FRAUENFELD (Switzerland) 10 April 2023 – The first round of the EMX125 presented by FMF took place in Switzerland and it was 737 Performers GASGAS’s Mathis Valin who clinched the victory with a strong performance throughout the whole round.

The first race of the EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing class saw MJC Yamaha Team’s Janis Martin Reisulis taking the lead from the first lap in front of Mathis Valin as the youngsters found themselves making a good gap with the rest of the riders. Valin managed to stay in touching distance with race Reisulis for few laps but the leader increased the gap to 5 seconds to keep his distance and not get under pressure by Valin until the end. Reisulis won the race while Valin settled for a solid 2nd place after showing very good speed over the race.

Behind them we thought that the 3rd place was promised to Fantic Maddii Factory Racing‘s Maximilian Werner as he was 3rd from lap 1 until 2 laps to go on lap 13. He had to resist to some attacks from Alfio Pulvirenti and Alban Alm successively. Unfortunately for the young German, a costly mistake on lap 13 saw him move down to 7th in the end. Alm benefitted from Werner’s crash as he marked his comeback from 12th on lap 1 to 3rd in the end. Pulvirenti was unfortunate as he was 4th until lap 3 when he crashed to move down to 35th.

Vitezslav Marek rode strongly to go up the rank as he managed to go from 6th on lap 1 to finish 4th in the end as he capitalised on some crashes and mistakes in front of him. The promising Elias Escandell from Fantic Maddii Factory Racing is another rider who had to work hard as he gained 6 positions throughout the race. Going from 11 after an average start to steadily find his rhythm and finish 5th.

The young Italian riders, JK Racing Yamaha’s Nicola Salvini and Simone Mancini who finished 6th and 8th respectively, also showed a good maturity throughout the whole race as they both overtook and got overtaken several times but kept fighting to gain position right until the last lap.

It was another story for Francisco Garcia and Mads Fredsoe, who finished 9th and 10th respectively. Fredsoe started well as he got himself to 5th after the first lap and even managed to get to 4th following Pulivirenti’s misfortune. Garcia, 8th on lap 1 also made his way up to 5th right behind Fredsoe on lap 10. However Garcia made a charge on the inside of Fredsoe on lap 12 to overtake but both riders caught each other on a turn and crashed which retrograded them and eventually ended up in 9th place for Garcia and 10th for Fredsoe.

On Monday in the race 2, WZ Racing Team’s Gyan Doensen got off the gate leading the way but had Reisulis quickly overtook him. Still in the first lap Valin passed Doensen for 2^nd.
In the remake of race 1 Reisulis and Valin got the better of the rest after 1 lap and started to make a consequent gap. Valin started to chase after Reisulis, clocking the fastest lap early on.

We thought that this would go on until the end but Reisulis after a scare on lap 2, did really loose the control of his bike on lap 4 and moved down to 7^th. Valin would keep his composure until the end to win the race. Reisulis finished in the at the 11^th place.

Doensen also stayed strong to keep the 2^nd place until the end even if he had to show his skill to stay in front of Escandell mid-race and also Marek in last laps. Marek finished 3^rd after a strong performance today and great comeback coming from 7^th after lap 1. Escandell had to settle for 4^th giving him good point for the overall.

Behind them Salvini passed lap 1 on 5^th place and remained there until the end. Noel Zannocz started well as he found himself 6^th after lap 1 although he had to battle with Marek who passed him on lap 3. He then benefitted from Reisulis’s fall to get back up to 6^th and remain there until the end.

Garcia and Alm did not have the best start as they found themselves 12^th and 15^th respectively after lap 1. They kept fighting their way up as they gained precious places by overtake several riders along the way. On lap 9 Garcia was 7^th in front of Alm. A give and take happened until the end overtaking each other few times with Garcia gaining the last word at two laps before the end. Garcia finished 7^th while Alm finished 8^th.
Maximilian Ernecker and Salvador Perez rode strongly as after getting to 14th and 19^th respectively on lap 1 went up the ranking order in great fashion as Ernecker finished 9^th while Perez 10^th.
In the end, Valin got the overall win in Switzerland for the first round of the campaign in front of Marek and Reisulis 2^nd and 3^rd respectively.

Mathis Valin: “It is amazing, a very good weekend for me. I had a good start in race 1 to finish 2^nd. In race 2, Reisulis fell down and I could pass him to win the race and the overall. I want to thank my team for this weekend!”

Main Photo: Mathis Valin

Bottom Photos: 1. Vitezslav Marek; 2. EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing Podium

MXGP OF SWITZERLAND Presented by iXS QUICK FACTS:

Circuit length: 1500m

Type of ground: Hard Pack

Temperature: 15°

Weather conditions: Sunny

Weekend Crowd Attendance: 43000 – from Friday until Monday included