came out ahead.

Sunday was not as fortunate for Edberg though as he would instead battle for 6th with Alessandro Manucci all the way to the finish. Manucci finished 7th over but ended up holding off Edberg and denying him of the final spot on the podium which would instead go to Jesyk Racing Team’s Sergi Notario.

Moreau however improved his 3rd place finish from Saturday to a hard fought 2nd today. Moreau was in a race of his own for second the first half of Race 2 but was later pressured by Creymert Racing’s Kevin Horgmo, the battle for second was fierce but Horgmo couldn’t find a way past and eventually he finished 3rd, combined with his 10th on Saturday Horgmo rounded out the top 5 with 5th overall.

Last year Gianluca Facchetti finished 4th in the championship, he now leaves this weekend with a 6 overall result after 6th Saturday and 5th today. Facchetti was 5th on the first lap of race 2 before being passed by Horgmo, he later found his way back into the top 5 when he got fellow Italian Manucci on lap 6.

2016 EMX85cc Champion Rene Hofer finished 9th in Race 1 and looked like he was going to improve on the result in race 2 as he had a strong ride and battled for 7th. Hofer made an error and went down where he struggled to get going again, he eventually picked himself up in 12th before fighting his back to a 10th place finish, good enough for 9th overall.

2016 Honda EMX150 Champion and now JTECH Suzuki Valenti rider Emil Weckmann didn’t have the weekend he was hoping for, the 125cc rookie finished a decent 13th in Race 1 but his 21st place today put him 17th overall.

EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, Husqvarna), 28:55.139; 2. Tim Edberg (SWE, Yamaha), +0:13.601; 3. Brian Strubhart Moreau (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:22.108; 4. Sergi Notario (ESP, KTM), +0:31.050; 5. Alessandro Manucci (ITA, Husqvarna), +0:34.445; 6. Gianluca Facchetti (ITA, Husqvarna), +0:35.091; 7. Jeremy Sydow (GER, KTM), +0:35.641; 8. Paolo Lugana (ITA, TM), +0:43.808; 9. Rene Hofer (AUT, KTM), +0:45.507; 10. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, KTM), +0:45.908.

EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, Husqvarna), 29:55.247; 2. Brian Strubhart Moreau (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:26.081; 3. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, KTM), +0:30.995; 4. Sergi Notario (ESP, KTM), +0:46.842; 5. Gianluca Facchetti (ITA, Husqvarna), +0:59.415; 6. Alessandro Manucci (ITA, Husqvarna), +1:03.178; 7. Tim Edberg (SWE, Yamaha), +1:03.595; 8. Paolo Lugana (ITA, TM), +1:09.768; 9. Viking Lindstrom (SWE, KTM), +1:10.503; 10. Rene Hofer (AUT, KTM), +1:11.884.

EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing Overall Top 10: 1. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, HUS), 50 points; 2. Brian Strubhart Moreau (FRA, KAW), 42 p.; 3. Sergi Notario (ESP, KTM), 36 p.; 4. Tim Edberg (SWE, YAM), 36 p.; 5. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, KTM), 31 p.; 6. Gianluca Facchetti (ITA, HUS), 31 p.; 7. Alessandro Manucci (ITA, HUS), 31 p.; 8. Paolo Lugana (ITA, TM), 26 p.; 9. Rene Hofer (AUT, KTM), 23 p.; 10. Viking Lindstrom (SWE, KTM), 22 p.

EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing Championship Top 10: 1. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, HUS), 50 points; 2. Brian Strubhart Moreau (FRA, KAW), 42 p.; 3. Sergi Notario (ESP, KTM), 36 p.; 4. Tim Edberg (SWE, YAM), 36 p.; 5. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, KTM), 31 p.; 6. Gianluca Facchetti (ITA, HUS), 31 p.; 7. Alessandro Manucci (ITA, HUS), 31 p.; 8. Paolo Lugana (ITA, TM), 26 p.; 9. Rene Hofer (AUT, KTM), 23 p.; 10. Viking Lindstrom (SWE, KTM), 22 p.

EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing Manufacturers: 1. Husqvarna, 50 points; 2. Kawasaki, 42 p.; 3. KTM, 38 p.; 4. Yamaha, 36 p.; 5. TM, 26 p.; 6. Suzuki, 8 p.

