During the MXGP Festival at Matterley Basin, round seven of both the EMX125 and the EMX250 Motocross European Championships took place. With a high entry of riders in both classes, qualification for the main Championship race on Sunday was the main challenge for many of the British riders. EMX125
In the EMX125 class just two of the six British riders advanced through to the final on the Sunday morning. In the main Championship race it was Wilvo Nestaan JM Racing KTM’s Pauls Jonass who took the race win. Jonass stole the holeshot from his closest rival Team MJC’s Nicolas Dercourt and went on to ride a completely flawless race to take both the overall and the championship victory.
Meanwhile Nicolas Dercourt was second around turn one, but after hitting a slick spot on a downhill section of the track, the French rider lost the front end dropping him back to eighth. Despite having a completely bent front brake lever, the Team MJC rider recovered well making a series of tactful passes to take home second overall ahead of KTM Sarholz Racing Team’s Henry Jacobi in third. Swedish rider Alvin Ostlund begun the race in a strong second place but unfortunately couldn’t match the speed of the top three dropping him back to fourth just ahead of British rider Michael Eccles on the RB Racing’s KTM in fifth. Fellow Brit Liam Knight rode well to score points in 15
th place against a very strong field of competition.
EMX125 Final top 10: 1. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 29:41.723; 2. Nicolas Dercourt (FRA, Yamaha), +0:22.588; 3. Henry Jacobi (GER, KTM), +0:40.647; 4. Alvin Ostlund (SWE, Yamaha), +0:48.649; 5. Michael Eccles (GBR, KTM), +0:58.283; 6. Anton Lundgren (SWE, KTM), +0:58.539; 7. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, KTM), +1:10.518; 8. Davy Pootjes (NED, KTM), +1:25.867; 9. Kade Tinkler (CAN, Suzuki), +1:27.057; 10. David Herbreteau (FRA, Husqvarna), +1:29.318
EMX125 championship: 1. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 193 points; 2. Nicolas Dercourt (FRA, Yamaha), 153 p.; 3. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, KTM), 143 p.; 4. Anton Lundgren (SWE, KTM), 134 p.; 5. Henry Jacobi (GER, KTM), 128 p.; 6. Frederik Van Der Vlist (NED, Yamaha), 112 p.; 7. Davy Pootjes (NED, KTM), 72 p.; 8. Kade Tinkler (CAN, Suzuki), 72 p.; 9. Alvin Ostlund (SWE, Yamaha), 63 p.; 10. Riccardo Righi (ITA, KTM), 62 p.;
EMX250
Once again in the EMX250 class the entry for riders meant that qualifying for the Championship race on the Sunday was to be the main challenge for many riders, including the large number of British entries. After the two qualifying heat a total of seven British riders had made the transfer into the final.
The main race on the Sunday saw the home crowd treated to some earlier race excitement as iFly Lanes Kawasaki rider Lewis Trickett stormed to the hole shot and early race lead. Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe’s Jeremy Seewer soon took over the lead and appeared to love the challenging conditions as he immediately found his rhythm and dominated the race for his second EMX250 victory of the season. Meanwhile HM Plant KTM UK’s Steven Clarke put in a solid ride to take home his career best finish of second overall whereas Guillod Motorsports Valentin Guillod was faced with the ultimate challenge of fighting through the entire field after a high-side on lap one saw him drop well outside the top twenty. The red plate holder Guillod remarkably recovered for third. Fourth went to CLS Floride’s Thomas Covington who dropped from second to fourth after a small crash with J-Tech Esta Motorsports Racing’s Thomas Olsen rounding out the top five.
EMX250 top 10: 1. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), 31:20.880; 2. Steven Clarke (GBR, KTM), +0:14.269; 3. Valentin Guillod (SUI, KTM), +0:18.092; 4. Thomas Covington (USA, Kawasaki), +0:49.373; 5. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Honda), +0:52.022; 6. Damon Graulus (BEL, KTM), +1:03.981; 7. Davide Bonini (ITA, KTM), +1:11.592; 8. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), +1:14.311; 9. Ander Valentin Lasheras (ESP, Yamaha), +1:17.281; 10. Jorge Zaragoza (ESP, Suzuki), +1:17.710
EMX250 championship: 1. Valentin Guillod (SUI, KTM), 164 points; 2. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), 152 p.; 3. Damon Graulus (BEL, KTM), 116 p.; 4. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), 89 p.; 5. Ceriel Klein Kromhof (NED, KTM), 68 p.; 6. Mike Kras (NED, Suzuki), 59 p.; 7. Brent Van Doninck (BEL, KTM), 59 p.; 8. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Honda), 56 p.; 9. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Husqvarna), 56 p.; 10. Micha-Boy De Waal (NED, KTM), 53 p