LOMMEL (Belgium) 24 October 2020 – Fantic Racing’s Andrea Bonacorsi secured the crown in the EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing class at the final round of the series in Lommel, as he became this year’s European Champion!

The Italian entered today’s races with a 38-point advantage over David Braceras of RFME GasGas MX Junior Team and only needed to finish the races with a solid result in order to seal the deal. Bonacorsi finished the opening race of the day third, which was enough for him to claim the title in race one.

The Fantic Racing rider then had a much tougher second race after getting caught out in a first turn crash, which meant he had to start from way back and 11^th was the best he could do. Unfortunately, he missed out on the podium, though the main focus was that he took home that all-important championship gold plate.

Despite a tough day, Braceras held enough of a gap to finish second in the championship with 282 points, ahead of Meico Vettik of TBS Conversions Racing Team who claimed the bronze medal after a solid day, which saw him also second overall on the podium.

The first race of the day saw WZ Racing’s Max Palsson lead the way as he was closely followed by Vettik and Scott Smulders of No Fear/Jumbo BT Racing Team on the opening lap. Meanwhile, the then championship leader, Bonacorsi, was down in 9^th.

Guillem Farres of RFME GasGas MX Junior Team then crashed out of 6^th and was down outside the top 20, as Smulders dropped out of 3^rd as well and re-joined the race in 12^th.

Bonacorsi though was wasting no time as by the first full lap he was already in 4^th, looking to charge for the leaders as he was keen to wrap up the title in the first heat.

Palsson then extended his race lead over Vettik to 2.002 in the early stages of the race, and the gap remained pretty tight until the end of the race, as the two battled closely together.

Bonacorsi came under fire from the Creymert Racing pilot Haakon Osterhagen for 4^th, though he was able to defend his position, before going after Pietro Razzini for third a few laps later.

It was a tough race for Braceras who had to start the race from outside the top 30 and fight his way through. Eventually the Spaniard finished the race in 16^th, not a result he would have wanted after his previous success here in Lommel over the last couple of rounds.

Osterhagen then lost a bit of ground as he was getting caught by Romeo Karu and Ivano Van Erp of Yamaha Europe EMX125 MJC team, though he was able to maintain his position until the end of the race, while Karu made a mistake and finished in 15^th.

On lap 9, Bonacorsi moved himself in 3^rd, as Vettik gave it another go at passing Palsson though was not successful. He then gave it one last push on the final 3 laps as the gap was just 0.666 seconds, but Palsson was able to keep control and claim his first race win of the season.

The second race started with a little bit of drama in the first turn, which caught out a couple of riders including Karu and the new EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing champion, Bonacorsi. Though it was Van Erp who led the way, with Palsson in second and Valerio Lata of Marchetti Racing Team KTM in third.

Vettik started the second heat outside the top 5, though he was on a charge and quickly caught out to the group as he passed Braceras for 5^th on lap two.

By lap 5 there was a change in the lead, as Van Erp crashed out, which allowed Palsson to make the most of this opportunity to go after another race win.

Farres was then on a charge as he had a nice battle with Quentin Prugnieres of BUD Racing Kawasaki. Eventually, the GasGas rider was able to find a way through into fourth on lap 7.  

With 5 minutes and 2 laps to go, Palsson led the way by an impressive 11.960 seconds, as Osterhagen passed Nikita Kucherov for 7^th and then went after Braceras. Not long after, the Norwegian burst down the inside of Braceras for 6^th, as Kucherov was able to do the same, with the Spaniard getting pushed down to 8^th and then 9^th where he would eventually finish.

With 2 of laps to go, Florian Miot of KTM Diga Junior Racing was pushing hard to pass Farres for third, though got caught out in a crash and did not finish the race.

In the end it was Palsson who was the race winner, with Vettik second once again and Farres having a much stronger ride that time around to cross the line third. 

With two race wins, Palsson claimed his first overall victory of the season as he took to the top step of the podium, while Vettik occupied second with two solid second place finishes in the races and Guillem Farres of RFME GasGas MX Junior Team made his 5^th podium of the 2020 season as he took to third.

Andrea Bonacorsi: “It’s just amazing. I worked really hard for it [the title], with the team, with my family, with my trainer, the gold plate and European champion, so it’s amazing”.

“For sure in Faenza, after the first win, then I had 6 race wins and I realised I could be champion” he added.

David Braceras: “Today I had a crash in the first race and then I was last, and then managed to get to seventeenth. In the second race, I started well but then wanted to stay safe because in the first race I lost a lot of points. I had a little problem with the goggles and wanted to stay safe and finish second in the championship. I’m happy with my position as I worked really hard with my team and my family and trainer, so I’m really happy and would like to thank everyone for all the support and now it’s time to prepare for the 250’s”. 

Meico Vettik: “I’m really happy about the third place in the championship. I had some bad races and some good races, but I’m still happy about my season. Today I had good speed, in the second race I had a small problem with my goggles but still second, so I am happy. Thanks to all my supporters and friends”.

Max Palsson: “I’m super happy for the team and for myself as well. We work really hard. My starts were on point today and it made it a lot easier. The season as a whole though could have been a bit better, at the start of the year I wasn’t fully prepared, but I came back strong”.

Guillem Farres: “Overall it was a good day. In the first race I was around fourth in the first lap then I had a little crash and had to come from the back and finished sixth. In the second race, I had to start from ninth, made my way to third and in the last lap I was battling with Meico [Vettik] for second place but finally I could finish third”.

Main Photo: Infront Moto Racing CEO David Luongo, EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing Champions, FIM Europe President Martin de Graaff

Bottom Photos: 1. EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing Start; 2. Andrea Bonacorsi

TIMETABLE (Local Timing CET)

SUNDAY (change to wintertime): 08:15 MX2 Free/Time Practice, 09:15 MXGP Free/Time Practice, 11:05 MX2 Race 1, 12:05 MXGP Race 1, 14:00 MX2 Race 2, 15:00 MXGP Race 2.