NEXT ROUND

The next round of the European Championships EMX250 as well as the the second round of the EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing will be held in 2 week time in Kegums, for the MXGP of Latvia

Click here to obtain the complete results

All the photos of the MXGP of Europe will be available here

MXGP of EUROPE – QUICK FACTS

Circuit length: 1550m

Type of ground: Sand

Temperature: 14°C

Weather conditions: varied

Weekend Crowd Attendance: 26,000

MXGP was available across the board in high definition and is also globally available to view live and in HD on MXGP-TV.com. Click here for the complete list of countries and cooperating MXGP broadcasting networks.

LINKS

Youthstream

FIM Europe

MXGP of Europe

If you’ve ever been to watch MXGP live then you would almost certainly have seen the EMX125 and EMX250 Championship riders in action as well and you will more than likely agree with us that the depth of racing talent is phenomenal and better than it has ever been. The EMX125 and 250 classes in particular provide the fans with some of the most intense and best racing of the weekend and soon enough the riders will graduate to MX2 or MXGP where they will one day compete on the world stage. This years EMX champions were Jago Geerts from Belgium and Thomas Kjer Olsen and here’s why.

Read the complete feature from the MXGP Mag #39 HERE

FRAUENFELD-GACHNANG (Switzerland), 07 August 2016 - That’s a wrap! The final rounds of the European Championships EMX125 presented by FMF Racing and EMX250 were wrapped up today in Frauenfeld-Gachnang, Switzerland, where our future stars were faced with a rutty and rugged man-made track, that had a good vibe about it which could be attributed to the noise and support coming from the nearly sold out grand stands that surround venue.

The newly crowned EMX125 presented by FMF Racing champion, Sahkar KTM’s Jago Geerts, rounded out the season the best way he knows how, with two race wins while Bud Racing Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Darian Sanayei also did the double for his second overall win of the season.

The track here in Frauenfeld-Gachnang wasn’t the most intimidating track on the calendar, although for the riders that aren’t fans of ruts and square edge bumps, it would have been pretty daunting. As a man-made track, built in a flat field with some big jumps, it looked as though it would suit Bud Racing Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Darian Sanayei, and it did. The American star got off to a mega start and led every lap for his fifth race win of the season ahead of KTM Factory Juniors Josiah Natzke and the Czech wildcard Filip Neugebauer.

In Race 2 today, the defending champion, Nick Kouwenberg had his J-Tech Honda absolutely singing out of the gate and led the way around turn one before being passed by F&H Racing Team’s young talented Spaniard Ruben Fernandez, who had the race one winner, Bud Racing Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Darian Sanayei in his wake.

Sanayei was reveling in the fact no one was at an advantage on this track since it was brand spanking new one day ago. The American put the squeeze on Fernandez on lap two and checked out for his sixth race win of the season. Fernandez kept the power down in second; as Vaessen kept the fans on their toes with his flamboyant, yet loose at times, style.

As per usual, Vaessen had a yard sale and dropped back to sixth, which allowed Kouwenberg to inherit third. Running inside the top three ended up being short lived for Kouwenberg, as yesterday’s runner-up Josiah Natzke was on a hard charge and passed him like he was standing still.

Natzke, on a clear mission, went after Fernandez for second, and took the spot in no time at all. Vaessen was on the bounce back, and took third away from the Spaniard before passing Natzke on one wheel for second place. Natzke took a chill pill and sat back in third while Fernandez mimicked that approach in fourth. Filip Neugenbauer on the other hand, was pushing to the max. He got inside the top five, then crashed and had to do it all again. Nevertheless, he got the job done and finished fifth.

Bud Racing Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Darian Sanayei rounded out the season with a double moto victory. It has been a long season for the rookie, KTM Factory Junior’s Josiah Natzke who landed on the podium for the first time this season ahead of the kid who won the last two rounds of the EMX250 championship, Team Suzuki World MX2’s Bas Vaessen.

Bodo Schmidt Motorsports’ Thomas Kjer Olsen was crowned European Champion last weekend at Lommel, therefore he didn’t race in the EMX250 class this weekend, instead he took the next naturel step in his career and made his FIM Motocross World Championship MX2 debut. Bud Racing Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Darian Sanayei took home the silver medal, while Team Suzuki World MX2’s Bas Vaessen was awarded the bronze.

