Oltre alle categorie top nella pista di KEGUMS per il GP di RIGA, c’è la SECONDA tappa dell’incredibile Campionato Europeo di Motocross OPEN, i ragazzi iscritti nella Entry List sono tanti e ci sono molti italiani e si sfidano per un altro campionato incredibile, la pista è già messa a dura prova nel sabato per le qualifiche, viene stressata anche dai ragazzi dell’Europeo con la prima e seconda manche del Sabato nella classe EMX Open!
Ovviamente sono in aggiornamento, sabato si effettueranno tutte e due le manche come da nuove disposizioni causa COVID-19.
TIMETABLE (ORARI ITALIANI)
SATURDAY: 08:00 EMXOpen Free Practice, 08:30 EMX250 Group 1 Free Practice, 09:00 EMX250 Group 2 Free Practice, 09:35 EMXOpen Qualifying practice, 10:10 EMX250 Group 1 Qualifying practice, 10:45 EMX250 Group 2 Qualifying practice, 12:00 EMX Open Race 1, 12:50 EMX250 Race 1, 14:00 EMXOpen Race 2, 14:50 EMX250 Race 2.
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European Championship EMX Open Race 1 2020 Highlights
RACE 1 EMX Open
2020 European Championship EMX Open Race 2 Highlights
RACE 2 EMX Open
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RESULTS OVERALL CLASSIFICATION EMX Open
CHAMPIONSHIP CLASSIFICATION EMX Open
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Kutsar victorious EMX Open in Riga!
In the EMX Open class, Karel Kutsar was finally able to take the overall victory with a 2nd and a win in race 2, which also handed him the early championship lead. Previous round winner, Toms Macuks had a disappointing weekend, unable to make up for it in the second race as he crashed out in the start and was forced to DNF, costing valuable points.
While the weekend was looking much better for Stefan Ekerold who’s 3-4 result was enough to secure him the final step of the podium alongside Kutsar and Savaste.
In the first EMX Open race, it was Kim Savaste of 137 KTM Motorsports who was the rider in the lead as the group reached the first corner. Also getting a good start was the JWR Racing rider Cornelius Toendel and PAR Homes RFX Husqvarna rider Nathan Dixon.
Despite a good start, Toendel found himself in trouble early on in the race as he crashed out of second. The rest of the race didn’t go so well for the Honda rider either, as he finished in P17.
As Savaste continued to lead, the top three including Karel Kutsar and Toms Macuks of Rodeo Racing Team had already opened up a nice gap between themselves and the rider in 4th position, Karlis Kajels.
Savaste consistently led every single lap of the race, though he was coming under immense pressure in the second half of the race, as Kustar and Macuks were both on his tail, looking to steal P1. He did however manage to keep those two off his back and ended up with a win in the opening race.
With the top three locked in battle, the race for who would come next was on. On lap 10 it was then Miro Sihvonen, Ekerold, Andero Lusbo, Dixon, Kalejs, Eugenio Barbaglia and Greg Smets who were the riders who occupied 4th to 10th positions and were all pretty close together to make for an interesting race.
With a few laps to go of the race, back markers really started to play a role, as Macuks charged for Savaste, who was trying to get around the lapped riders. Despite his best efforts, Macuks was unable to pass Savaste, who went on to win the race.
In race two, it was Toendel who was in the lead, followed by Kalejs, Kutsar, Ekerold and Domantas Jazdauskas who were in the top 5. As Toendel continued to pull away, Kutsar was wasting no time and was already up in second on the opening lap.
Race 1 winner Savaste didn’t have the best of starts and was fighting back from P9 ahead of Dixon who was 10th at the time.
A couple of laps later and Kutsar was on Toendel for the win, with the two locked in a nice battle. At one point, just 0.3 seconds separated the two, with Kutsar eventually finding his way into the lead on lap 5.
At the same time Kalejs, Lusbo and Jazdauskas were locked in battle for P5, with Dixon quickly catching up to the group as well. Dixon nicely made his way past Jazdauskas and Kajels to move up into 6th.
By lap 10, Kutsar had an impressive 11 seconds on Toendel, who with just two laps to go crashed out of the race, eventually crossing the line in 21st and missing out on points once again.
In the end it was Kutsar who claimed the race win, followed by Savaste in 2nd and Ekerold in 3rd.
In terms of podium, it was Karel Kutsar who finally claimed the top step of the podium and was joined by the race 1 winner Kim Savaste and Stefan Ekerold who also moved up to 3rd in the championship standings.
Karel Kutsar: “I’m really happy, finally I can hold the red plate in my hand, that’s my dream and now it’s in my hand and I’m really happy about that”.
Kim Savaste: “The start was terrible in the second one and of course I’m disappointed about the second race but we still have one race to go in Latvia, so I’m really looking forward to it and we will see how it goes then”.
Stefan Ekerold: “Yes it’s cool for me, it’s nice to have this event on, its been a long time since we’ve gone racing so it’s really cool. I’m just happy to be progressing every race so I’m looking forward to Saturday and I would like to thank all my sponsors in Germany and my family and everyone that supports me”.
Main Photo: Karel Kutsar
Bottom Photos: 1. EMX Open Start; 2. Kim Savaste
MXGP of Riga – QUICK FACTS
Circuit length: 1780m
Type of ground: Hard Sand
Temperature: 23°
Weather conditions: Sunny
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EMX Open – Time Practice – Classification
EMX Open – Free Practice – Classification