This weekend’s Honda 150 European Championship finale in Matterley Basin, Great Britain was certainly filled with drama, as the title leaders went head-to-head in a titanic battle for the series’ win where Filippo Grigoletto reigned supreme, while home hero Albie Wilkie took his first race win.
It was expected to be a drama filled race as Italian Grigoletto and British racer Mitchell Lewis went into the final event on equal points, which meant whoever finished in front would claim the ultimate prize of a ride in the EMX250 Championship in 2014 with Gariboldi Honda.
Wilkie, who was one of the most outstanding riders of the weekend, won the qualifying moto, although in the finale race South African Tristan Tavares got the holeshot. Grigoletto soon took the lead, while Lewis and Wilkie closely followed and the trio battled together, passing on a number of occasions in the opening lap. From third position Lewis attempted a move to first that saw the two championship contenders collide, with Grigoletto crashing and rejoining a long way behind the leaders.
Wilkie, who didn’t attend the opening round, and Lewis battled hard, swapping positions on the following lap, although second position in the race appeared to be a safe series win for Lewis, until he suddenly slowed.
Lewis continued for a number of laps at a slow pace, although it became apparent his front wheel was damaged, which was a result of his collision earlier in the race and this ended his championship hopes. Showing true racer spirit he returned to the pits for a wheel change, and with gritty determination he went on to set the fastest lap of the 20-minute plus two-lap moto.
Meanwhile Wilkie had built a commanding lead on Grigoletto who, seeing that his rival was out of the race, had eased off and was now in danger of losing his podium position to Denmark’s Michael Joergensen and young Italian Alberto Forato, as they reeled him in. In the last lap Joergensen passed for second but as Forato attempted to make a move he lost the front and fell, leaving Grigoletto to follow Wilkie and Joergensen home for the final podium position, and to claim the championship title.
The final championship positions were Filippo Grigoletto, Alberto Forato and Michael Joergensen. The Honda 150 European Championship, which gives youngsters aged 11-14 the opportunity to race on supplied machinery while only arriving at the event with their riding gear and a helper mechanic, is looking forward to next season where it is hoped there will be a continuation of the fantastic battles like this opening year in which there have been three different talented winners in the three-round series aboard the Dunlop-shod CRF150R machines.
Fillipo Grigoletto: Honda 150 European Champion
“I am very happy to win the championship. It was quite hard, as I had a big crash with Lewis in the final, but he had a problem and I tried to control the race to take the championship win. To be able to come to Gariboldi Honda is very special, and I hope to have a good season, where I will do my best. The experience with the championship has been very good, and I was a little bit nervous in the beginning, but I gave my best, so to come away with the win is a big step for my career. I had a lot of friends and family here; I have to say a big thanks to them for all of their support and helping me to get to this level."
Roger Harvey: Honda Europe Off-road Manager
“The Honda 150 European Championship has been fantastic. There was a fair bit of competition going on into the last race between the British and Italian riders, which also got a bit physical a few times on the track, and that certainly added to the excitement. It’s been a great final race, and we received a lot of good feedback from so many people saying how close the racing has been, as well as how good it has been seeing youngsters battling out there. Hopefully we’ll step up next year where we want to improve to make things bigger and better. I’d like to say congratulations to Fillipo. He has a big step from a smaller wheel bike onto the full-size machine, and that’s not going to be easy. He’ll do a lot of learning next year on the CRF250R, and the year after is probably when we’d expect the results to come. That’s the plan we have for him, and we know he will be in good hands with the Gariboldi Honda team.”
Event results - Round 3 - Race 1
1
Albie Wilkie
26:06.940
GBR
HONDA
Honda 150 Championship
2
Michel Joergensen
+0:14.632
DEN
HONDA
Honda 150 Championship
3
Fillipo Grigoletto
+0:18.109
ITA
HONDA
Honda 150 Championship
4
Alberto Forato
+0:31.659
ITA
HONDA
Honda 150 Championship
5
Nolan Cordens
+0:37.226
BEL
HONDA
Honda 150 Championship
6
Ethan Winchester
+0:44.336
GBR
HONDA
Honda 150 Championship
7
Lucas Ankjaer
+1:12.946
DEN
HONDA
Honda 150 Championship
8
Quentin Delbrassine
+1:19.842
BEL
HONDA
Honda 150 Championship
9
Tristan Tavares
+1:26.532
RSA
HONDA
Honda 150 Championship
10
Mario Lucas Sainz
+1:49.683
ESP
HONDA
Honda 150 Championship
11
Archie Osmaston
+2:15.797
GBR
HONDA
Honda 150 Championship
12
Raffaele Giuzio
+2:28.491
ITA
HONDA
Honda 150 Championship
13
Shana Van Der Vlist
+2:28.974
NDL
HONDA
Honda 150 Championship
14
Caspar Ankjaer
+1 lap
DEN
HONDA
Honda 150 Championship
16
Romain Delbrassine
+1 lap
BEL
HONDA
Honda 150 Championship
17
Pablo Caspani
+1 lap
ITA
HONDA
Honda 150 Championship
18
Tyler Groves
+1 lap
GBR
HONDA
Honda 150 Championship
19
Mitchell Lewis
+2 laps
GBR
HONDA
Honda 150 Championship
20
Anton Livonen
+3 laps
FIN
HONDA
Honda 150 Championship
Championship standings
1
Fillipo Grigoletto
65 pts
ITA
HONDA
Honda 150 Championship
2
Alberto Forato
56 pts
ITA
HONDA
Honda 150 Championship
3
Michel Joergensen
54 pts
DEN
HONDA
Honda 150 Championship
4
Mitchell Lewis
47 pts
GBR
HONDA
Honda 150 Championship
5
Ethan Winchester
46 pts
GBR
HONDA
Honda 150 Championship
6
Albie Wilkie
43 pts
GBR
HONDA
Honda 150 Championship
7
Lucas Ankjaer
40 pts
DEN
HONDA
Honda 150 Championship
8
Shana Van Der Vlist
29 pts
NDL
HONDA
Honda 150 Championship
9
Nolan Cordens
28 pts
BEL
HONDA
Honda 150 Championship
10
Raffaele Giuzio
27 pts
ITA
HONDA
Honda 150 Championship
11
Tristan Tavares
23 pts
RSA
HONDA
Honda 150 Championship
12
Quentin Delbrassine
23 pts
BEL
HONDA
Honda 150 Championship
13
Caspar Ankjaer
23 pts
DEN
HONDA
Honda 150 Championship
14
Enzo Toriani
22 pts
FRA
HONDA
Honda 150 Championship
15
Bennet Schaefer
17 pts
DEU
HONDA
Honda 150 Championship
16
Eric Englund
15 pts
SWE
HONDA
Honda 150 Championship
17
Pablo Caspani
14 pts
ITA
HONDA
Honda 150 Championship
18
Luca Pepe Menger
14 pts
DEU
HONDA
Honda 150 Championship
19
Janik Schroeter
13 pts
DEU
HONDA
Honda 150 Championship
20
Mario Lucas Sainz
11 pts
ESP
HONDA
Honda 150 Championship
21
Archie Osmaston
10 pts
GBR
HONDA
Honda 150 Championship
22
Romain Delbrassine
9 pts
BEL
HONDA
Honda 150 Championship
23
Tyler Wilson
6 pts
USA
HONDA
Honda 150 Championship
24
Anton Livonen
6 pts
FIN
HONDA
Honda 150 Championship
25
Tyler Groves
3 pts
GBR
HONDA
Honda 150 Championship