EMX250 Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Darian Sanayei (USA, Kawasaki), 30:41.409; 2. Josiah Natzke (NZL, KTM), +0:23.278; 3. Filip Neugebauer (CZE, Kawasaki), +0:31.119; 4. Anton Gole (SWE, Husqvarna), +0:32.480; 5. Bas Vaessen (NED, Suzuki), +0:36.636; 6. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Kawasaki), +0:47.008; 7. Kevin Wouts (BEL, KTM), +0:51.618; 8. Miro Sihvonen (FIN, KTM), +0:54.070; 9. Killian Auberson (SUI, KTM), +0:59.070; 10. Glen Meier (DEN, KTM), +1:01.316.

EMX250 Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Darian Sanayei (USA, Kawasaki), 28:54.522; 2. Bas Vaessen (NED, Suzuki), +0:20.446; 3. Josiah Natzke (NZL, KTM), +0:33.801; 4. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Kawasaki), +0:36.924; 5. Filip Neugebauer (CZE, Kawasaki), +0:43.132; 6. Anton Lundgren (SWE, Husqvarna), +0:46.622; 7. Nick Kouwenberg (NED, Honda), +0:49.254; 8. Kevin Wouts (BEL, KTM), +0:50.489; 9. Mike Stender (GER, Suzuki), +0:58.607; 10. Anton Gole (SWE, Husqvarna), +1:03.420.

EMX250 Overall Top Ten: 1. Darian Sanayei (USA, KAW), 50 points; 2. Josiah Natzke (NZL, KTM), 42 p.; 3. Bas Vaessen (NED, SUZ), 38 p.; 4. Filip Neugebauer (CZE, KAW), 36 p.; 5. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, KAW), 33 p.; 6. Anton Gole (SWE, HUS), 29 p.; 7. Kevin Wouts (BEL, KTM), 27 p.; 8. Anton Lundgren (SWE, HUS), 23 p.; 9. Miro Sihvonen (FIN, KTM), 22 p.; 10. Killian Auberson (SUI, KTM), 16 p.

EMX250 Championship Top Ten: 1. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 404 points; 2. Darian Sanayei (USA, KAW), 373 p.; 3. Bas Vaessen (NED, SUZ), 324 p.; 4. Anton Gole (SWE, HUS), 265 p.; 5. Kevin Wouts (BEL, KTM), 244 p.; 6. Miro Sihvonen (FIN, KTM), 223 p.; 7. Jorge Prado Garcia (ESP, KTM), 210 p.; 8. Nicolas Dercourt (FRA, KTM), 207 p.; 9. Hunter Lawrence (AUS, KAW), 167 p.; 10. Mike Stender (GER, SUZ), 145 p.

EMX250 Manufacturers: 1. Husqvarna, 454 points; 2. Kawasaki, 409 p.; 3. KTM, 382 p.; 4. Suzuki, 350 p.; 5. Yamaha, 243 p.; 6. Honda, 195 p.

In race one yesterday, Sahkar KTM's Jago Geerts wasted no time in taking the lead and checked out for his seventh race win of the season. Meanwhile Sander Agard-Michelsen put in a mind blowing ride for second after he passed the mistake prone Pierre Goupillon late in the race.

Race two got underway with an orange tsunami as four KTM riders made up the top five coming out of turn one. Pierre Goupillon had the early lead with Andrea Zanotti, Gianluca Facchetti and Jago Geerts hot on him.

On lap two, hanging right off the back of his Sahkar KTM, Geerts passed Fachetti with such a rad move where he practically wheelied his way all the way through the wave section and kept a low line over the two doubles that followed to take third place. On that same lap, the newly crowned champ set the fastest lap time, which was 2 seconds faster than the next fastest rider, Goupillon.

It wasn’t long before Geerts took the lead and rode off into the sunset for his tenth race win of the season.  Meanwhile, Goupillon was on a mission to minimize errors, but still ended up throwing away second when he ghost rode his bike over a jump.

Bud Racing Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Kim Savaste didn’t get off to the best of starts but he knows how to twist a throttle and by lap four he was all over Fachetti for third. The duo banged bars for a lap before Savaste finally made a pass stick.

With five minutes to go, Facchetti decided he wasn’t quite done and made a move on Savaste to take back second place. Savaste had a wee chuckle, responded immediately, and declared a game of cat and mouse that saw the duo swap the spot several times.

At the checkers, Geerts was the clear-cut winner while Savaste managed to have the final say in the battle for second. Facchetti was forced to settle for third, while Zanotti managed to hold off DP19 Yamaha’s hard charging Roan Van de Moosdijk for fourth.

Sahkar KTM’s Jago Geerts went 1 – 1 for the overall ahead of Bud Racing Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Kim Savaste who went 4 – 2 for second. Sander Agard-Michelsen made his first podium appearance with a 2 – 7 result landing him on the box in third.

Since this round was the final round of the European Championship EMX125 presented by FMF Racing, the final two medals were awarded after Sahkar KTM’s Jago Geerts took home the gold last weekend in Lommel. KTM Silver Action’s Stephen Rubini won four rounds of the championship, but had to sit out the final two rounds due to injury. Nonetheless, he finished the season as the vice champion with Pierre Goupillon finishing third.

EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Jago Geerts (BEL, KTM), 30:08.752; 2. Sander Agard-Michelsen (NOR, TM), +0:15.854; 3. Pierre Goupillon (FRA, KTM), +0:26.612; 4. Kim Savaste (FIN, Kawasaki), +0:36.816; 5. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, Yamaha), +0:43.972; 6. Gianluca Facchetti (ITA, KTM), +0:52.354; 7. Jakub Teresak (CZE, KTM), +0:53.565; 8. Raivo Dankers (NED, KTM), +0:59.615; 9. Andrea Zanotti (SMR, KTM), +1:00.464; 10. Rene Hofer (AUT, KTM), +1:06.340.

EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Jago Geerts (BEL, KTM), 30:33.054; 2. Kim Savaste (FIN, Kawasaki), +0:09.869; 3. Gianluca Facchetti (ITA, KTM), +0:15.376; 4. Andrea Zanotti (SMR, KTM), +0:16.178; 5. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, Yamaha), +0:17.648; 6. Pierre Goupillon (FRA, KTM), +0:20.528; 7. Sander Agard-Michelsen (NOR, TM), +0:23.310; 8. Isak Gifting (SWE, KTM), +0:33.913; 9. Zachary Pichon (FRA, Yamaha), +0:40.286; 10. Brian Strubhart Moreau (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:44.975.

EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing Overall Top Ten: 1. Jago Geerts (BEL, KTM), 50 points; 2. Kim Savaste (FIN, KAW), 40 p.; 3. Sander Agard-Michelsen (NOR, TM), 36 p.; 4. Gianluca Facchetti (ITA, KTM), 35 p.; 5. Pierre Goupillon (FRA, KTM), 35 p.; 6. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, YAM), 32 p.; 7. Andrea Zanotti (SMR, KTM), 30 p.; 8. Isak Gifting (SWE, KTM), 23 p.; 9. Raivo Dankers (NED, KTM), 21 p.; 10. Zachary Pichon (FRA, YAM), 19 p.

EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing Championship Top Ten: 1. Jago Geerts (BEL, KTM), 357 points; 2. Stephen Rubini (FRA, KTM), 248 p.; 3. Pierre Goupillon (FRA, KTM), 242 p.; 4. Gianluca Facchetti (ITA, KTM), 221 p.; 5. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, YAM), 215 p.; 6. Kim Savaste (FIN, KAW), 184 p.; 7. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, HUS), 175 p.; 8. Zachary Pichon (FRA, YAM), 168 p.; 9. Brian Strubhart Moreau (FRA, KAW), 155 p.; 10. Andrea Zanotti (SMR, KTM), 143 p.

EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing Manufacturers: 1. KTM, 400 points; 2. Yamaha, 273 p.; 3. Kawasaki, 237 p.; 4. Husqvarna, 202 p.; 5. TM, 155 p.

Click here to obtain the complete results

All the photos of the MXGP of Switzerland presented by iXS will be available HERE

MXGP of Switzerland presented by iXS – QUICK FACTS

Circuit length: 1560m

Type of ground: Hard Pack

Temperature: 26°C

Weather conditions: Sunny

Weekend Crowd Attendance: 45,000

MXGP was available across the board in high definition and is also globally available to view live and in HD on MXGP-TV.com. Click here for the complete list of countries and cooperating MXGP broadcasting networks.

LINKS

Youthstream

FIM Europe

MXGP of Switzerland presented by iXS